So, someone said you're meant to fly outdoors?!

[Peteski]

Blade 230S. Beginner 6-channel helicopter with "SAFE" modes and panic recovery system. RTF at £218 including you need to get you started.

If I was starting out today I'd buy this new Blade 230S for sure. It looks like a good compromise between size, cost and convenience. The alternatives are smaller CP micros like the mCPX or the new Nano CPS, which are both pretty indestructible, but more difficult to fly than bigger CP helis. Or a bigger 450 class heli like Grumpy is suggesting.

I started with micros + sim about 9 months ago and found it a fast and painless way to progress. If you go down the 450 route right from the start, then expect to be spending far more time repairing it than actually flying it! Personally I would wait until you are confident flying a CP micro without crashing before moving on to something larger. A sim is great too for learning and can massively short-cut your learning curve. But if you are not into standing in front of a monitor while learning to fly, then a Nano CPS would be a good alternative.

£250 is a really tight budget if you are serious about making progress, but should get you started down the path. For maximising progress I would buy the following kit:-

Blade 230S BNF - £180 (CP trainer for outdoors)
Blade Nano CPS - £74 (CP trainer indoors/outdoors)
Spektrum DX7 - £200 (This is a long term buy, but you need a Tx from the start and better to buy once than twice)
neXt sim - £70 (for maximising progress)
iCharger 106B - £110 including power supply (for charging multiple batteries)

As you can see, it quickly adds up but you could start with a decent Tx plus micro CP heli and then just buy the rest as you go.

[ReeferSam]

So much input! I've been away for a week so hadn't had a chance to check back, great to come back to such a huge amount of advice. I do like the look of that assault 450, it ticks the boxes for getting me learning on a budget. I also Really like the look of the new Blade 230s; all sounds great with regard to a learning platform but there is some debate online regarding that tail motor. Should I be concerned? I'm happy to replace it now and then but I'd hope not too regularly!

I'm currently swaying more towards chopping in my initial desire to start at a 450 and see the benefits of starting a touch smaller. Are there any other options in this price/size region, other than the blade 230s? I like Pete's idea of having an even Smaller practice platform so feel free to suggest anything smaller too, preferably only anything capable of flying outdoors.

All the above posts have been a great read! I really appreciate the input guys and it's great to see a few other fairly new 'pilots' giving me their story.

Thanks all!

[Peteski]

Hi Sam, The new 230S does seem to be having a few teething troubles. Not so much the tail motor this time, but the swash tilting on the ground while in SAFE mode. I've read a few reports of that now, but also some people are getting on just fine with them. Blade have a history of releasing "beta" helis and usually resolve first batch issues as they go along. So it may be a bit too new to the market and not fully sorted yet. But I still think it's the one to get for making the transition from 4 to 6 channel helis and should handle a little bit of wind outdoors, within reason for its size.

Also don't underestimate your quads for learning 6 channel heli skills. Providing you can switch off any self-levelling modes they actually fly just like a collective pitch heli. I went straight from a Blade Nano QX to collective pitch helis without any issues. It was a pleasant surprise!

[Geesta]

Welcome Sam, my advice is not to buy second hand, buy from your local shop & they should give you all the advice & help you need

[ReeferSam]

Thanks again, Pete! I guess it's a case of biting the bullet and see how it goes with the 230s!

I'll have a look at my quad but it's 'expert' mode still provides levelling assistance. There may be a way to switch that off though.

Geesta, seeing as I am also from the West Midlands, would that by any chance be a shop you, as a sponsor, are affiliated with? :P I ask only as I'm still in the process of finding a reputable, local shop to give my business.

Thanks both, I appreciate it.

[tomatwalden]

.... Blade have a history of releasing "beta" helis and usually resolve first batch issues as they go along. So it may be a bit too new to the market and not fully sorted yet.

To be fair, I suspect they have tested the 230S carefully before releasing it to market, as I imagine they do with all their models. My guess is that pre-production models probably had time and care taken over them in the factory (remember, HH mass-manufacture in China for production runs) and therefore didn't show these problems. From what I can tell, the swash tilt problem is only on some production models - probably due to QC dropping during mass-production runs. Maybe stability mode suffers because it relies on accurate readings from the gyros to work and is probably therefore susceptible to vibrations etc.

But I still think it's the one to get for making the transition from 4 to 6 channel helis and should handle a little bit of wind outdoors, within reason for its size.
!

+1

[tomatwalden]

... I'm still in the process of finding a reputable, local shop to give my business..

Midlands Helicopters
Fast Lad
RC Hero
Align-Trex.co.uk

All reputable IMHO Midlands are obviously nearest to you geographically.

[ReeferSam]

Thanks, Tom, that's a great help. I'll check those out and see what they have to offer.

Had another thought; I'm (fairly) handy - With the budget I've suggested, could I compete with the 230s by building a kit? I'm thinking of the DX6i as an afordable TX. With that in mind, are their any kits between the 230s size and 450 that would in turn equate to around the same overall price? If in the end it would result in a better set-up, I'd be happy to spending some time on construction.

Cheers,

Sam.

[Geesta]

Midland helicopters is fairly close to you, they have everything you need & great support to go with it

[Peteski]

Thanks, Tom, that's a great help. I'll check those out and see what they have to offer.

Had another thought; I'm (fairly) handy - With the budget I've suggested, could I compete with the 230s by building a kit? I'm thinking of the DX6i as an afordable TX. With that in mind, are their any kits between the 230s size and 450 that would in turn equate to around the same overall price? If in the end it would result in a better set-up, I'd be happy to spending some time on construction.

Cheers,

Sam.

In short no, not really. Not at the same price level anyway. The best "small" kit by a country mile is the OXY 3, but it's way over your budget I'm afraid. There's the Trex 250, but I wouldn't recommend that. By all accounts it's a dated and fiddly design to both build and service! Probably more expensive too, but not sure on price.

Edit: Blade BNF models are actually built quite well IME and usually fly okay straight out of the box. But it's always worth checking the swash is level and servos are centred etc before flying for the first time. They usually benefit from a bit of fine tuning and there is the occasional QC issue.

[ReeferSam]

It's looking more and more like the 230s is the best for the job. I'd like to go down the kit route at some point so I'll reserve that for further down the line.. and a bigger budget!

With the 230s RTF, is the transmitter worth having? As I said, I'm looking at the DX6i so can't make my mind up Re BNF or RTF.

Sorry about the barrage of questions - I'm very excited to start learning and would like to start on the right foot.

Thanks again,

Sam.

[Peteski]

Regarding transmitter, I would buy the best you can afford. The DX6i is the absolute minimum I would consider. In fairness, the RTF transmitter with the 230S is probably not that bad, but then you will have to buy another transmitter when you eventually build a bigger kit. The DX6i is not great and a bit limited with only 6 channels, but at least it will fly pretty much any RC heli. If you wanted something more future proof then the new DX7 is probably the one to get, but it's a fair investment on a tight budget. You could also look out for a used DX8 on the forums. I bought mine new when it was being discontinued and it's proven to be a good buy. I'm using the additional 2 channels for rescue and secondary safety throttle cut, but you can usually manage rescue on 6 channels with a bit of a workaround (basically sharing the gyro channel).

[ReeferSam]

Makes complete sense to me.. whether it would to my Fiancée.. I'd rather you asked! haha. I would love to take your advice and think I will, when I decide I've learnt what I can from a smaller heli. It's a shame to have to buy two transmitters but the DX6i is fairly priced.

Perhaps going for the RTF version would be my best option to reduce the impact of basically buying an inferior TX. So many variables!

[tomatwalden]

...

With the 230s RTF, is the transmitter worth having? As I said, I'm looking at the DX6i so can't make my mind up Re BNF or RTF.

...

Looking here : Blade

It seems the RTF version with TX is only £25 more than the BNF version. With that in mind, I'd spend the £25 for the following reasons :-

1/. The two will have been linked and configured in the factory - all set and ready to go with "panic mode" set etc.
2/. Less chance (maybe) of drifting swash
3/. Gives you time to research long-term TX options .. maybe invest properly when you know more.
4/. Means you can focus on learning to fly rather than working out a TX configuration.
5/. The DX6i and DX6 are OK, but you'd probably want something more flexible long-term. You won't know what though just yet ...

[Peteski]

Perhaps going for the RTF version would be my best option to reduce the impact of basically buying an inferior TX. So many variables!

Yes I think Tom sums it up well. You would almost certainly end up replacing a DX6i anyway, so £25 for the RTF transmitter is probably a good cheap intro.