newbie

[curt53]

Hi folks, quick intro to me. Im 42 years old, married with 2 sons, 13 & 16 years old. Having retired from racing ( and crashing! ) motorbikes for many years, the body is feeling a bit knackered so I am persuing hobbys a bit less dangerous. Been into rc cars for a bit, but since my dad got a heli Ive got the bug. I can hover it a bit, but his heli has been down more times than a whore's draws and is almost imposible to fly now. I am about to buy my first heli, looking at a T-rex 450 SE V2 but have not made final decision yet.If anyone has any comments or advise I would be greatfull.
Cheers Paul.

[Aidi]

Welcome to the world of RC Heli's! From my learning experience, i would suggest the following:

Join a club. Its the best way to learn all the ins and outs of the hobby. Fellow fliers will help you with setup and the basics to get you flying. But, you still have to put the work in to understand how to setup, maintain and fly your model. And you have certainly come to the right place to get that info!

Get a simulator. The best on the market imo is Phoenix. It will pay for itself in no time, and you are very unlikey to outgrow it.

Its an amazing hobby, and the rewards are huge, not only from the learning to fly, but the people you will meet.

Last thing, expect at some point to have a spill. Not wanting to put you off, but it will happen. Be open minded, and when it does happen keep your chin up, work out exactly what caused it, learn from the mistake, get the heli rebuilt and practice more on the sim!

As for the choice of heli's, the majority of my flying is with a nitro Raptor. Its a great deal more stable and not as twitchy as a 450, but your budget will dictate what you buy.

Hope this helps some, and i am sure others will pipe up and give their recommendations.

Best Rgds
Aidi

[Biggles]

what he said above !!!!!!

[AJ Jelly]

Welcome to the world of lots of fun and even less cash

[machasm]

What Aidi said is pretty much spot on.
I think your choice of a 450 is great.
However, be aware that, generally, the smaller the heli the more difficult it is to fly. That said the trex 450 must be the best in its class. Just dial in some expo on the tranny and you should be fine.
Have you already got a Transmitter?
If not may I reccomend a Spektrum DX7.
They had an offer where if you bought an extra receiver or even 2 with your transmitter purchase, Horizon hobby would send you 1 or 2 free equivalent receivers. Unfortunately I think the offer expired recently but worth checking out anyway as It is a great transmitter anyway even without the offer.

Welcome to the mad house.

Adrian.

[163phil]

Welcome Paul
What's been said already is spot on. You get what you pay for in this game, so if it's going to be your main hobby (and it probably will!) go for the best you can afford. A 450 size heli is best imho as the cost of spares is reasonable, and in the early days you can crash for a tenner! (And belive me you WILL crash to start with. If you don't, you're either a complete natural, or not pushing the boundaries enough!)
As this is my second hobby and I spend more than enough on my main one (gliding) I went for the cheapy route with a Honey Bee CP2, and Belt CP which were great for learning on (I'm still very much learning), but soon components wear out and they are prone to radio glitches which will cause crashes. The one thing you really don't need is a machine you cannot rely on. So I'm now saving for a Trex 450SEv2 + DX6i myself
Get yourself several spare blades, feathering shafts, mainshafts as a minimum, and don't skimp on the servos or gyro, as they can be transferred to future models, as can the radio gear.
If you are only going to fly electric sport then the DX6i is a good option (£100), the DX7 is needed if you want to fly scale and add a seventh channel.
Above all enjoy

Cheers
Phil

[Mike W]

Heya and welcome to the forum ... Same as the rest have said really .... Dont overlook Futaba FF7 2.4ghz either ... Most people only have owned the Dx6/7 so they going to comment on that Tx. Me I own a futaba but have used a Dx6/7 so can comment ... Am really futaba man but that's cos i used to the menus and such but for the price of them both its upto you ... Spekky locks on 2 channels ... Futaba channel hops ... Read up on em then make ya mind up .. FF7 also has GOV mode and extra mixes as well ... Or if ya really wanna splash out then a Dx9 is the way to go ... Lots of options ... As for heli a 450 are small and skittish but cheap to repair but when ya crash .. buy the best ya can afford and ya will progress faster than with sud standard bits on it ... 450/ hitecs 65's all round 401/9257 on tail and ya good to go .. the rest of the builds then upto u .... Ya dont need to buy a 450V2se either , theres cheaper options with the plastic parts instead of metal .... Hope ya enjoy the hobby and stick with it ... Oh and invest in a sim ... Phoenix pref as most of us run it and ya can always go online with it for advice

[cambs flyer]

Greetings and welcome to the empty wallet club.

I hope you find this hobby as fulfilling as I, the advise above is top notch, the bigger the heli the more stable, plus they stand up to more extreme weather conditions.

That's a great choice in Heli you've chosen bud', I fly the 450XL, but with the upgrades I've made since flying for real four weeks ago apart from the body she's more like a V1.

I've only ever flown the 450 as a real chopper so I can't comment on how easier the larger beasts are, (apart from flying them on Phoenix and there fantastic!) but I find my machine a true joy to fly, it helps having someone who can give you some hands on guidance, luckily I have a friend who's helped me greatly and when set up correctly the 450 is a fantastic platform to fly on.

Phoenix is a must, cram in as much practice as you humanly can, trust me it pays off, then after much practice your find when you start flying the real thing it's almost like starting again, only you have control of the real thing and the "terror factor" plays a big part, plus flying for real is a whole different ball game, but the thrill and sense of achievement is a wonderful feeling.

As for Trannys you can't really go wrong, if after building the 450 funds are a little tight then you can't go wrong with the DX6i, if you plan to fly the Nitro giants, and can afford the DX7 it'll future proof you for that time.

But your have to give this a little forward thought, as your need a TX to practise on Phoenix!

The best all in RTF package right now that offers everything is the Blade 400, which comes with the DX6i, it's a superb machine with a wealth of people here to offer professional level help.

Good luck.

[jboweruk]

I'm inclined to agree with pretty much all the above, tx is going to be a/ what your budget will allow, b/ what you plan on flying.

Heli wise there is a huge choice, most on here seem to go the Align T-Rex route for leccy's, I'm still inclined to the Blade, but that's simply because it's ready made, comes with a good tx (DX6i) and of course uses the new DSM radio equimpment, so no glitches. She can be tamed down apparently, but I'm still undecided on that or whether now to put it on a back burner and put more money together, maybe then see what I can afford. I did toy briefly with a TR500, but I don't think my garden will be big enough

Whatever you choose, have fun, and good luck.

[curt53]

Thanks very much for your advice and comments everyone. Ive just bid & won a T-rex 450 XL on ebay,second hand but from the pics it looks very nice, it has Spektrum reciever but no transmitter which I dont mind because I'm going to invest in a DX6i. It comes with quite a few blingy bits & loads of spare too, I was going to get a new one but after reading your comments I decided to go for somthing less expecive but not bad spec untill I have more experience,this way it wont feel so bad when the inevitable prang happens! see ya later.

[cambs flyer]

Congrats mate.

I have the XL, but she's a very different heli to when I first had her, but thats all the fun of it.

But for the sake of your wallet if nothing else cram in a few weeks of Phoenix, if not a bit more, when you can do crazy stuff with the 450 on the sim, bring her back for a gentle landing in a strong wind then I'd say with care and possibly a little local club guidance have your maiden hover hops.

Best of luck bro'.

[chugga-bug]

Good choice mate You'll love it!

All the 'SE v1or2' parts will fit the XL so you can upgrade as you crash.

DO get a sim though.. It'll save you a fortune.

Don't rely on the model being set up correctly. Get it checked by somebody who knows what they're doing, and read all you can on this and the other forums. There's a lot to learn!
Check out http://www.helifreak.com/ and look at 'Finless Bob's' videos on setting up a T-rex. Much easier to get your head round things than reading alone.

Good luck man

[curt53]

Hi folks, should be taking delivery of my T-rex 450 XL this Tues/Weds, as it is second hand, what basic checks & setup should I do before I fly. Don't have a transmitter yet but I am going to get a Spektrum DX6i & Pheonix sim, anyone got ether for sale?

[Tim Procter]

Don't have a transmitter yet but I am going to get a Spektrum DX6i & Pheonix sim, anyone got ether for sale?

For the sake of £79 I would make that your priority and buy it new because I have seen it so many times people tending to forget the obvious "I'll have a go first" and see if I can fly it then come home with a bin liner full of bits..

Unfortunately there arnt many second hand copies of Phoenix around and usually get snapped up in seconds if the price is right.

Good luck with the hobby, Take good advise from these forums (we have all been there) and enjoy the learning curve.

If you fly Mode 1 I have a DX6i for sale on eBay.