What to do?

[carpman]

Where do I start, I thought about coming back 3 years ago (i had just about learned basic flight but was always scared of crashing esp the 600 lol) but I think the changes that had been made over the years that I was away was so intimidating that it put me off.
Now I'm looking for things to do during this crappy lockdown period, I decided to get both helis out to check them over again didn't realise it had been 3 years already (only by checking my last post here), only to find out I cant even check my lipos for a charge, not got a 12v battery to connect my cellpro or for that matter even turn the 600 over. I did turn my radios on and they still have a charge dx8 is showing 7.6v and dx7se is 7.3.
I am still worried about flying more so now as I'm getting older and parts will probaly be harder to come by budget is always going to be on my mind, I dont think I ever set up the DX8(dsmx), I cant for life of me remember half of what is involved and had learned many years ago. I'm debating now whether I have the time or inclination re-learn everything that i need to know to try and fly again or just keep as ornaments/reminders of time passed by. I know value-wise they are probably not worth a great deal any more as with any tech time has moved on, so do I really want to invest money in something that I am liable to crash or just stop when the going gets tough as it will enevitibilty will especially trying to learn on your own again. Its not as if I was a good pilot to start with....

[trillian]

Hi there! Welcome back.

One thing that could help is going flybarless with a rescue feature, which has become very common now. So if you had a moment of panic you can just hit the rescue switch and it will automatically level the heli till you can get your orientation back and take over.

There has always been a lot to learn with helis. With the flybarred models the mechanical setup was more critical, you'd have lots of subtrims and curves in the TX. With flybarless, the mechanical setup is still important, but the FBL unit will usually compensate for little imperfections. Obviously you have a different element to learn with the FBL controller setup and adjustment, but like most things it's just a matter of getting used to it.

[DaveJones]

You could take a look at a sim to get your thumbs training. AccurRC is pretty good, is only about £35 and you should be able to use your existing radios with a cheap dongle or even wireless. The alternative is the Next sim which is also pretty good and doesn't require as much in the way of computer horsepower to run. Both offer demos to trial

If you have a garden then there is a thread running on here at the moment talking about micro heli's which are cheap and not intimidating (I learnt to fly with one).

When you get back out to a field (ideally a club with other heli folks) keep several meters away from the heli and take it slow a steady (progress is only measured against yourself not others) get comfortable with a tail in hover and then start to hover at various angles building up to side on and eventually nose in. Nail them and your confidence will come as they give you more "safe orientations" to recover the heli to when you feel you are loosing it.

One other tip take a look among the collection of old wall wart chargers or old laptop chargers, if you find one that puts out 12V it should be enough to power up your charger and perform a very slow charge.

[Ade_Law]

use the lock down time to get sim time www.accurc.com as others have said is awesome.

if you have a reasonable size garden something like a blade nano s2 or xk110 are worth looking at too, they are cheap and fun. Im trying to convince the wife i need an xk110 to keep my sanity :-)

Ade

[carpman]

Been looking around since posting and now contemplating the blade 130s a little investment to see if I really want to get back into it and get me flying with the options of safety.
I have the Pheonix sim which I have had for years, but it's not the same as real life, no pressure involved nothing to worry about, could always fly on it no probs.

Could someone give me a ball park figure of what it would cost me to make my stock flybarless and give me a rough idea of how much work is involved?

[DaveJones]

I used Phoenix in the old days too, Accurc is much much better but I find the trick to using the Sim to progress is discipline. Focus on a particular move you want to master in the real world and concentrate on really nailing it in the sim (no wandering around or bouncing up and down, get it really precise) then add in increasing amounts of gusty wind when it gets easy. I also do it much closer to the ground than I would in real life which amplifies the mistakes.

I would suggest giving somebody like Trevor at Midland Heli’s a call to discuss what you would need upgrade your Heli to flybarless (and if it makes sense). Electronics wise if you want rescue you are probably looking at around £140, if you don’t want rescue there are some cheaper options depending on how you feel about using cloned copies (in the region of £30). When I first switch to FBL I went with the cloned option and later bought the real thing (mainly to support the guys developing this stuff, the clones worked great). If you do upgrade and want a cheap cloned FBL let me know and I will send you one I have sat on shelf gathering dust that I will never use.

[carpman]

Things seem to be changing fast lol, looking for stockists this morning for the 130s BNF and nobody has it, but I have found a 230s v2 BNF basic in stock at Midland, I know its a step up in size and outdoor only but its a similar price.

[DaveJones]

I think everybody has had the same idea to buy something small for the garden. I’m currently building a little Lynx OXY2 and its taken a while to find stock of the kit and key components. Unfortunately it has highlighted that I have gotten old and my eyes don’t work as well as they used to on the small components, on the plus side its helped validate it my wife that I need a 700 side Heli that I can see.

There is a Blade Fusion 180 just appeared on Facebook ( in the “Rc Helibay Buy and Sell UK” group) being sold by Nick Stroud (don’t know if he is on here) but he is a regular feature in the Heli world today so probably not a bad buy used.

[carpman]

Just placed my order with Midland for the 230s v2 and a few batts should hopefully be flying again by Friday

[DaveJones]

Excellent, have fun and let us know how you get on

[snotvis]

Just placed my order with Midland for the 230s v2 and a few batts should hopefully be flying again by Friday

I hope so, for your sake. I put in an order 3 weeks ago, Midlands dispatched it and I am still waiting for Royal Mail to deliver...

[carpman]

I hope so, for your sake. I put in an order 3 weeks ago, Midlands dispatched it and I am still waiting for Royal Mail to deliver...

I ordered next-day delivery via dpd helis will be dispatched tomorrow for delivery on Thurs.

[Ade_Law]

AccuRC is far more realistic than Phoenix, processors have moved on a lot in the past 15 years since Phoenix which means that we can do a lot more maths to make things a lot more realistic.

Obviously there isnt the fear of crashing, which is is a bit of a double edged sword... we use it because it doesnt cost money to crash but that can also mean you arent fearful of crashing, a little self control goes a long way with that... or you could paypal me £50 every time you crash :-)

Ade

[carpman]

or you could paypal me £50 every time you crash :-)

Ade

You will never know when I crash I dont think I'm honest enough to admit to it.
I have just found out that phoenix has been discontinued...

What is the Best sim out there Now????

[Ade_Law]

AccuRC :-)