too many to choose from

[baldingbaz]

has anybody got any thoughts on the TWISTER CP V2. As a newbie looking to get into the art of staying in the air it gets quite confusing with the array of different types of heli on the market and as yet not able to find anything about the Twister.[/b]

[thomashome]

If you read any similar question the answer is usually "Get a SIM to start with"

Once you got that keep an eye on the forums and see what people have and what they say about them, eg - Robbe Eollo Sprit Li, excellent heli, the rest need to catch up!

[Ade_Law]

as most will tell you I am not a fan of Small CP helis. They are small so they are not as stable as their bigger brothers. They are even less stable again because they tend to be cheaply made they gain slop in the linkages. Add to this higher head speeds due to being CP they will do damage to themselves in a crash.

Hardly newbie friendly!

The FP micro helis are a little better but they still suffer from cheap components and general instability due to being small and relatively heavy.

This is where the lama comes in. It is light so needs less power to stay up, this power comes from moving air downwards. Because it moves less it can be flown in smaller rooms.

if you dont believe me:

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/module...ic&p=9146#9146

Ade

[TomN]

Hi Baldingbaz

Can't argue with the advice to get a sim, although not part of the learning curve I'm currently on, mostly because I haven't got a very new or fast computer so can't run the better sims without upgrading :cry:

I'm currently learning on the Hirobo Lama and Hoverfly and am getting on OK apart from nose in!

I will shortly be getting an ESKY Honeybee CP2 which is virtually identical to the Perkins Twister CP V2 as is the Eflite Blade CP (sold in the US) and no doubt some others! I think they are all made in the ESKY factory in China and rebadged for national distributors who then put on a large markup!

The ESKY helis (and derivatives) seem to be OK (although nowhere near perfect) and considered good value and an economical way to get started. All the advice I have had is to stay away from the Walkera brand.

The ESKY can be found on the internet and Ebay (check for 35mhz and Mode2) for much, much less (like close to 100 delivered) than a Twister (at about 180 +P&P) and parts support is also good.
These little helis are much harder to fly than the bigger (nitro or electric) ones but for the cost and convenience of indoor flying in the winter it is the route I'm going at the moment. I've been told if you can fly these little critters you can fly anything 8)

I've found a huge amount of info on the net over the last couple of months. There are several US based forums with masses of tips and fixes plus pics. and videos to download. Most information is on the Blade CP but it is of course 99% relevant to either the Twister or Honeybee.

If you need a few sites worth visiting to get started just ask, but if you start Googling one site leads to another to another to another....

Regards

Tom (not even thinning :lol: )

[thomashome]

Tom, I'd advise strongly against a Honey Bee CP2, this was the heli that started me off in this hobby, I found it impossible so bought a sim, tried it a few weeks later and broke it again, then bought an Eolo.

Once I could fly the Eolo and my Trex I dug out the HoneBee and tried again, I did managed ot hover it but if was very hard and I failed to keep it still and yup - crashed it!

I reckon that these little things with the two rotas are far better, firstly you can get a feel for it and then once you've bought a proper heli they make a good training aid for hovering side and nose in.

[baldingbaz]

thanks for all the advice. I think I will have to do more research before parting with the 'hard earned'.
Do any of the sims come with radio and are they easy to connect to pc?

[thomashome]

RealFlight G3 comes with a transmitter type controller and has internet play, but there seems to be more in favour of RealFlight XTR - more realistic but need to use your own trnsmitter, both are about 135. There is a new one on the way that looks pretty good too called Phoenix, should be out in March and will be around 80.

[Smoothound]

I'm going to go a bit against the grain here, only slightly but enough to stir it up :twisted:

I hate the Sim, here is the short version of why, I find it too easy up to a point. I can do all sorts of stuff on the Sim when flying around I can't even get close to repeating on my birds but I find it hard to hover side in and keep it close to one spot. On my real helis side in is a doddle one way and quite easy the other...

Don't get me wrong, Sims are a great learning aid but I don't think they are the best thing for learning the real basics. nothing is better than someone who can actually fly, be it a mate or someone like Ade who runs a training school or if you really need to do it yourself here's the best way to do it...

http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html

[Butuz]

Yeh having looked through RADD's flight school - i believe that if you follow it to the letter - and be absoloutly patient, and dont jump ahead of yourself - you will learn to fly with no problem and hopefully no crashes.

RADD's flight school teaches you absoloute discpline - it yaws round 45 degrees? Thats a crash you stop now and retry. You get it off the floor to soon? Thats a crash you stop now and retry. You go too far forward? Thats a crash you stop now and retry.

If you follow it it avoids the "ahhhh its gone too far forward - aah i can correct it lets just yank back on the stick. oh oh its oh its destroying itself on the cat" type thing that i've done myself.

I know deep down that if i followed rad's flight school i would end up getting to battery #5 and just getting it up and flying around and then crash. But thats just me - i like to jump in with 2 feet

As for not learning on a Micro Heli. Theyre not impossible to fly at all. My mates learning on a Honee Bee FP2, I am learning on a Piccolo FPV2 - so far, hovers. Theyre harder to fly than a big bird yes - but they teach you minute accurate control. What do you think is better?

As for SIM's - i ahve only tried FMS - and thats crap its about as realistic as the ex-Iraqi Minister for Information Have yet to try a proper sim like Realflight. But my PC has the graphical power of a small newt - thus i would actually have to spend 300 on a graphics card, and sim. Sod that rather spend 300 on a heli.

Dont get me wrong i respect ADE's oppinion he does run a flying school after all, and ive seen some of his videos and he is a very good pilot. His method of learning just doesnt fit with me.

Butuz

[XH558]

I can do all sorts of stuff on the Sim when flying around I can't even get close to repeating on my birds but I find it hard to hover side in and keep it close to one spot. On my real helis side in is a doddle one way and quite easy the other...

Don't get me wrong, Sims are a great learning aid but I don't think they are the best thing for learning the real basics. nothing is better than someone who can actually fly

I actually agree with this - I have Reflex XTR and can do circuits and safe recoveries to my hearts content with the sim Eolo - I can do a passable side in and have even flown a 3DMP upside down in a hover ..... but have yet to master even one really good circuit on my Eolo for real 8O
I think its down to one thing and one thing alone - adrenalin :lol: I get no adrenalin rush at all on a sim - in fact its quite tedious - and you know that if you go wrong there's another fully repaired heli waiting in the wings :lol:
Whereas - in real life you know that one mistake will cost you dear and my heart is pumping like a steamhammer :roll:

I do wish I was near someone who can fly helis - I am so far away down here and from plank experience I know that having someone standing next to you instills so much confidence :P

[chappers]

hey BUTUZ i dont think any one is saying micro helis are impossible? they are just different/harder, and not as forgiving.
as for your learning course, again theres no wrong way to learn im a great believer in "if it works for you its right".

[Smoothound]

I was beginning to think that Dongle was my long lost younger brother, now I'm also of the opinion that you might be my Dad Dave

[XH558]

I think that's a compliment Phil - and was taken as such 8)

But then realise that if you are Dongles long lost brother - that also makes me Dongles Dad :twisted:

And by 'long lost' do you mean - in the post - as everything Dongle is connected too seems to disappear into some sort of black hole :lol: :lol:

[Smoothound]

PMSL


I'm just glad someone else doesn't think that Sims are the be all and end all of flying/learning to fly RC helis.

Now if someone fancies popping round and sorting out the vibes I now have on T-Rex 2 I'ds be chuffed to bits :? :cry:

[XH558]

hey BUTUZ i dont think any one is saying micro helis are impossible? they are just different/harder, and not as forgiving.
as for your learning course, again theres no wrong way to learn im a great believer in "if it works for you its right".

With you there Chappers - I went out into a still air garden this evening for the first time in a long time and flew my little Piccolo FP 8) What a joy - took me a few seconds just to get used to it again but was soon hovering about the garden again :lol: Found that my time with the bigger Eolo has actually helped with the Pic and I'm finding it easier than I did before I owned the Eolo