My Story

[HeliNoobie]

Hi everyone ,

im a 20year old wheelchair bound guy who was looking for something new to entertain himself and stumbled across heli's. I started off with the easycopter 2.4ghz from a model shop and within a few weeks (and several spares) i was able to fly it around the house quite competantly.

Being a fool and a newbie i thought i was ready for bigger things and bought myself a Century GL450SE V2 , i paid 289.99 for it brand new with a flight case and 2 lipo's but its totally differant from my little contra heli , i can not seem to get this thing to hover straight at all.

Im not looking to go 3D at all , i have already ordered a airwolf fuselage for the heli and a lighting kit, i just want to make models that look amazing stood still and then enjoy some gentle flying.

Has anyone got any hints or tips for me on how to get this thing actually working? I probably should of joined a forum sooner but i guess it was the frustration of the the GL that pushed me to finally do it,

Regards
Alan

[kevinh]

Hi Mate welcome to the wonderful world off RC helis, first thing is get yourself a simulator phoenix is the most common one on here, plug your controller into the computer and practise like hell.

there is no simple way to handle these helis apart from practise practise and if you get bored more practise.

with regards to the heli was it setup for you where you bought it or have you done it yourself, might need a little fine tuning and trimming, you ask where you bought it from, or the best option is get yourself down to your local heli club where the advise is free and helpful

one last thing hope you have a large wallet once your hooked you just want more helis

[HeliNoobie]

I have done it myself , im aware these are just a trex clone but it will do for now for my first scale heli,

I will get myself a copy of this sim,

how do i find my local club?

Thank you for your advice

[Made2Fade]

Hi and welcome mate, youve joined the right place
All the information you'll need is right here. Check out the BMFA to find your local club.
Check out the videos on here (all you'll ever need), especially the ones CCPM parts 1&2. Diffrent heli (trex 450 sev2) but exactly the same ccpm setup. Loads of other related vids on there also though... ie pitch/throttle curves/blade balancing etc:-
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=41692
Phoenix is a fantastic simulator which most of us use on here and essential when your first learning IMO. Where abouts in Newcastle are ya Alan?

Cheers
Lee

[Eddie]

Alan,

Welcome to the forum....there will always be some one on this site to steer you in the right direction......

Looking forward to joining your experience of how you get on in this great addictive hobby!

[Disc]

Alan,

Welcome to rcheliaddicts

Wayne at our club fly's a T-rex 600e, You can see Wayne's orange 600e in the picture and Wayne's flying just keeps jumping all the time bit's of inverted,loops flips etc



If you wish to go into larger scale the T-rex 600e is ideal and someone on here has put one into an airwolf body and with some small mods the 600e should go into most Funkey 50 size bodies.

You'll get loads of help and advice on this site

[Boggy]

hi alan welcome to the forum.
like all newbies you've done it backwards but its not a disaster , there is loads of info and help here. dont try and fly your heli again till you have posted and read a few more articles. get your self a phoenix flight simulator and practice. and most of all keep asking questions

[HeliNoobie]

In response to Lee , i live in Jesmond , close to the city centre.

Its nice to see somebody else like me enjoying the heli scene , i will be heading for pheonix RC tomorrow morning.

Another thing is that my heli came with a 6 channel radio , with the shell having working retracts and lights do i need another 2 channels or is there a way since i dont wanna go 3d to use the radio i have?

Thank you all for your advice so far and i will definately look to join a club.

Regards Alan

[Boggy]

6 channels may hinder you but there are work around solutions. for example you could link the lights to the throttle channel so they light as you spool up. and link the gear to the gyro so they are down in heading hold and up in rate mode. i dont expect you have a clue what that means so start asking!!!

[Made2Fade]

Hi Alan, i used to work in and out of that area all the time. There used to be a few guys flying from Gosforth... i think it was on the same field as the big fairground comes too. Not sure if they are a club or not but ive seen them there quite a few times. They were flying fixed wing and also helis. Keep ya eyes open.
Ideally you will need a TX with at minimum of 7 channels if you would like to wire things up remotely. Or you could do what Ron has suggested and run them off a Y lead or wire them from a small battery/switch. Theres a number of ways it can be done to be honest but the true scale way is by remote switch so ideally needing another channel. Id recommend a Spektrum DX7 set and AR7000/7100 RX. Really depends how serious your going to get into it and what size machines your willing to scale up/fly. Are you thinking the electric route here or would you like to fly nitro too?

Cheers
Lee

[Disc]

Alan,

If your going Scale and want a transmitter that will last and Not run out of channels to quickly I Recommend a Futaba 10c

The 10c has 10 channels to use so the normal 6 are used on the heli then you have 4 spare for anything you want.

But this tranny isn't as cheap as others and if your staying in the hobby buy one Tranny buy the Right one. Something that does more than cover the basics if you got 7 channel tranny what happens when you run out at needing 8 channels... The transmitter should be looked at as a long term investment.

inwoods will do the 10c with a receiver and no servos at a good price. Although it does come with Futaba 3152's which would be good a for a scale 50 machine (T-rex 600e as an example)

[HeliNoobie]

Lee , i plan on eventually building much bigger scales , 50 size to start with but maybe even an 90 at a later date but i would like to stay away from nitro as i dont want to mess up a nice fuselage with slime and smell. I have had nitro truggies and trucks in the past and i am well aware of the hastle a nitro engine can give , constant tuning , smell , mess , oily residue , all things that made me get rid of the trucks.

With regards to the Transmitter i will probably go with what Disc suggested and get something now to suit me later , will save me some money in the long run. Although i will be getting a DX7 to use with Pheonix and the 450 airwolf (need the extra channel for retracts)

If anyone could suggest a nice heli to base a 90 size scale on that would be great,

thank you all for your fantastic advice,

Just crashed my easy copter again lol nose in is still abit tricky for me lol

[Kwickkwack]

Hi and welcome to this frustrating/rewarding and expensive hobby. you will gain so much from others on this forum as many others have done. You can almost guarentee that whatever question gets asked someone will know the answer the knowledge base is enoumous and more importantly than that it really is a friendly place to be.
good luck with your training you will not be disapointed with Phoenix when it arrives.

[David Drew]

Welcome to the forum & the hobby.

Some of the best brains in this hobby have already posted here so the advice will be good.

You def need help setting up that 450. They are tricky even when set up well, so don't try too much too soon as you will only crash & get depressed. Slowly but surely.

There will certainly be a local club and maybe a forum member close by who can help.

Whatever, enjoy the hobby.

David

[Made2Fade]

Yip Alan what Mark suggested is good then... i assumed you might not be as serious as a 90 size electric. Therefore 10 channels or more is what you should be aiming for. Buy once buy right as has already been said. As far as nitro is concerned... dont be fooled as electric stuff has its downfalls too
Cheers
Lee