Newbie

[ntlsurfer]

implulse 2500 and 2100 are good choices

[ntlsurfer]

and realflight g4 is the best sim i have used never off it

[Sk8ergrl]

I'm afraid the words cheap and heli don't go too well together

true but I've heard of ones that are cheaper then eflite ones I think they are maxpoly

[Xige]

Hey Welcome to the forum=) I'd highly recommend a sim to practise & learn the basics. Some good simulators are:

- Phoenix
- Realflight G4/5
- Aerofly Pro Deluxe

I'm still a beginner myself, and found that practise on a sim really helped for the basics.
The cheapest sim i've seen is RC Heli Master, around £20 on ebay with a transmitter included.

All the best =)

[chemicalbro]

i was just speaking in general
I don't know anything about electric helis

[inferno]

You can easily run your laptop as a dual boot, just using xp for phoenix, or as you must know something about computers to run linux in the first place, try using WINE (i havent got it working yet mind), or a virtual xp box.

Welcome to the forum BTW

Have you looked for local clubs? Im guessing your about 40mins away from Retford , North Notts club...

[Sk8ergrl]

You can easily run your laptop as a dual boot, just using xp for phoenix, or as you must know something about computers to run linux in the first place, try using WINE (i havent got it working yet mind), or a virtual xp box.

Welcome to the forum BTW

Have you looked for local clubs? Im guessing your about 40mins away from Retford , North Notts club...

Hi inferno, My parents live in mansfield so are there any clubs near there? I've used wine on ubuntu but its very basic and directx 10 will not work as that's windows and phoenix requires to run. I don't have enough disk space to make my laptop dual boot.

[woody]

Hi inferno, My parents live in mansfield so are there any clubs near there?

Hi Jayme and welcome to the forum

You might be able to locate a club near Mansfield by looking on the bmfa website

[Boggy]

true but I've heard of ones that are cheaper then eflite ones I think they are maxpoly

maxpoly are great batteries
http://www.maxpoly.co.uk/site2/index...&products_id=4
these are out of stock at the mo but better than the 1800(more fly time about 8 mins)

[unwind-protect]

The fixed pitch heli that I have is from ebay its Dragon fly rc helicopter UK1691PNK from http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dragon-Fly-RC-...QQcmdZViewItem

It doesn't look to me like that heli even has a swashplate.

If so, you might find it a bit of a big jump up to a collective pitch helicopter.

[aircooled1968]

hi,

everyone on here is helpful with all questions including daft ones from me, make sure you get spare blades cos if your owt like me you will break a few

chris

[heliTV]

Hi Sk8ergrl and welcome.

The Blade 400 is a good little helicopter but can be tricky to start with!

The advice already posted is good especially concerning the simulator - essential in my view...

Training gear won't prevent crashes unless you're very careful and don't hover above a few inches off the ground...

Take a look at http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html for some pointers... also, make sure you use Boggy's taming settings on the DX6i.

Above all, take it really easy when you first start, you won't believe how unstable it is, but its such a buzz when you get the thing hovering for the first time!!!

Regarding batteries, I use Tornados from Hobby Hangar - much better than the E-flite ones - http://hobby-hangar.co.uk/product/to...t22004rs1801_/

Best of luck, and keep posting any questions...

Graham

[machasm]

Hi Jayme,
Welcome to the best heli forum bar none.
You have come to the right place for help and support and here is my advice to you.
Do not even attempt to fly the blade before you have had a chance to fly a CP (collective Pitch) heli on a simulator.
Without sounding rude you will definately crash within seconds of lift-off leaving you without a heli until you have repaired it.
As far as batteries go for now I wouldn't bother. Again without sounding too negative you may find that after not heeding my previous advice that an extra LiPo isn't going to do you much good if the heli is in bits and the money you spend on one could be better spent repairing the heli.
Do not be dissillusioned YOU WILL CRASH its just part of the game I'm afraid and there isn't one of us here that hasn't done so be he a novice or a complete expert.
The charger that came with the blade isn't great but should do you for now.
So, hold off buying extras, be it bling or lipos until you can manage a hover for a whole pack then grab one or two cheap lipos to give you some extra stick time.
As has already been said, training gear will not prevent a crash (indeed sometimes they are the cause of one!).
I hope I have not put you off and once mastered heli flying gives you a buzz like no other so stick at it. With patience and perserverance I am sure that you will become an excellent pilot and a valuable forum member.

[moonmanflyer]

Hi Jayme and welcome to the forum.
Sim is a must if you don't want the blade to end up in bits, and as you have the dx6i, phoenix would be the best choice.
Second girl on the forum Guys, Woody (sue) is also here.

[Sk8ergrl]

Thanks again guys for your warm welcome to this forum. I know that I have made the right choice joining up here . As for the simulator well i'm not sure if it will work on my desktop as the gfx card is quite old an Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x specs are below:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce4mx.html

I hope Phoenix will play ok on that running winxp pro. Does the blade 400 kit come with a usb cable for the sim then?