running before I can walk ?

[swampy]

hi folks, very new and green to this heli buisiness,(3 weeks now) but just can't shake the bug, , at the moment I'm chasing the dog around the house with a blinged up CX2, but as I'm now at a stage where I can get through a full lipo charge without a crash, make the thing go where I want her to, and it ain't costing me 10 quid a week in blades, I've come to a dilemma,,,,,,
Went over to the shop for my TX lead for the flight sim (Reflex XTR, still can't get the thing to work, thought it would just be a case of choosing a heli from a drop down list, and away I go,,,not so, don't really understand it, and theres no instructions for it),,,anyways, back to the dilemma,,,,methinks I need a bigger heli, saw a built and set-up Raptor 30 V2 at the shop, and sorta fell in love, (never realised the buggers were so big, and this is a little one the guy tells me ) now this would be my first CP after 3 weeks buggering around with the CX2, so, oh wise ones, is this too big a step ? would I be better going for something inbetween (innovator/Blade 400 perhaps?)

,,all thoughts on a postcard please,,,thanks fellas

[opc]

If it were me,I would go for a 50 rappy(this is what I learnt with),same size as the 30 but alot more power.

The bigger the heli the easier they are to fly as there less twitchy and don't get blown about by the wind

[rotorwrecker]

Hi There.My very first heli was a kyosho concept 46vr i had never touched any form of flying r/c and learned on my own to the stable hovering stage with no crashes.as long as your setup is on the soft side you will be ok.The main thing that helped me was learning and understanding setups oh and a csm flight sim which wasnt that good but there are really good ones around now and would be invaluable for a beginner to nitro.Its a bit like driving is a one litre car easier to drive than a three litre? no but you know you have to respect the power.I would say definatly go for it and you wont look back.IMHO.Somone with more experiance may come along with a different view but i say just do it.

Dave.

[Mart61]

I was in a similar place to you a few months back and I went for the T-rex 500.

Alas you will find that you'll get almost as many different opinions as you get answers. Just decide on what you fancy, do your homework (ease of flight, cost of crashes, spares support etc.) and go for it!

Just don't buy anything too obscure - you may find getting spares a problem.

[Si Goodchild]

The Raptor is a great learning heli. If you can get a second hand 50 that you can trust then do it for the reasonos mentioned above, but if you like the 30 then go for it and get flying.

Si

[swampy]

I was in a similar place to you a few months back and I went for the T-rex 500.

Alas you will find that you'll get almost as many different opinions as you get answers. Just decide on what you fancy, do your homework (ease of flight, cost of crashes, spares support etc.) and go for it!

Just don't buy anything too obscure - you may find getting spares a problem.

thanks fellas, this would be my first nitro as well, never played with rc stuff, even as a kid, but this heli bug has me I'm afraid
,,,to be honest, I think I would preffer a kit as my first "prpoer" heli, as then I would know what goes where in the certain event of a rebuild, it has already been a steep learning curve with the CX2, setting her up, seeing where stuff goes, if I tweek that, what happens? ect. I now have her as I want her and am stuggling to comprehend why I had so much bother just holding a hover when I first got her, it all seems so natural now, and in such a short space of time, still having a lot of trouble nose in with airleron control, but its coming

,,,keep it coming

[chemicalbro]

if it were me id have said stay away from the cx2 and go straight for a 50 size nitro.
you;ve found out in just 3 weeks how limited a small contra blade heli is.

these baby steps with toy helis just cost unecessary money if you ask me and dont teach you much about flying a proper CP heli, that money would be better spent on the bigger heli you will inevitably end up buying . contras give a false sense of security because they are so easy to fly. (practice a lot on the sim before you get a bigger collective pitch heli because they are NOT easy to fly)

so no its not too big a step its the step you should have taken to start with .

[shoot51]

Hi, I was recently in the same spot you are in. Started with contra late last year and got myself a sim (phoenix) in Febuary and started to build a rappy 30v2 a little over 4 weeks ago ! Got it built and checked out by LMS and put it in last Sunday (see post) entirely my fault. Re-built in week (cost £43.00) and the photo is this Sunday at club without training gear but with buddy lead and A1 buddy. So for me get yourself a 30 ( you can upgrade it to a 50 later i believe) plenty of sim time and join a club, you will need competent help ! Good luck your gonna luv it! Richard

[Mark_T]

As long as you can join a club and fly somewhere safe then the Raptor is a great choice.

It isn't something to buy and fly down the local park on your own though.

[Mike W]

New raptor 50 is out with all the bits you need minus electronics £450 or there abouts ...I seen one today flying 3D with it and tbh it looks nice

[swampy]

As long as you can join a club and fly somewhere safe
It isn't something to buy and fly down the local park on your own though.

was thinking much the same thing myself Mark when I saw the size of the beast ,,,

[shotgun]

I agree with an earlier reply - go for a 50 size nitro - I would prefer TREX 600 or if you prefer to stick with electrics then TREX 500 but if so you must have at least 3 lipo packs otherwise you will never get enough stick time to learn. Good luck

[Sao]

Another vote for a 50 size nitro here, joining a club and getting BMFA insurance is a must.

[Si Goodchild]

...but bear in mind that if you decide to buy a Raptor 30 with an eye to upgrade to a 50 later then you will, IIRC, effectively be buying new blades (buy carbon or carbon/glass, not wood), tail boom, belt, maingear and pinion, muffler and an engine. There may be a few more bits too. That's quite a lot of money so you would be better off going straight to a 50 if that's where you want to be in the long term. There really aren't many advantages to buying a Raptor 30 over a 50. Fuel consumption is a bit less, and you will find many good 30s at a low initial purchase price, but all the spares cost the same and the 50 is a bit more stable in the wind.

Si

Edit: you'll also need a new engine mount, tail boom supports, tail rotor constant drive gear and cooling fan. Fast Lads doa kit for £75 which includes wooden blades (yuk) and excludes the engine so, like I said, it's a pricey upgrade.

[swampy]

thanks lads, this is just the stuff I need, I must admit, I baulked at the size of the thing, but would have bought her anyways just to sit and look at her, wouldn't dare fire her up,,,,but then, thats not the point is it ? I think my next step will be to join a local club and find out what the craik is, I must admit I have found the limitations of the Cx in a few short weeks, but she still suprises me now and again, just wish she wasn't such a handfull outside in the back garden, that and the bloody lipos never seem to last long enough, just getting into it when she struggles to get a couple of foot of the ground and its time for a recharge, mind you, the bloody motors are that hot that she needs a rest anyways, was thinking of an upgrade to Etreme 180's, as I still feel she has a lot to teach me, and I can still get some stick time in indoors, any thoughts ?