absolute beginner

[redglug]

Hi all,
I've just joined this site in the hope of some usefull info. from all you seasoned flyers out there.

I want a hellicopter that will be possible to fly as a beginner and capable enough to be interesting to fly as I get accomplished. Does this beast exist or am I expecting too much.

My budget is not unlimited, but if it means spending a few pounds now to save spending more later, then all well and good.

I am interested in electric choppers if they are "up to snuff".

Would appreciate knowing what the real outlay would be: chopper, radio, etc. etc.

[fatmantom]

:d :d :d :d :d

[900ss]

Not saying its right but I was advised against a T-rex for a "total" beginner
Start smaller n go for a Twister bell 47, so I did

They say they fly out of the box, but I still stuffed mine countless times lol

[sidy2001]

Welcome redglug. I would recomend getting a sim, Phoenix is the best at the moment and good value at £80 + Futaba FF7 or 9, as you can see if you enjoy flying before you spend your hard earned cash on your first helli as you will be spending about £800 for electric or IC. Hope this helps ,others on this site will give you plenty of help

[Thomas]

Agree, buy a simulator for the PC (http://www.phoenix-sim.com/) and a transmitter (to save in the long run get a 9 channel JR or Futaba) straight away and get started.

If you are serious about the hobby then forget the small electric stuff, get stuck in and buy a 50 sized nitro powered heli, there are a few to choose from, but make you way to your local club and see tham for yourself first(see http://www.bmfa.org/clubs/clist.php)

[900ss]

a t-rex would probably be the best for you

You could always go for this daddy cool one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Align-TRex-450...QQcmdZViewItem

and no its not mine lol

[Raptorite]

Just to put a slightly different perspective on this thread, I'm good at doing that

If you are a beginner now but are keen to make rapid progress in your skills. I would suggest you would become quicky fed up with a little rex. When I have this very discussion with trainees at the field, I alwasy ascertain how much effort they are going to put into learning. If the answer is allot, they will obviously progress much quicker, in which case they are far better off looking at jumping into the 50 size IC market straight away. For those that are not going to get there so quickly, they have a choice between a 30 or a 50 IC model, as I very rarely advise on small electric models as an ideal trainer, mostly because they are far more tempremental and tricky to setup well, which means their flight stability will suffer, the larger ones are far more tollerent of incosistencies in any setup, which means that as you are learning to process of working on and setting up your model, it would ideally be on a larger model.

Obviously you must always have the model checked over by an experienced pilot before attempting to fly it yourself, but it does make you far more indepentant in as much as you can do much of the work yourself.

The other big reason for larger IC models is that they are far less suseptable to things like the wind, so on a day where there is more than a stiff breeze even an experienced pilot would find a small rex a bit of a handful, whereas the larger ones arent so worried by wind, which with the weather in this country the way it is now, could be quite a lot of lost time due to the wind being too high for little electric models such as the rex.

Cheers,
Pete.

[redglug]

A big thank you too all who replied with some very thought provoking replies. I now think my question has been answered, (Where do I start?). So the question of size has been answered-----------.

So. How many servos can a beginner cope with

Can a 6 servo be used for training?

Must a 4 servo be a starting point?

Is it possible to purchase an aircraft that can evolve with pilot skills?

I am a hobbyless ex scuba diver looking for a satisfyingly, challenging, social and engrosing activity. If I do start will I be able to fly anywhere away from public places, or will I need supervision in the early stages?

How hard is it to get pilot qualifications for public display?

[Ade_Law]

something like a knight 50 will suit your needs perfectly. they will do everything from teach to to hover to this:

[ame]http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3394483699280791049&hl=en-GB[/ame]

the knight combined with the right electronics all all you need and it wont break the bank either.

it is important to fly at a flying club, it ensures the site is safe to fly at. there are rules to govern public access and distance from other clubs there will also be experienced pilots that will help you set the model up and get it flying properly and maybe even help you learn to fly too.

another thing worth looking at is a simulator. it will help you pick up the skills without the risk of crashing. Phoenix is currently the best out there. www.phoenix-sim.com

Ade

[gazza]

Can a 6 servo be used for training?

Must a 4 servo be a starting point?

Hi mate!

I think you're getting confused with 4 & 6 channel helicopters.

A 4-Channel R/C helicopter has four basic controls; throttle, rudder, cyclic (left & right) and cyclic (forwards & backwards). The main rotor blades of a 4-channel helicopter are fixed in pitch (the angle of the blades do not change). The lift is created by increasing the RPM of the rotor blades by increasing the throttle.



A 6-Channel helicopter has collective pitch. This means that the lift is not just generated from increasing the RPM of the rotor blades, but also by increasing the pitch of the main rotor blades. This principle is exactly the same as a real helicopter. The main rotor blades are connected to a mechanism which gradually increases the angle of the blades (pitch) as you increase the throttle. This relationship between throttle and pitch requires accurate set-up for good control, but once set-up correctly is more precise than a 4-channel helicopter. The throttle and pitch are controlled using the same stick on the transmitter

These days generally the small electric helis you find on ebay are 4ch fixed pitch, or the small contra-rotating bladed helis such as th Twister Bell.

Having never owned a fixed pitch heli I couldnt really comment on how they fly mate, but most if not all of the range of larger electric and nitro helicopters are collective pitch nowadays.

Personally speaking, I got into the helicopters the hard, expensive and dangerous way.
I saw a programme about model helis on Sky, fancied a crack at it and went out and bought a Raptor 30 nitro heli.
I was already flying model aircraft, so I did have some experience regarding nitro engines etc which did help somewhat, but read on!!!

I wouldnt recommend going it alone. Basically you are in control of a spinning scythe, and it will seriously injure or kill you, damage property, or worse- Others.
I was impatient, reckless and stupid. I didnt think so at the time but looking back I cant believe how I got away with not killing myself.

I had no Idea about pitch curves, throttle curves, balancing etc, it was all guess work & ignorance due to impatience. I had many close shaves including a full throttle runaway, and a blade failure due to excessive headspeed. I also had many expensive crashes.

I would suggest- A ) you buy a sim and a cheap transmitter or a Twister bell 47 electric. As advised the Sim to have at the moment is Phoenix. Its excellent and will become an invaluable training aid to you. I only wish It had been available six years ago!! The Twister bell is a great little electric heli and costs around 120 quid. My friend has one and its a buzz to fly.
Stay away from the cheap electric crap outfits you see on ebay.
They come with crap batteries, crap chargers, crap components fitted and iffy spares backup.

B) You buy a complete 30 or 50 sized nitro outfit such as the knight, Sceaudu or Raptor and find and join a club. Club list available on the BMFA website. You could get a 30 or 50 size electric heli such as the Century Swift ( Which I have) or the Trex600 but the initial outlay cost can be phenomenal as the batteries are £100 each minimum.

Most decent 6ch helis you get will last you from the beginner to advanced stages, and can be set up mechanically to suit beginners or advanced.
How well you take to the hobby and how much stick time you get will be the deciding factor to your limits!
But above all, help and advice is out there.

Good luck mate.

[Ade_Law]

from experience if you want to fly the bigger models, just get one. get a sim and get some help.

the small contra rotating stuff like the twister bell and easycopter does work. however its more about money than anything else. sometimes noobs have a hard time justifying 700+ukp to themselves and spending <150ukp to get them flying is much more attractive.

however ultimately most will upgrade to a big heli and sim. so going the "cheap" route is actually more expensive *IF* you stay in the sport and you will still have some learning to do when you transfer as the ones that fly nice in a living room arena will be a little too stable.

i have seen people come out to the field with a new model after doing a fair bit of sim time. I have set the model up for them and stuck them on the buddy lead.

within a few flights they can be flying solo.

Ade

[AGW]

Just to add my 2p!

I have a T-Rex 600 which is a 50 size electric heli, I started flying in August and it's my first and only helicopter! I did however buy a SIM first and found it invaluable for getting the basics and even a bit further down the line for more daring stuff

Don't be put off by bigger electric heli's they are expensive to set up compared to an equivalent IC but over a years flying the cost isn't too dissimilar (Depending on how many flights you put in )

Just remember as a rule Bigger = More stable (Usually )

I paid about &#163;1500 for my T-Rex 600 setup, but you would get the same setup cheaper now!

Andy