Hi there!Bought Phoenix for a start!Any trainers near the lakes?

[rick123]

Hi all new here. Havnt tried helis yet only (planes and cars) bought the flight sim Phoenix to have a practice on and a cheap futaba tx for it.Sorry if this has been answered loads of times but does anyone know of any trainers in the lakes? or near? iv tried emailing my local club at barrow and also kendal and have had no reply as of yet i think there more into planes. Are there any 6 channel cheap (worth buying) model helis to practice on? or would Phoenix teach me the basics. I have learnt my lesson with my cars dont buy cheap stuff to start with as you end up buying twice. I am looking at the raptor 30 or 50 for a heli but i deffo need someone to teach me. Ill probably spend a while just using the sim and see how it goes.

Thank you

[gazza]

Hiya Rick & welcome to the forum!

I'm sorry I cant help you regarding a trainer but regarding buying a heli to learn on then a Rappy 30 or 50 will do you fine, as long as its for the right money & you dont buy a heap if purchasing second hand.
Phoenix will teach you a hell of a lot, it has me. A cheap 6ch electric heli outfit will be of no benefit to you and will give you aggro & cost you money...You'll benefit loads more from a good sim like Phoenix & It'll be a long long time before you outgrow it

The Twister medevac & bell 47 are good fun to practice with around the house and are very stable, as are other contra-rotating twinblade helis. They will teach you the basics but are no good for outdoor use.

Hope this helps a little!

[moyesboy]

Looks like my old club is still one of the strongest in Cumbria but that is at Kirkbride, near Carlisle (C&DMAC) in the north.
There are clubs in Furness and Kendal that you found, and some guys in West Cumbria, mainly slope gliders. There was a club at Penrith years ago but it looks like that folded!

[Ice Man]

I'd Say get something with at least a belt / gear driven tail and a good gyro. it has to be collective pitch too. Those are the key elements. IMO

btw i'm a novice too and have a sabre at the mo.

my brother just got an Aplus 400 which is cheap at 150 quid needing just a transmitter and receiver to fly, but is is really stable and well put together.
It came with a 400 brushless, esc, servo's etc. and all aluminium ballraced head, ccpm (120º combined cyclic and collective pitch mixing on 3 servos) etc.

A TREX 600 or similar would be even better... or 30/50 nitro... especially if you are flying outdoors.... Good Luck

Basically don't get a small fixed pitch heli like i did if you can afford not too.

PS if you are an absolute beginner you could get a 1 chanell UFO like my daughter flies PMSL!

[canopycreations]

a flight sim will teach you stick movements and how the heli will respond to said inputs the best bet is too get in touch with a training school and try the real thing out before spending any money
if you like it then id forget a 30 size and go straight for the 50 as you will only upgrade to a 50 later on so dont waste your money on something you will outgrow very fast (all going well that is)
best bet is to go for a raptor as there are plenty about and every club has got at least one so help setting it up will not be a problem also parts are in nearly every model shop in the country so no waiting too rebuild if gravity gets the better of you

[rick123]

Thanks for the replies. Still havnt recieved pheonix yet. I ordered from als hobbies but they have a computer prob at the moment so wont be dispatched til monday so i still have time to change the order. Does any one know if the items below are compatable and will work with the sim and tx? Cant wait tho wana have a go using a heli. Iv ordered a cheap radio transmiter futaba just to get used to the controls. I dont know which one i want to use with a real model yet. Ordered the square connect cable for the futaba transmitter does anyone know if this is right?

transmitter futaba 6exhp
http://www.alshobbies.com/shop/looku...?pc=4627&Desc=

Futaba phoenix flight sim adaptor
http://www.alshobbies.com/shop/looku...?pc=6078&Desc=

Thanks for any help.
Rick

[Ade_Law]

i would def recomend stepping up to the futaba 7c or DX7

more money but worth every penny

Ade

[canopycreations]

if i didnt have a jr 9x id go for the dx7 deff fantastic bit of kit

[rick123]

Losing interest rapidly

First of all thanks for your replys they were helpful i went with DX7. There doesnt seem to be any clubs at all in my area (one that doesnt reply to emails and has no phone numbers!!! also is plane mad from what i see on their really crap website) iv tried the BMFA website someone else has posted on there about clubs or trainers near the lakes and they got no joy! Ill try posting again on there later on when accounts activated. Their isnt even any local shops around this area that i can contact about clubs. Im frustrated because i dont want to just go and try to learn to fly in a public field as i would be a danger to myself and others which no doubt stop to watch as they pass!! Any how thats my rant over sorry about that. If any one knows of anything or place near me just let me know thanks.

[moyesboy]

...I see you are actually in Barrow in furness.
When I was young there was a model shop there run by Kevin Caton's dad (Kevin is still flying planks in FAI pattern aerobatics but lives down south now). There was an active plank flying club then.
You'll maybe have to go into Lancashire to find other heli flyers.

[rick123]

Trex 450 instead! what ya reccon

Haha nice. Thanks for looking. I dont mind travelling to Preston only an hour away. I had to do that when i raced rc cars. So if there are any people who can teach around that area oit would be helpful. Failing that iv been looking at the trex 450 to fly in garden! But the cost ends up nearly the same if not more than a nitro. Iv looked for ages the set up i would get is

Trex 450 se
hitec 65 servos x3
futaba 401 + futaba servo

I aint sure about battery and charger. I dont wanna be messing around soldering, balancing etc. Want a charger to just do it all without me having to worry, and battery that has suitable connectors without me having to solder. Any suggestions what to go for? Then i can add up the cost of the whole kit. If i go for this im tempted to order from HK!

Thanks

[robgt]

This kokam pack and this cellpro charger.

You will have to solder a Deans connector onto the ESC that comes with your kit (you have to solder a connector and motor bullet connectors onto it regardless as it doesn't come with them soldered onto it).

That Kokam pack comes fitted with a Deans connector.
That charger will keep that pack in tip top condition for several hundred flights. All you have to do is plug it in!
Cheers,
Rob

[Ade_Law]

with the lack of really local stuff i would personally get a bunch of sim time in. post a couple of recordings for us to watch and advise on any problems your having.

once you can hover confidently get down to rob for an hour or 2. its a treck for you but its worth it to sweeten up what you have learnt on the sim.

as for local clubs. most clubs will give you their location on the website. if you turn up about midday on a weekend when the weather is nice there is bound to be somebody there

another option is to phone up the bmfa head office they should give you a phone number or atleast an address. I strongly recommend not mentioning helis until you have had a really good chat with them tho. some clubs dont allow helis others discourage them and a few embrace them!

its a sad state of affairs :-(

steer well clear of a micro. horrible nasty things, finicky, difficult to setup and fly and generally a pain in the arse.

Ade

[moyesboy]

I know aide doesn't like micros.
They are twitchy (though actually I'm stuggling to get mine responsive enough as its not std align parts).
They are diffuicult to fly in a strong wind.

On the plus side if you are contemplating flying/learning on your own then they are less intimidating and you can learn to hover one in your garden.

Flying its about in fast forward flight needs a fair bit of space and it is more difficult with a micro. If you don't have a constant plan what you are going to do next it soon gets far enough away to become very small and difficult to bring back.

The trex is the way to go as it is very popular which .makes spares readily available and there are many low cost after market parts. It is a bit twitchy they say for beginners though.
Yuo could try the dragonus which has variable head setup so can be made stable or lively. Cost is similar to trex SE.

Its difficult to learn to fly aerobatics with a micro as it is never far from the ground and it is completely unforgiving of mistakes. The only reprieve is spares are cheap.

someone recently posted that it is fine to learn to hover with a micro, but after that its gets difficult to progress. He went on to a larger nitro heli and progressed much quicker. Now he is back flying the trex regularly and finds it fun again having mastered some manoevres first on the larger heli. I agree with that and will get a bigger heli soon.
Sorry not to credit that poster whoever he was .

Phoenix is great but even if the simulation was perfect it doesn't reproduce the emotional problems that are there flying a real rc heli.

If I was a lottery winner and had a team of taiwanese guys constantly building and tuning the helis for me I could fly them like I do on Phoenix!

[robgt]

Phoenix is great but even if the simulation was perfect it doesn't reproduce the emotional problems that are there flying a real rc heli.

Like butt-pucker
LOL
Cheers,
Rob