New to rc helis

[DaveMac]

Hello,

I have been looking around for a new hobby, something that will give me alot in return for some hardwork and this seems to fit the bill. As with everything their is so much choice, why cant their just be an A or B option! I thought of getting an E-sky honeybee which can be had for around £100, but then starting looking at others and really like the look of the Raptor 30 as its likely to last me a bit longer than the honey bee and its nitro which appeals to me being a real engine etc. I have previously had a nitro rc boat.

Other options were the T-Rex 250, but im a bit confused as to what the differences between the honey bee and T-Rex 250 are given its over 4 x the price, is this all down to enginnering quality of the parts?

Also, is the Raptor 30 still in production as it does'nt seem to be available at alot of the online stores mentioned on the forums.

I'm not going into this blind, I know crashing is inevitable.

Thanks,
Dave

[Mslater]

Hello,

I think you answered your price question. Yes quality and design = more expensive. BUT also = more pleasurable and less trouble.

I have the Honeybee king 3 - just a frustrating £100.

Moved on to a Trex 450 Clone and learned to hover - Crashed it when the head exploded.

Got a true blue Trex450 SE. Really nice, much easier to fly and turned out to be an investment - didn't crash it but sold it on for not much less than I paid for it.

Got a Mikado Logo 400 - Beautiful to fly, very stable and lots of power for later on.

Now moving to Trex 600N


Raptor 30 is nice but the 50 is better, you can get them on line from Revolution Models Raptor Helicopters There is a good deal on Raptor 30 towards the bottom of the page.

[simon1]

trex 450 sport

[derrick]

Raptor 50 the only way to go for a begginner, started with a 450 then moved onto the raptor, so stable i won't say easy to fly they ain't but you will love one.
Del

[challis349]

Like has been said already, you tend to get what you pay for, there are some exceptions, some clones, I have seen, fly pretty well and tend to be cheaper than an align, which honeybee is it ure receding to, the fp or the king? The fp is a 4ch the king 3 is a 6ch and the trex 250 is a 6ch,

Depends also on where you will be flying, and how much money you have to spend on parts, it's been said on here a few times, don't buy the best possible heli you can afford to buy, buy the best you can afford to crash!!!!!

I have a 450 electric, and this when I get going, you can fly in quiet parks, but I wouldn't advise using the raptor 30 or 50 in the park!! They're just to large, find a club and fly there, also look at rcha insurance, which is £30 for the year

[Ayrobat]

Welcome Actuator

The best plan would be to go to a local club and get a look at the helis the folks there are flying.

Waterfoot heli club is close to you, >> Link <<.

PM raptorheli2 or one of the other members I'm sure they'll be happy to provide advice.

Pete

[simon1]

Raptor 50 the only way to go for a begginner, started with a 450 then moved onto the raptor, so stable i won't say easy to fly they ain't but you will love one.
Del

agreed much more stable and easier to fly, but much much more expensive to crash, especially with carbon main/tail blades.

[chockymonster]

As a beginner myself I'm amazed at the difference in the Raptor to the 450.
The 250 is a very skittish little bird and really not ideal to learn on!

The Raptor is really stable, it's much easier to learn to fly with and does fill you with confidence. They don't have to be expensive to repair.
The 450 is cheap to fix and can be tamed down but it will never be as stable as the Rappy.

[shikari_chaos]

New to rc helis

I started off with a cheap RTF 325/450 sized heli and almost instantly regreted buying it! I bought a decent set of electronics for it that transformed it. I learnt to hover with it but it always felt very wishy washy so i decided to man up and buy a decent air frame (mini Titan se) for the electronics I'd already purchased. From that point on it filled me with confidence and my flying quite literally took off!! I learnt circuits on it and thought Hmm ok maybe I can justify another heli Raptor 50 here I come!! Me and my more experienced friend got the heli up and running but TBH The size of it scared the life out of me!! A massive carbon fibre cutting disc under my control! Shizza!! Probably now six months later and I now love it and throw it around the sky with a grin from ear to ear.
Basically what I'm saying is 1.You buy right, you'll buy once.
2. Big helis are scary to fly and you have to have a lot more responsibility with. IMO
3. Welcome to one of the most satisfying hobbies in the world

[stumpe]

Can't really add more than has already been said, apart from get some spares for whichever Heli you buy and then get some more spares, you will crash (fact) and when your learning you don't want to be grounded with no spares.

Also check out so of the finless bobs Heli videos on helifreak to learn about setting up a Heli, repairing, eletrics, gyro etc.

Just try and buy a decent gyro as when I 1st started I had a cheap gyro but this caused more crashes due to the inability to hold a steady heading.

Lee

ps batteries from hobbyking are just great and cheap

[spunkmyer]

Did you say HoneyBee.... no stay away for them... start off with either a 450 leccy or got straight for a 50 size nitro... A raptor 50 set with -4 and +6 will break you in gently.. but stay away from the se titan as a bit to advanced at this stage

[waveydavey]

Crashing is not a fact. I have done so on a number of occasions but compare that to a 13 year old lad in the club who has gone from total beginner to B cert in less than a year and never had an in. Another member been in the club for around 3 years, flys a Knight 3D and an Avro and again hasn't had an in. The flip side is someone in the club is trying to learn inverted and can't even fly a circuit yet, in fairness it's his model and his money but it certainly wouldn't be and isn't my approach.

It all depends on how you approach your flying and how much natural ability you have. Like every activity in the world you get those that are natural, those that are not and then and I count myself in this bracket the mediocre. We all try to do things with a heli that either is beyond us and always will be or that we haven't really understood what is required from our fingers/thumbs and noodle.

I didn't have a crash until I was over a year into the hobby and I'd passed my A cert, and then it was mechanical, admittedly that last dozen or so have been down to me, unfortunately. What I'm saying really is don't assume your going to crash it sets a bad vibe to start with, be confident in what your trying to do, master the basics and then master them again until it becomes second nature, learn to hover. No, really learn to hover, stable and in all orientations before moving the heli around the field, this will set you out on a good footing.

This is what normally happens, learn to hoverish into idle up, flip, what the ####, rebuild.

[DaveMac]

Thanks for all the replies... It does seem that the bigger the heli the more stable it will be. I'm trying to work out the possible cost of Nitro, how long a flight am I likely to get out of a Raptor 50 with a full tank assuming its running the correct mixture?

I had a problem with my Nitro boat, it did'nt have a clutch as soon as I put the glow plug in and pulled the starter it was off and running, I take it the blades of my heli wont start spinning as soon as its fired up?

Thanks

[Al M]

I thought I would throw in my tuppence worth, being a newbie too.

I am learning to fly on a Raptor 30 V2. I had great fun building it, although bits of it did need tweaked when the guys at the club looked over it. Now I am learning to fly, I have hovered it... well, kept it off the ground for a few mins. Having researched the various models I found with the Raptor that it is stable and spares are plentiful. So based on my limited experience, I would say the Raptor is a great start point.

[alex]

no one has mentioned a flight sim yet- someone always mentions a flight sim
Welcome m8- I am 5 months in and it is one of the most rewarding things I have done hobby wise.

Most people have Phoenix Flight Sim- it is well worth every penny and is also quite fun. It will teach you loads and also allow you to practice when it is dark/raining.

I have done gradual progression but feel you can miss out some steps.

My main point is that when I got my 450 size heli, even that seemed big and scary and took a while to get settled with. The 500 seemed big for a few days but now seems right and is not looking small. If you have less than 2 acres to fly in, a 50 will seem big, hence the advice to join a club if you are going big. I have a local 2 acre field I fly in and even the 500 is seeming a bit small in it once I start doing faster circuits.

I think a 500 would have really freaked me out to learn on- I remember the first time I spun up the blades on the 450. I had an Innovator which is a great heli to learn on and taught me a lot and is quite stable, but can be cranked up. If I did it again, I would still get a 450 size heli to start with.

I have seen people with 50 size helis who are learning, but are still nervous of them and I am sure it is really slowing their flying skills and confidence.

The Raptor 30 looks really nice, get a 50 if you want, it's your choice in the end, but it will scare you and it will take some good sim time to not feel out of your depth.

All my points come from learning alone- it may well be easier in a club. I have joined a club at last