Nitro vs Electric

[immortal]

Hi,

Thinking of buying my first big helicopter soon so need to decide on electric vs nitro.

The nitros ive seen were nice but all smoked alot and tbh that put me off a bit as real helicopters dont smoke like that. Is there anything you can do to stop the smoking on nitro?

Are electric just as good? faster? slower?

Sorry for all the questions but dont know alot about it.

Matt

[sacko]

Elecs are more expensive. Been covered a few times and the info in the search is probably better than I could offer.

[Si Goodchild]

Beginner + Large Heli = Nitro. If you crash a large electric such a TREX 600E/ESP it'll cost you a fortune in wrecked batteries. Perhaps one of the few exceptions would be a TREX 500 which is cheaper to buy and run and generally doesn't wreck the battery if you plant it in. It all depends whether a 500 is big enough for you.

You can't stop the smoke of a nitro, but you can get used to it!

[LaurenceGough]

Elecs are more expensive. Been covered a few times and the info in the search is probably better than I could offer.

They're only expensive upfront, over the long run electrics are cheaper.


Electric all the way here, but I like nitro for the smell and smoke, it still doesn't offset all of the benefits of electric.

Fly what you like but you can't ignore the benefits of electric.

Electrics can be faster (more powerful), generally weigh less, vibrate less, cheaper per a flight, make less noise (can hear the best blade noise), have little to no maintenance, consistent performance everyday and are cleaner but it depends on the set-up and model of course.

I would say the damage is about the same, I mean electrics it's possible to damage the lipo but with a nitro you have a soft muffler and a nitro engine to damage on top of that, plus with the chances of a chicken dance where the motor stays full throttle in a crash I would dare say that electrics crash better + they tend to be lighter.

A final note, a lot of people have only flown old electric helicopters, which does not give a view of today's modern set-ups and models.

[moonmanflyer]

Have you considered a gasser like the century radikal, don't think they produce smoke and will cost pennies to run compared to both elec and nitro, they just won't have the same punch

[sacko]

Agreed, but the costs of a hard crah would worry me. Also the power delivery in cold conditions, at least with nitro it is pretty consistant.

[immortal]

Its probably best to state what i will be doing with it too.

I have absolutely no plans or passion for 3d flying (to be honest i dont like it and dont think it represents realism , but thats only my opinion)

All i want it for is to have fun and fly like a normal helicopter

Matt

[gorber]

In my short experience I have found lipos to be a total pain. They are expensive, break for no apparent reason and the whole palava with charging them is annoying.

Admittedly electrics can be very powerful, my 500 goes like stink, but for me nitro is the best. I have learned to love the sound of the engine and the smell of the smoke and my nitro is firmly my favourite heli.

[immortal]

In my short experience I have found lipos to be a total pain. They are expensive, break for no apparent reason and the whole palava with charging them is annoying.

Admittedly electrics can be very powerful, my 500 goes like stink, but for me nitro is the best. I have learned to love the sound of the engine and the smell of the smoke and my nitro is firmly my favourite heli.

If i had 2 or 3 batteries fully charged would changing the battery be as long as filling the tank up with fuel for the nitro?

[asomaro]

Matt,

Its true that batteries cost a fair bit, especially for the big 600/700 heli's. However, costs for the smaller 450 and 500 size is very good now.

There are always going to be those of us that prefer electric to nitro and visa versa, a lot of this is based on experience, personal taste and cost of flying. But generally speaking, the bigger the heli the more its going to cost to run (obviously).

There have been some comparisons made for "per flight" costs, but the fact is that electric costs are coming down all the time. Not so long ago a 6s lipo battery would have cost more than £100, now they can be found for £35 or less. (I got 3 almost brand new 6s lipos and a fusuno canopy for my Trex 500 for £50 recently - so bargains are out there!!)

I'd suggest that you take a trip to your local club (I think you got an invite from them in your new members introduction thread?). You will get to see the various heli's in action and then you can delve a bit deeper.

Take your time, there's no hurry! In addition, if you want to spend some money right now, then it would be well worth your while getting the Phoenix simulator (many of us use this one as it's the best out there imoh) and perhaps a good second hand (or new) transmitter. You will be able to learn a lot and reduce your crash/repair costs.

Have fun.

[gorber]

If i had 2 or 3 batteries fully charged would changing the battery be as long as filling the tank up with fuel for the nitro?

No, filling the tank would take slightly longer. But are you really going to be fulfilled with just 2 or 3 flights in a day? And, of course you will have to spend time charging them when you get home.

[J-S-Q]

I'd say it's really all down to personal preference. Some people just find the addition of a nitro engine makes things that bit more fascinating. There's many pro's and cons on each side but it just boils down to which one you find more appealing. You'll probably get more power out of an electric but you'll probably get more actual time in the air out of a nitro. The cost issue is a lottery depending on whether you crash and damage a Lipo after only a few flights or whether you have a battery just run out of steam after a short lifespan. Equally you might have an issue with your nitro engine causing expensive damage due to overheating. etc etc etc...

[trillian]

Just my two cents worth. I have two 450 electrics, several nitros and a few gassers.

In my experience with my particular helis the nitros have been the most reliable, consistent and trouble-free on average.

I guess it's down to luck sometimes but I have had a string of problems with electric helis and I treat them with the same degree of care and attention I do the nitros. Others have had the opposite experience between electric and nitro.

For scale I think electric is often a better choice due to not having to worry about routing the exhaust and having a more realistic sound (if it's a model of a turbine heli).

[LaurenceGough]

In my short experience I have found lipos to be a total pain. They are expensive, break for no apparent reason and the whole palava with charging them is annoying.

The above is true for many users with nitro, who lean out their engines too much and damage them.


Lipos need to be treated within the rules just like nitro engines. Neither will go wrong unless treated wrong (other than the fact that they both wear out over time).

I love being able to just plug in a battery, go fly, land, plug in another, go fly, no tuning, no messing around just consistent performance hundreds of flights in. (Charging in the background, again just plug the lipo in, push a button and it charges with most chargers).


As for batteries, well at a club you normally don't fly flight after flight, so that time waiting = charging time. With modern packs and chargers charge times are as low as 20 minutes, often charging more than one pack at once too. So if you have 4-6 packs you can fly pretty much non-stop. Changing lipos takes about the same time as to fill a tank.


Flight times, again depending on set-up are about the same for both. I recently built a Mikado Logo 600 which is not only lighter than the equivalent nitro but also flies for the same amount of time with a TON of more power.

Generally people with electric helis tend to go for stupid power over longer flight times - longer flight times would be better for the non 3D flyer. About 10 mins is possible for a large electric if set-up for a gentle power.

[gorber]

Neither will go wrong unless treated wrong (other than the fact that they both wear out over time).

This is simply not true.

I have had several batteries fail without mistreatment within a few cycles.