Pre-Purchase Advice

[eastleighRC]

Hello everyone. I am new here.

I do not own a helicopter yet but I am thinking of getting one. I have no experience at all with RC. Whilst on holiday in Charmouth a couple of weeks ago I saw some people with them and now want to check it out.

I have about £150 to spend to start with. I have no idea how much spare parts cost or how much a newbie would expect to spend before becoming reasonably proficient. I would really appreacite some guidance as to a suitable beginners model and what I am realistically going to spend in the first year to keep it air-worthy...

Thanks,
Russell

[Steve]

It'll cost you about £600 to get an IC (with an engine) 30 size basic heli into the air for starters.

£150 total budget gets you, errr, well, not very much really - at best, a small indoor childs toy, not much more.

[Ade_Law]

as the manager said, 150ukp wont get you into the big stuff. however it will get you a step up in the sport.

something like this

http://www.jperkinsdistribution.co.u...%20-%20Twister

work great, they are indoors only tho but you cant get anything that will fly properly outdoors for the amont of money you want to spend.

one word of adice tho. you have 2 shops local to you. neither offer their customers proper support so dont deserve your money.

take a look at

www.skylinemodels.co.uk
www.mrmodels.co.uk

both offer great service

if you decide you want to spend some more money then take a trip down to wimborne to dorset model helicopter club and have a chat with the guys we will show you what its all about and help decide on a realistic budget for what you want out of the sport.

Ade

[ChrisB]

I can comment on Hobbystores in Southampton

Just keep walking past the door

[stuartetheridge]

Hi There
The manager is totally correct with regards to IC models.

Pobably the best thing you can do with the budget you have would be to buy one of the contra-rotating indoor models. There are a few to choose from. They will at least get you started with the basics and teach you some orientation skills.
The other positive thing with these models is they are (to a degree) pretty resilient and the parts are not too expensive.

You will save yourself money on spares buy 1)buying a training under carriage, 2) taking your time and being patient and 3) getting hold of a simulator. Even the free FMS simulator will help although I'm sure many will advise you to just spend your entire budget on one of the commercial sims, and that may well be good advice if you don't mind not physically flying for a while.

The thing to note with these small models is that they are really for indoor use except on very calm days. I would stay clear of the various single rotor fixed and collective pitch models around. They look more impressive than the contra-rotating models but are very twitchy and difficult to master.

Whatever you buy you will probably have to do some tweaking - don't believe for a second the "factory test flown" rubbish.

I hope the above helps a little. I was in your position not that long ago and made the mistake of trying to learn with a twister CP which just frustrated me so much i very nearly gave up on the whole thing. I have now invested the money and bought a Raptor 50 which is awesome but it was a big gamble to take having never really got to far with the twister. A contra would have been far more valuable experience I'm sure.

Whatever you decide don't be put off. I don't think there is anything wrong with starting out with something small and electric to see if it's for you and then maybe moving on to an IC or bigger more serious electric when funds allow.

Stu

[Guest]

I'm a recent newbie and I learned on the SIM
I was hovering the really thing first time on buddy and second time out with someone watching and on my own the third time out

On your budget now, I would recommend you get the Phoenix SIM (£79.99) and a Futaba 7CP Tx (£110.00). OK that's £190
(Check your computer first to see if can run Phoenix SIM)

Learn and practice on the SIM at home and visit the field and just watch others, see what they fly, the equipment they use etc. It's like practical window shopping

If the hobby is not for you, you can still sell the Tx and SIM for a reasonable price
If you decide to get a heli, you will already have a Tx, and the SIM to practice on before you try it on the real thing
With a toy heli on your budget you will be throwing it away because it won't be worth anything
Bouncing around on training carriage and crashing a few times until you can hover is going to take longer to learn and cost you more

It's hard to tell someone on a low budget to get something decent when one can afford it
I can say that I can afford it, BUT I can also say I'm STINGY and look for the BEST OPTIONS
This might not be YOUR best option so just take in what advice and decide

[eastleighRC]

Thanks

Well, thank you all very much for replying. There is a lot of information to take in here and also some terminology that I need to become familiar with. I am thinking that I may may take some time out to visit a club. This will give me a chance (correct me if I am wrong) to see some of the kit up close and understand what we are talking about. Can anyone give me links to local clubs in my area? I am in Eastleigh which is near Southampton and Winchester...

[Guest]

http://www.bmfa.org/clubs/clist.php
select your area and choose from the list

DMHC is at Wimborne

[ChrisB]

There are a few fliers from Southampton who all fly at DMHC,its just under an hour from Eastleigh

There is a mixture of pilot abilities there from competition class like Ade to newbies like Richie (only joking Rich)

There are a lot of different brands of heli and transmitter etc being used,all are very good choices and everybody is friendly and helpful


Chris

[Ade_Law]

unfortunately there is a bit of history with helis and to a similar extent 3d fixed wing flying.

the vast majority of clubs are at best tollerant of helicopters and at worst ban them out right. I know eastliegh well as i used to live and work in the area. Collective pitch helis are out near marwell but their site is quite restricted. There is a club up just the other side of hook and of course there is DMHC.

at DMHC we have quite a few members that travel down from eastliegh/southampton and even a few that come from much further Trevo comes from bognor on a regular basis!

the DMHC site is about 2miles west of wimborne the A31 can be rubbish around ferndown but theres a neat backroot that gets you around that.

Ade

[Guest]

Now Chris, you forgot about the hula hoopers

[eastleighRC]

Dmhc

I just had a look at the DMHC website. When does everyone meet up to fly? I fancy coming along to watch.

[ChrisB]

Its quite an active club,i am usually only there on Saturdays but there are a lot of members there midweek and weekends are usually busy

Its a great crowd there,we all have a laugh and there is a lot of encouragement

Hopefully see you one day soon

[eastleighRC]

If I turn up on a Saturday between 11 and 3 what are the chances of me turning up to an empty field?

[ChrisB]

The best thing to do is check this site as there is normally some topic about whos flying at the weekend

But,if the weather is not too bad there will deffo be people there,me for starters