Another newbie introduction...

[madgooner99]

Good luck mate

Enjoy

[Vic.P]

Hi Dale and welcome
I started with an Esky Lama which was ok for getting used to the sticks but i soon moved on to a 450 size heli which to be honest was not the right move for me so i then got a Trex 600e and found the learning curve much easier because the 600 is inherently more stable in the hover and much easier to fly than the 450.
Best of luck to you with whatever you decide to progress to and follow the advice about a simulator, it will save you a bundle on repair costs and time spent rebuilding........ask me how i know

[MSH]

Welcome to the best source of advice for getting 'pulled' into this hobby. Whatever you do - keep going - and keep asking. It does help to have others around who have more experience. Also, dont forget trainer undercarriage and insurance!

Best of luck.

[daleyboy]

Im going to give the Honeybee a crack and if i enjoy it then may plump for the Blade 400 with the dx6i tx, how far would that tx actually get me ?

I would be quite happy just flying around hovering and doing basic manouvres for a while as its quite difficult to know whether i would get into this big time or just fly the occasional weekend.

This hobby seems quite daunting, the technical jargon on this forum may as well be in a foreign language. I looked on fastlad website and even buying a tx you are faced with about four variation on the same tx (dx7) Mmm i just wanted to have an idea in my head as to the path i would take maybe i should just start walking and see where it takes me.

Thanks for reading...............Dale..........

[Balders]

I use my Dx6i for everything, including my new Trex 600. Great on Phoenix too.

[gazza131]

Hi Dale and welcome having only been into heli's a short time myself, i have found that reading what the peeps on here put is always sound advice, and has saved me loads of dosh, which i would have wasted had i not taken heed of what these wonderful helpful people have said

good luck

[MSH]

Go for the DX6i. IT should last you a long time - and you can programme up to ten models on it (planes & heli's). The next Tx's in the Spektrum line up are much more expensive - and it is unlikely that you would need the features they offer for a long long time - if ever!

[kungpo]

Actually, go for the Blade 400 RTF - comes with the DX6i and can be had for £215 or so, which is an absolute steal. Possibly even less if you get it from Skyline who have a 10% up to Christmas discount running as well.

I did most of my learning on a T-Rex 600N and my Blade 400. I got the basics of hovering done with the T-Rex then did loads of practice on the Blade. You will bin in a few times, but parts are cheap and the Heli is not to complex to work on. Don't waste any money buying bling for the Blade or your current heli - you won't gain anything from it and your better off saving for your next machine.

Phoenix is worth having, although there is nothing quite like using the real thing. I found Phoenix really tedious when I was learning to hover so didn't do it much. But I use it a lot more now, now that I have a vague idea of how to fly a heli.

And as said before, join a club and get insurance. You'll get a wealth of experience, a mix of good and bad advice (!), and hopefully make some new friends.

The hobby *is* expensive if you get in to it (addicted). You'll start wanting to build up a fleet, have better equipment, more Lipos, fuel, etc. Make sure wife/gf/partner knows this (and you have suitable funds to keep her happy too).

[daleyboy]

That was the information i needed thanks chaps for that.

I have just spent three years and about 4k renovating my old VW Corrado VR6 i have spent about 300 hours on it and its just about finished so my girlfriend (who bought me the Honeybee ) knows what im like by now.

I think also that the sim may be good but not when you havent a clue, i have a good idea what the sticks do but need to try on the real thing, get a decent hover do a bit of ff in figure of 8's then pehaps when i know i want to progress then buy the blade and pheonix.

Im really pleased that there are people on here ready to give opinions and tell me what they did, it makes me feel im not alone when i think about all this, my GF just glazes over when i talk about coilovers,and variable tract inlet manifolds, i reckon she's gonna be the same when i talk about heli's.........

[daleyboy]

Well i got a bit click-happy when looking at the Blade 400 and sort of accidently bought it, along with a fusion charger a few more battery's and a tool kit. The blade cost about £220 posted so with a DX6I i thought that was a good deal, really looking forward to Christmas now so i can start crashing erm i mean flying. I can justify this by saying its incentive to learn on the Honeybee until then the blade stays in the box. Just got to get over the flu first, thanks for reading and happy christmas..........

[GIXERMAN]

Dale welcome to the forum, phoenix as previously stated is a good start, and wont break the bank.

good luck and happy flying

Brian