Newish to helis

[Streeter]

Hi all

I am thinking of getting into helicopters again, had a few in the past one nitro a long time ago and apart from the small coaxial ones had a Piccalo Fun, but at the moment just use the kids coaixl ones when they are in bed :-)

I fly planes, have my A certificate, dont fly as much as i used to, family and work get in the way :-( but do get to fly my electric spitfire now and then at the park :-) I have used sims for a long time had the G2 when it first came out then moved on to Reflex and now have Pheonix on its way to me as windows 7 and XTR dont like each other. My current radio is a JR 9X2 but not with the 2.4Ghz module.

My plan to get back into helis are as follows and I want to know if its a bad plan, good plan or if any of you guys think there is a better way :-)

I am looking at getting the Blade 400 RTF as i get the DX6i radio, the 400 would be for learning outside, i also want to get the 120 sr for indoor pratice and the MCP X just cos i want one :-) the last two would be BNF ones. Ignoring the MCP X, would the other two compliment each other in the learning curve or should i just stick to the sim and one, i just like the idea of indoor practice as well as the bigger one for outside. And is it worth upgrading my 9X 2 and just buying the BNF versions of helis.

Thanks for any relpies in advance.

Jason

[Tridztan]

Hi Jason,
Welcome to the forum. You do seem to know what you want and have some flying experience. I am a novice and so I'm not in a position to offer any good advice at the moment, hopefully one of the more seasoned pilots will pick this up and point you in the right direction.

[challis349]

I'm still a beginner at this too, whilst there is nothing wrong with the dx6 I think you will notice quite a bit of difference, quality wise between that and your Jr, you are used to flying and used to the menus with the Jr so I would upgrade that to 2.4.

The sr120, I have never flown one but seen them at fast lads when I stopped in, and they look a little on the large side for practice around the house, if you wanted a fixed pitch heli purely for indoor use, then the smaller msr would be the way to go,

Your main heli, really depends on funds and where you fly, if flying in the park then the b400, trex 450 etc... sort of sizes will be ok, I am learning in a 450, whilst it is ok as parts are cheap (my main reason for having a 450) it is not the most stable heli.

If funds allow and you have a club to fly at, a 50 sized machine like a trex600 or raptor50 would be better, I couldn't afford crash costs on these, hence me having a 450

Cheers

Kev

[wayne123]

You sound like you know what you want to do, you say you want a model to fly indoors and a model to fly out side, but are you flying indoors in a large sports hall or just in your house because if you have access to a large hall you can fly the blade 400 in there, if you are flying in your house then go with something like the msr or align 100 as these will use up a lot of air space very quickly one you get them moving.

You say you have flown helis before but you don't say how far you progressed, if you had got to a stage of doing loops, rolls, flips and some inverted then it's not going to be to long before your back doing those moves again, as to size then I would go with as big as you can be it electric or nitro, I say this because a bigger machine will handle wind better, if your in a club that fly's helis you may have the opportunity to pick up a good second hand machine.

What ever you do enjoy and welcome along.

[Mark_T]

I would drop the 120SR from the list, it really isn't small enough for indoor flying unless you have a lot of space and doesn't work well outside at all.

The MCP-X on the other-hand is small enough to fly indoor circuits and will handle moderate wind outside in the garden as well so you are not limited to the sort of space you'd need for the Blade 400.

Also check, but I'm pretty sure the Blade 400 is being replaced by the Blade 450 ...

[debrooker]

I agree with Mark, drop the 120, you will not gain anything from that model. I have found the MCPX to be a superb training tool but it can need a bit of space also.

[Streeter]

Thanks guys that seems to make sence, will drop the 120, I have a fair size back garden that I could just pratice hovering the 400 in, then would prob re join my old club for flying properly, and they do a indoor meet for small electric models once a month ( or they used to ).

Yeah have seen the Blade 450 looks good but a little more expensive. As for cash lol, no not got lots to spend so want to keep the repair bills as cheap as possible!

As for my heli experience I could do a few shakey circuits with my Piccalo Fun and hover it through a full charge, and had a Morley Hughes 300 nitro, which was before the days of gyros, so started with string attached to the tail with mate holding as i practiced hovering and thats as far as i got with it, sold it before i broke it lol and other than the small £20 to £40 pound coaxial ones thats it.

Well Pheonix arrived yesterday so had a bit of a play on that, crashed a lot but am pleased that can do a few circuits and and come back to a hover most of the time, stuck on the downloads though got to version P and cant go any further but will look into that later. So does anyone fly the Blade 400 on Pheonix and in real life ?, wanted to know how real you can get it or is it always easier on the sim.

Would the MCP X be ok for a novice or is that just asking for trouble ? just want something small to have some fun round the house with that would help me on the learnig curve.

Jason

[Darwil]

As another beginner I would say for indoors you can't go wrong with an MSR, its fast enough to be fun and good to learn how to fly basic circuits.
Sim time helps but doesn't really prepare you 100% for the real thing, saying that it is time well spent because you learn what the stick movements are going to do.
As regards what bigger heli to buy it depends on your budget, you might find that one of the better TRex clones is worth a look at, you can get some half decent ones for about £250-300 RTF. I bought a Phoenixtech TT 325 to build, it's very well made and will last me a long time I'm sure - if I don't wreck it LOL.
Most important thing is to work out a budget and see what you can afford to spend - if you don't spend it each week save it - sooner or later you will need more money than you thought you would - thats part of flying helis.

[Streeter]

Thanks for all the info guys, have a couple of months till I buy anything ( birthday in July ) so will just keep practicing on the sim till then, the Msr is defiantly on the list prob leave the MCP X, still not sure about radio weather to get the 6i or change my JR to 2.4, I think more likely i will get a 6i with a RTF kit as I don't have to mess about with any of my planes changing the RX over.

Jason

[Balders]

I'm I guess an "advancing novice" (circuits ok, can do loops but not inverted). I bought an MCPX when they first came out and it's tremendous. I use it for orientation practice (which anyone will tell you is important to get happy with) both indoors and out. It's remarkably stable outside for such a small heli.

I would highly recommend one for learning with, you can fly it indoors without causing too much hassle with the wife etc.

Nothing wrong with a Dx6i. I fly all my models and Phoenix on it. It's a great piece of kit and extremely good value for money.

[Baldie]

I can only really add that the JR radio feels much better than the DX6i (I have used both), And wonder if you wouldnt save some cash by getting a different 450, and using a 2.4g module?
The blade is an ok heli, but do they still have issues with the servos/gyro? if so I might work out cheaper to look at a 450 that comes without tx, and build it yourself which will help you with the setup/repair side too.

[Streeter]

Yeah have been browsing, but find by the time you add all the bits needed to compete the model plus the charger the price jumps up and up, the T Rex 450 sport does look nice though :-) but I know it will all end in bits again lol.

I might just treat myself to a MSR then see how I get on with that first, does anyone know what the radio is like that comes with the RTF version?

Jason

[tiddler]

I might just treat myself to a MSR then see how I get on with that first, does anyone know what the radio is like that comes with the RTF version?

Jason

Hi Jason,
Yeah, its crap get yourself a DX6i m8

[Darwil]

I use the standard radio and have to admit it's not good, but at the end of the day it works and bearing in mind the rarity of dx6i's for sale at the moment your choice will depend on how keen you are to get started. Plus it's another £90 approx that you would need to fork out right away, on the plus side it works with Phoenix.

[Streeter]

Yeah the price keeps on rising lol I might take a trip to my local hobby shop today and see what they have, am leaning more towards the 2.4Ghz module for my JR, can you buy them on their own or do I have to get the module and RX pack?

Jason