What Heli for a beginner?

[FISHGUTS]

Hello all,

I'm lloking to get into Rc helicopters.
My thoughts are to buy a blade MSR rtf, 120 sr rtf or honey bee v2.
Which would be best?
All I've flown before is one of those pico things which won't count for anything.
I'm looking at models that come with a transmitter rather than the expense of a dx6i at the moment.

Thanks

[heliboy]

Out of them 3 go for the msr.do not buy the honey bee v2...

[Guest]

probably better off with the 120 sr thats what i started off with, or rtf with tranny or, get yourself decent transmitter like a dx6i you can pick them up cheap s/hand or go all out like i did with a jr 9x as i fly planks anyway..you can now get the align 100 heli with a transmitter quite cheap. i would start with a fixed pitch heli
the other route that helped me loads is a decent sim like phoenix
hopes this helps

[cjcj1949]

Hi. Lots of different ways to go. Depends a lot on where you want to fly. A msr is ok for in the house, but the 120 needs more space like a gym. The smaller the heli the better it tends to survive crashes and the easier and cheaper to repair. I would go for a DX6i and a BNF msr or 120. The tx you get with the rtf won't be useful for the next model. If you don't like helis you can sell the dx6i without losing a lot of money.

Phoenix is a good investment if you get the dx6i. Again if you don't like it you can sell it. You can learn everything on Phoenix for free, except how you will react when you are in control of a real one and its up to you to stop it crashing. It does get a bit addictive though and you find it easier to justify spending money as you improve.

[martynv]

I'd go for the 120SR it's really nice to fly and doesn't have the tendency to take off like a rat up a drain pipe like the mSR if you push it. The only down side is that you need a little more room to fly the 120SR and it seems to be a little top heavy so taking off is slightly more tricky. If you've not flown before though I'd try to find a second hand mCX as they are so easy to fly but great fun and will teach you all of the controls without any drama and they are virtualy bullet proof all i've ever replaced on mine is the canopy o-rings and I still enjoy flying it now and again.

[FISHGUTS]

I live about 300 mtrs from the sea on the west coast of cumbria. I can probably count on one hand the none windy days from now until spring, so I'm thinking now to get a dx6i, an msr to practice with indoors and phoenix sim which I can practice for an mcpx maybe??
My wife has said she'd buy me an upgrade heli for xmas.

[Spanner]

Sounds like a plan, cheaper than buying a big heli and deciding you don't like it.

[tiddler]

I live about 300 mtrs from the sea on the west coast of cumbria. I can probably count on one hand the none windy days from now until spring, so I'm thinking now to get a dx6i, an msr to practice with indoors and phoenix sim which I can practice for an mcpx maybe??
My wife has said she'd buy me an upgrade heli for xmas.

Now that sounds like a very sensible plan

[cjcj1949]

You won't regret it. The msr and phoenix are good fun. If you crash the msr a lot or any heli for that matter, just go back a stage, in this case to a bnf mcx for about £30 and fly that for a bit. The very difficult gets easy, like riding a bike. Of course there is always something that hasn't got easy yet for all of us. Sometimes having a break makes things better.

Helis are not too bad in wind with a decent gyro. It depends on how smooth the wind is and being near the coast it would be less variable than inland. Bigger helis are easier. Some people like the challenge of flying in the wind and others find it annoying. My 450 seems happy in 15mph and I've gone up to 20mph on the sim. You can try that all on the sim, although you may find the slope soaring gliders more useful to you.

Larger helis tend to be expensive in electric flight so you may be looking at nitro. There are lots to be investigated in Phoenix.

[martynv]

I live about 300 mtrs from the sea on the west coast of cumbria. I can probably count on one hand the none windy days from now until spring, so I'm thinking now to get a dx6i, an msr to practice with indoors and phoenix sim which I can practice for an mcpx maybe??
My wife has said she'd buy me an upgrade heli for xmas.

DX7's are so cheap now second hand I'd get one instead of a DX6i. Much better radio in my opinion and it'll last you for ages. The DX6i as good as it is doesn't feel as good as the DX7 and the display isn't as good either, plus of course the DX7 was made by JR for Spektrum that's why it's so good.

[FISHGUTS]

Yeah, but I have to draw the line at some point. I was looking at a secondhand dx6i, mind on fleabay they seem to go near to full price.
Is the MSR the best for indoor practice then?
I'd like something that has a bit of a learning curve.

[rcadey]

I'd recommend the msr/dx6i route. I bought a RTF msr - crashed and learned then went on to an mCPX/dx6i (sold the msr).

I then bought a bnf msr when the learning curve of the mCPX was to high and i needed to go back and learn better basic orientation. I also use HELI-X (mac user) with PS3 controller as input.

[LadyRc]

I'd recommend an mcx2, this was my first heli. As a beginner you need more room for the 120sr so may not be great for indoors. The mcx2 is a good size and very stable.

I now have an mCPX which is also great, my hubby turned the rates down to 40% which stops me from crashing into the walls.

[martynv]

Is the MSR the best for indoor practice then?
I'd like something that has a bit of a learning curve.

mSR is fine, but it's best to start off with say 30% expo and rates at 70% ish on the alieron and elevator otherwise you'll find it a bit touchy. This is why a DX6i or DX7 is a good idea as there is little you can alter on the RTF Tx apart from the fact it's really quite awful ! The mSR is quite stable in hover, but just be gentle when you start to move around to avoid hiting anything nearby

[sunny_manku1985]

Love my msr, great fun heli! Bought me back into the hobby after 2years of no flying. After I bought it, went and sold my trex 450 and raptor 30v1 and bought a trex 550e v2 fbl!lol. Now looking at the mcpx. Man this hobby is addictive and expensive!lol.