Hi everyone

[jamiesawyer28041978]

Hi everyone, I've been reading a lot and trying to catch up with how much rc helis have advanced but it's not easy. 4 years away from it seems to be a massive amount of time for everything to change. I'm going to buy myself a new kit and clearly by what I'm reading the FBL system is the way to go by what I am seeing and reading. I've never flown a FBL heli but I hear they are actually more stable......? Is this the case ???

Secondly something is telling me to go electric and stay away from nitro.
Is this a wise move or just plain silly ??
I like the idea of no mess....quieter with no wining all the time from an OS50.
I was looking at a 500 size heli or maybe push to a 550 but not decided.
How many charges should I get from my battery roughly before I have to replace it. Back 4 years ago it was a case of about 100 charges I think. Also what is the 30c or 40c or even 60c stand for in the information with the Lipo battery's. I cant remember what it is for the life of me. Something is telling me that it is a current rating that the battery can discharge back through the motor...ie- the punch it will deliver....

[jamiesawyer28041978]

No reply's at all wow !

[MartinJ]

Hi Jamie

I have only been into heli's for a few months but I think I can answer at least one point.

The 'C' rating indicates the maximum constant current that can be sustained by the pack. So if you have a 5000ma pack then a 30C battery will allow 5amps x 30 = 150 amp current draw. A 40C would therefore allow 200 amps. This is a guide only as some manufacturers may not be quite honest.

a lot of people advise a beginner to start with a fly bar and this is what I have done on a Trex 450 but having never flown a FBL I can't comment on the difference.

I am sure some much more knowledgable folks will be along soon.

cheers

Martin

[450man]

Hi everyone, I've been reading a lot and trying to catch up with how much rc helis have advanced but it's not easy. 4 years away from it seems to be a massive amount of time for everything to change. I'm going to buy myself a new kit and clearly by what I'm reading the FBL system is the way to go by what I am seeing and reading. I've never flown a FBL heli but I hear they are actually more stable......? Is this the case ???

I started off with FBL with a 450 then 550. I wanted to see what a flybar heli was like to I bought a secondhand 600 FB... I didn't like it at all. FBL is much more direct and it feels to me more controlled. I know that many people, perhaps the majority, of flyers learned on a flybar heli and so they obviously work but they do have a very different feel and for me the FBL is definitely the way to go. I now have converted the 600 to FBL and I am a very happy bunny!

Secondly something is telling me to go electric and stay away from nitro.
Is this a wise move or just plain silly ??
I like the idea of no mess....quieter with no wining all the time from an OS50.

Like the FB/FBL choice, this one creates a lot of emotion and reaction. I have no idea why though. Nitro and electric both have their plus points. I have never owned a nitro and nor will I. I have had nitro planes and like you I find the mess, the cleaning up, the smell etc quite unpleasent. However, you can't argue with 15 min flight times vs the 6 for electric can you. With electric you need power supply, charger, batteries... it isn't cheap to start out but then there is no fuel to buy... like I say... pluses and minuses.

For me I would never go nitro. I find that 5 or 6 mins is perfectly long enough before I start to lose a bit of concentration and charging is easy at the field with a small genny if that is what you want to do. Otherwise buy enough batteries for 5 or 6 flights which is what most people seem to do.

Electric all the way for me.

I was looking at a 500 size heli or maybe push to a 550 but not decided.

I have a Align Trex 550E. It is significantly bigger than the 500 so I would definitely go with the 550 if you can. Both run on 6S. Another benefit of the 550 is that it uses 5000mah batteries and if you even go to a 700 then that will just use 2 x 5000mah batteries and you will already have the ones you need. The 500 uses smaller batteries and you would then need to buy more batteries for a 700. Just a thought.

How many charges should I get from my battery roughly before I have to replace it. Back 4 years ago it was a case of about 100 charges I think. Also what is the 30c or 40c or even 60c stand for in the information with the Lipo battery's. I cant remember what it is for the life of me. Something is telling me that it is a current rating that the battery can discharge back through the motor...ie- the punch it will deliver....

The C rating has been answered.

I can't comment on how many charges but there are people at my club that fly almost every weekend and have packs that are over 2 years old and still good. It does depend on how they are looked after and how fast they are charged. Faster charging may reduce their life but providing you don't charge faster than they are rated for then even that is debatable.

[jamiesawyer28041978]

Hi Jamie

The 'C' rating indicates the maximum constant current that can be sustained by the pack. So if you have a 5000ma pack then a 30C battery will allow 5amps x 30 = 150 amp current draw. A 40C would therefore allow 200 amps. This is a guide only as some manufacturers may not be quite honest.

a lot of people advise a beginner to start with a fly bar and this is what I have done on a Trex 450 but having never flown a FBL I can't comment on the difference.

I am sure some much more knowledgable folks will be along soon.

cheers

Martin

Thanks Martin

[jamiesawyer28041978]

I started off with FBL with a 450 then 550. I wanted to see what a flybar heli was like to I bought a secondhand 600 FB... I didn't like it at all. FBL is much more direct and it feels to me more controlled. I know that many people, perhaps the majority, of flyers learned on a flybar heli and so they obviously work but they do have a very different feel and for me the FBL is definitely the way to go. I now have converted the 600 to FBL and I am a very happy bunny!


Like the FB/FBL choice, this one creates a lot of emotion and reaction. I have no idea why though. Nitro and electric both have their plus points. I have never owned a nitro and nor will I. I have had nitro planes and like you I find the mess, the cleaning up, the smell etc quite unpleasent. However, you can't argue with 15 min flight times vs the 6 for electric can you. With electric you need power supply, charger, batteries... it isn't cheap to start out but then there is no fuel to buy... like I say... pluses and minuses.

For me I would never go nitro. I find that 5 or 6 mins is perfectly long enough before I start to lose a bit of concentration and charging is easy at the field with a small genny if that is what you want to do. Otherwise buy enough batteries for 5 or 6 flights which is what most people seem to do.

Electric all the way for me.



I have a Align Trex 550E. It is significantly bigger than the 500 so I would definitely go with the 550 if you can. Both run on 6S. Another benefit of the 550 is that it uses 5000mah batteries and if you even go to a 700 then that will just use 2 x 5000mah batteries and you will already have the ones you need. The 500 uses smaller batteries and you would then need to buy more batteries for a 700. Just a thought.


The C rating has been answered.

I can't comment on how many charges but there are people at my club that fly almost every weekend and have packs that are over 2 years old and still good. It does depend on how they are looked after and how fast they are charged. Faster charging may reduce their life but providing you don't charge faster than they are rated for then even that is debatable.

Thanks 450Man...for your in depth post

The 550 size definitely sounds like a more sensible approach especially considering the battery sizes. Its the fueling up and sitting there with the 2 volt battery and attaching that to the engine and the the whole starting up rigmarole and then just as your about to take of the engine cuts scenario gets on my wick with nitro. With electric its just plug and play really. 6 or 7 minutes of flying per charge is plenty if your doing butt clenching and knee trembling stuff .

I'm going to seriously look into the electric side. Battery's seem to have dropped in price a wee bit over the years to which is good.

[450man]

I use Turnigy batteries from Hobby King... £45 for a 5000mah 6S. You will get people saying that Turnigy are no good but I am flying perfectly happy with them and many at my club have been for years without issues. They seem to last just as long as anything else if looked after. You decide.

[PorscheBoy]

IMHO go for the trex 550e DFC v3 (but I am biased). Great heli, very stable, but plenty of power, handles the wind really well and if you wan,t you can run it on 595mm blades instead of 520mm (Pack life will suffer), but to be honest I don't feel the need, but I am not a 3D god either. More than capable of doing very serious 3D, good price and only needs one 6S 5000 - 5200mAh battery, get a PL8 and a decent PSU and you can charge 4 x 6S easily inside 30mins. I would also say, it was my first ever heli and it was real easy to assemble (Sorry RichardV).

You know you want to....

[RcRotaryMadness]

+1 on the 550.. great heli

[discoferret]

IMHO go for the trex 550e DFC v3 (but I am biased). Great heli, very stable, but plenty of power, handles the wind really well and if you wan,t you can run it on 595mm blades instead of 520mm (Pack life will suffer), but to be honest I don't feel the need, but I am not a 3D god either. More than capable of doing very serious 3D, good price and only needs one 6S 5000 - 5200mAh battery, get a PL8 and a decent PSU and you can charge 4 x 6S easily inside 30mins. I would also say, it was my first ever heli and it was real easy to assemble (Sorry RichardV).

You know you want to....

I agree great heli, just dont put a talon 90 on it lol ;-)

[jamiesawyer28041978]

Well I ordered some parts the other week for repairing the 450 T-Rex and Trevor in Midland Helis called me after hours to discuss the parts and I got into a lengthy discussion about my next 30/50 size Heli and the 550 is becoming more desirable for sure !!!!

Just short of £600 is a very resonable price for Kit, Motor, Servos, FBL system, Esc and blades. I think I will probably be going for the 550 electric. Nitro is going to be a thing of the past here shortly I think.
Thanks for all the reply's

[keithspurs2000]

Well I ordered some parts the other week for repairing the 450 T-Rex and Trevor in Midland Helis called me after hours to discuss the parts and I got into a lengthy discussion about my next 30/50 size Heli and the 550 is becoming more desirable for sure !!!!

Just short of £600 is a very resonable price for Kit, Motor, Servos, FBL system, Esc and blades. I think I will probably be going for the 550 electric. Nitro is going to be a thing of the past here shortly I think.
Thanks for all the reply's

I got the 550 DFC version about 3 months ago and it's awesome. Its massive compared to a 450.