Thinking about thinning the fleet

[trillian]

I am having a think about paring down the heli fleet a bit this year, just trying to simplify my life in general and make a bit of space. My problem with helis is I very often don't want to part with them. I'll have fond memories about flying a certain heli and I'll like the look of it and just won't bring myself to sell it.

Sooooo, on the potential list to unload are;

1.Century Predator SE gasser. I used to love flying it when I was just doing circuits and really gentle stuff. It's big and bad and has a great presence and is super cheap to run. It would be BNF or airframe with engine. (26cc Hanson Zenoah with Century V2 pipe)

2. Compass Atom 500 airframe with motor and ESC. I bought this 2nd hand last year and didn't get round to fitting servos.

3. Blitz Avro airframe. The Avro was one of the first helis on my 'heli wish-list' and I finally got one and then got another one in a swap deal. So I don't really need two and should sell one of the airframes. It's a beautifully engineered .90 nitro great for F3C and 'big air' smooth flying, a little heavy for 3D but prob with a bigger engine anything is possible.

4. Hirobo SDX converted to electric. This is a very special heli because it is converted to electric using a really clever and expertly crafted custom motor mount. I probably won't sell it and just keep it instead even if I'm not flying it all the time but if the right buyer comes along I might let it go.

5. Century GL450. This is basically a Trex clone that was sold by Century. It's almost identical to the Trex 450SE so loads of compatible parts out there.

6. Robbe Futura SE airframe. I love the Robbe Futura and Milli / Dyna-X and over the years I collected lots of spares. So I have a few Futura airframes that are surplus to requirements. I've got a Futura gold frameset, several ali Futura SE frame / drivetrains, a couple carbon frames etc. and can easily build up one as a complete airframe or I'll happily sell some framesets, rotorheads etc.

7. Ely.Q Vision Ultimate airframe. I think I have two complete airframes and some spares but certainly one complete.

8. Hirobo Sceadu evo WPM (120 degree ccpm) version. I also have some Quick-UK ali rotorhead bits. I really need to round up all the Hirobo stuff and see what I have.

Anyway, I'm putting this thread up to see if there is any interest at the moment because otherwise I prob won't sell some of them (or maybe any of them ).

Regarding prices, everything will be cheap, some will be super cheap, some darn near free (heck I might even give something away, I have to have a think about it)

I have had some interest in the Atom so just took some pics;
P1010773.jpgP1010774.jpgP1010775.JPGP1010776.jpgP1010777.JPGP1010778.JPG

I just ordered a nice looking new Fusuno canopy for the Atom for 9.99, so for another tenner it will look really nice.

[Jamin_00]

Well a start would be to not buy more heli's maybe??

Oh wait, you have a problem just like the rest of us lol

[trillian]

Indeed. I'm doing better though, just today I have already resisted the temptation to buy a spare Avantgarde airframe, so that's a start on the road to recovery

Well a start would be to not buy more heli's maybe??

Oh wait, you have a problem just like the rest of us lol

[Jamin_00]

lol, its a 2 step process like I said.

1st step is to admit the problem!!















2nd step is to forget the first step and buy buy buy

[pgkevet]

I have a similar dilemma - a bunch of helis I like but don't really fly them all often enough and tend just to grab one of the three I use most. At the same time I remember the amount of care I out into assembly, the money spent and the lousy resale value now

[3dx]

I have a similar dilemma - a bunch of helis I like but don't really fly them all often enough and tend just to grab one of the three I use most. At the same time I remember the amount of care I out into assembly, the money spent and the lousy resale value now

Pretty much my views as I've been thinking about this for a while- got 12 heli's and to be honest,genuinely only flew 3 of them for most of last year,,mostly w/ends and the occasional evening flight when the weather was ok- think the last time I flew the 550E was 2yrs ago !,,, not to mention the amount of lipo's for all my models and the maintenance they require to last,,, seriously need to cut down but which one's to keep?,,, would the criteria be spares availability,maintenance and not forgetting the grin factor !,, and just to add into the mix,,I've also gone back to nitro ,,,,,

[trillian]

I have a similar dilemma - a bunch of helis I like but don't really fly them all often enough and tend just to grab one of the three I use most. At the same time I remember the amount of care I out into assembly, the money spent and the lousy resale value now

Last summer I got to where I was mostly flying the Beam Avantgarde because it was just so convenient, not too big not too small, manageable size Lipos etc. So I'd grab the Beam and the Trex 500 and I could have a very care-free flying day. But I still love the old Robbes and I want to get back into nitro a bit more now so I have a Knight 3D coming along, just need to wire everything up. The Avro is great but one is enough for me. The Compass Atom was an impulse buy and it's small enough I'm not bothered if I end up keeping it and I'm curious how it flies with the stock flybarred head. (in the back of my mind the other reason for buying it is thinking it might be just that wee bit more portable than the Trex for future travel, maybe if the boom comes off easy enough it should fit nicely in a regular suitcase).

Anyway, after a while I was flying the Beam, the Dune and the Rave quite a bit and now and then the Robbe Dyna-X. I think I flew the Avro once last year and the engine didn't feel too great, like maybe it needs a new ring, plus the governor wouldn't engage :-( So it needs some TLC now but I'm sure I'll fly it again before too long. Now I'll have the Faifa ready fairly soon and then we'll see what I end up flying most.

[pgkevet]

I usually grab the 600n now.. or the 500 as second choice .. usually down to simple economics. I'm a bit top casual with the 500 and it goes in too often whereas I take the 600 more seriosuly.. I hateworking on the 450 pro.. everything is hidden inside and I have to take a frame side off to do any work on it: just a pain. The 700 gets used next for the extra power. I can't be @rsed with 12S batts - it means hanging around charging or pre-charging with unpredictable weather etc whereas flying for me now is when there's a weather window, I fancy a fly and there isnt anything else urgent to do on my rather large plot. Blitx and spectra repair costs mean i fly them very carefully although there's nothing quite like being spot on with timing a spectra tick-tock so it;s not a rainbow. At least gasser engines don't mind being left unflown.... eneloop nihm's and it's on-board generator does mean you only have to charge it or fly it every several months.

[Sesame]

yeah end of last year I was gonna thin the fleet down to only 3-4 since then bought 2 more lol.

[cupracing]

We only really need 2 at most, one to fly for when the other is in pieces

[Sesame]

but what if you like flying Nitro and Electric, fly at a dedicated field and indoors go on business trips and want to take something with you but dont have the room for a 600 let alone a 700. these are some of my thoughts. lol

[trillian]

We only really need 2 at most, one to fly for when the other is in pieces

Absolutely true, the key word is 'need'. I still love flying my Trex 500 because although it doesn't have any 'buzz factor' just from seeing it in the air, it has the fun factor of not having to really care too much about scratching the canopy. Arguably though, it's a bit small for windy conditions, so the 500 and something bigger would be all I'd really need. But that's the flying side of the hobby.

The other side of the hobby, for me anyway, is the building and just owning interesting and different things. I think I have a genetic disposition to collect things. But the list above of helis I should sell, that's a snapshot of an evolution of what I was interested in at the time and then rather than move on I kept them all.

[ltaylor88]

Absolutely true, the key word is 'need'. I still love flying my Trex 500 because although it doesn't have any 'buzz factor' just from seeing it in the air, it has the fun factor of not having to really care too much about scratching the canopy. Arguably though, it's a bit small for windy conditions, so the 500 and something bigger would be all I'd really need. But that's the flying side of the hobby.

The other side of the hobby, for me anyway, is the building and just owning interesting and different things. I think I have a genetic disposition to collect things. But the list above of helis I should sell, that's a snapshot of an evolution of what I was interested in at the time and then rather than move on I kept them all.

I know what you mean about the genetic disposition to collect things. Also I find my self getting board when there's nothing to fix and end up buying something else. Due to funding issues I usually have to let something go to get something else so that keeps me in balance.