Start up advice (for a friend)

[kenny d]

Wltoys V911 cheap & robust entry into this hobby.

WLtoys V911 2.4GHz 4CH Single Propeller Remote Control RC Helicopter with Gyro | eBay

[feathering]

I recently bought an inductrix for my kids which they fly with a devo7e (well, they are not that interested so it is mostly me flying it). The inductrix has an acro mode which makes it ideal for learning cp helis and it is substantially easier to handle than the nqx. The inductrix is £35 and the devo another £35. It is a very inexpensive combination but you will need to spend some time installing deviation on the devo.

[myxiplx]

I recently bought an inductrix for my kids which they fly with a devo7e (well, they are not that interested so it is mostly me flying it). The inductrix has an acro mode which makes it ideal for learning cp helis and it is substantially easier to handle than the nqx. The inductrix is £35 and the devo another £35. It is a very inexpensive combination but you will need to spend some time installing deviation on the devo.

Ok, I love deviation, but that's a *big* step for a lot of beginners lol.

[Peteski]

The first time you have a 1.6 metre blender in front of you, you might feel a bit different, like 'Oh sh*t!. It would definitely be a confidence sapper. Progressing through bigger heli's gets rid of the intimidation factor. My personal view is start on a 500 size and get over the intimidation factor early.

Well that's exactly why I would recommend learning on a micro CP first. I'm at the stage now where the fear would be pretty minimal and would be more of a positive buzz i.e. I know 100% for sure I could fly the heli and that's where most of the fear lies. If my very first experience of flying a real RC heli was a 500 I'd be bricking myself for sure.

[Peteski]

Cheers guys, some great and varied advice. This I think being the biggest aspect in choice ^^ lol

If I could go back and do it again I would have invested in a better tx to begin with not a dx6i lol heli wise I worked my way through the blade range - 2x mcpx, 2x 450 3d, 3x 130x, 300x, 2x 450x... All of which I wouldnt bother with now! He has only seen my 180CFX fly which I do think is awesome, just not very beginner friendly!
I like the idea of going from mcpx to trex 500 or similar, my 550dfc has helped my flying far more than any of the others. I just hope the inevitable initial crash repair costs dont put him off!
I suppose the timing of it being almost winter will add plenty of sim time which never hurt anyone lol
He did have a short session on my sim, he understood and got to grips with the CP side of things really quickly, hence suggeting the 230s, am I right in thinking the flight modes or safe technology can make it fly like a 4 channel fixed pitch aswel though? Would maybe make his first few months alot cheaper lol

Geesta.. We live in kingswinford mate, I do know a couple guys that fly in clubs, just im not really prepared to give up my Sunday mornings haha

Grumpy.. I did think about buddying but im not sure how confident I would be about correcting him in time, unless he goes for something with a rescue function.
He definitely needs to make his first move signing up and reading this post lol

I agree investing in a decent Tx up front saves money down the line providing you do stick with the hobby. But if he's not sure he will, then buying a decent used Tx is probably the best option. A used DX8 would fit the bill nicely.
I think the 230S is a very good idea too in principle, although Blade do seem to have had some teething troubles with the SAFE mode operation i.e. some have been reported to suffer from tip overs on take-off. So I would only buy one of those from somewhere that you know would give good support if you got a lemon. Stability mode makes it very easy to fly with both self-levelling and limited bank angle. It actually makes it handle more like a co-axial than a fixed pitch single rotor! The 230S has the potential to take him from complete novice to competent 3D pilot in one hit and saves going through the intermediate stages with fixed pitch micros etc. Had it been available when I started I would certainly have bought one.

Don't discount the nQX quad too! I learnt more from flying my nQX in the early days than from anything else, including the sim. It taught me absolutely everything about upright orientations and really improved my instinctive reactions. Thanks to this little quad, my upright orientations were absolutely rock solid after a couple of months and I've honestly never had a single crash from losing orientation with any of my advanced CP helis since. It's secrets are very precise CP-like control (much more precise than the mCPX), perfect and consistent setup every single time (no worries about jittery servos, sloppy links etc) and it's pretty much immune to crash damage and that includes damaging anything it hits. I spent pretty much the whole of last winter thrashing my nQX around the house (I can fly it much harder in the house than my mCPX) and garden and by the time spring came along I was well on my way to becoming a reasonable sport pilot before I even flew my first CP heli. After about 500 flights I treated it to a new set of aftermarket motors and it flies even better now! I still use it for orientation practice in the evenings. I know that in the same time period various other newbies came and went on this forum who were struggling to get a handful of flights with their helis (micro and larger) due to no end of setup issues and crash damage. The nQX keeps you flying day and night, much like the sim, which is what you need in the first few months.

[myxiplx]

Yup, I've recommended the nQX to a few people as their first model, haven't had anybody who bought one complain yet :-)

[Peteski]

Yup, I've recommended the nQX to a few people as their first model, haven't had anybody who bought one complain yet :-)

Come to think of it I actually bought mine on your advice! Best move I made at the start