Advice please on FP heli

[jdwafc]

Hi folks,
Ok I'm new to heli's, been looking for a Tx for Phoenix sim, a foamie planes & blade heli's, the obvious tx choice for this use is a spektrum, was looking at the dx6 gen2, but I saw a used deal I couldn't miss as the budget is tight due to the Mrs & childerbeasts. So I bought a Blade 180 cfx & dx6i both mint boxed for £115.
I have had coaxial heli's before, no issues flying them, I currently have a Dji phantom that almost flies itself and a hubsan x4 for learning orientation.
The question is what Fixed pitch heli to buy to learn on as I know I won't be able to fly the 180cfx without expensive crashes.
Cheers
John

[Boggy]

Welcome to RcHeliaddicts John

[bigpops]

Hmmm. Seeing as you have a Spektrum Tx, the Blade one with "Safe" sounds like a sensible option. Blade 200SRX is it? Either that, or get a Nano CP-s to fly in the house/garage and forget fixed pitch altogether.

[cycled]

Hmm, I've seen a few people recommend the KX110 or some such. Cheap Chinese model which is quite robust and flies well, they say. Read up on it.

[tomatwalden]

Blade 200SRX, or it's smaller cousin, the 120S - Blade 120 S BNF [BLH4180]

[jdwafc]

cheers chaps

so would you all advise on not attempting to learn on the 180cfx

if so its lookin like the blade 200sr/120sr or the xk micros or the wltoys stuff..... which would you take to learn/crash on

cheers

[jdwafc]

and Thanks Boggy

[tomatwalden]

The Blade 180CFX is definitely NOT a heli to learn on. Don't let its size fool you, it's an expert-level heli, albeit micro size.

Go with the Blade 120S (not the 120SR*) or the 200SRX. Both are ideal beginner models.

(*) The 120SR is the older, flybar version of the 120S. The 120S is electronically stabilised (AS3X) and much better.

[Peteski]

I'm going to suggest something totally different that worked very well for me. A Blade Nano QX quad! Switch off the self-levelling and it flies just like a CP heli, except it's totally indestructible and very precise in flight. You may even be able to do the same with your Hubsan X4, but I'm not sure what flight modes that quad has. But if you can fly a Nano QX in agility mode then you can fly a 180 CFX too. That's what I discovered anyway, although I went from the Nano QX to a 130X at the time and it was an easy transition. I also spent a lot of time on the sim too. I ended up completely skipping the fixed pitch stage with this method.

[gazmk2]

Another vote for the blade 120s here. My daughter has one and is learning to fly with it. Very very stable but extremely nippy in expert mode.

[jdwafc]

sound, i'll look at the 120s and the nano qx too

again Cheers for the advice

john

[cycled]

I never found micros useful myself. Start on the sim, then get a 320-360mm ("450") heli like the X3 and a flybarless with rescue, as long as you have the space and charging facilities.

[p4ddy]

Walkera#4 yea old skool baby

[felixthemaster]

The new 200S seems to cover all the faults the 200SRX had, but for the price, maybe you'd like the 230S instead.

+1 for the 200SRX train. It's the heli that got me back into the hobby, I will never sell this puppy.

[Crashalotjoe]

Personally I wouldn't go FP. I did it and flew my 200SRX and the Chinese 911 thing about 6 times before I was a bit bored and felt like I was missing something. FWIW my advice is to avoid Blade heli's as they tend to be pricey on parts (and you will need a lot when you start out) and mostly don't fly that well. The 180CFX flies well but it's not a beginners heli. The 230S is actually quite good and has the 'SAFE' flight modes although they are not without their faults. They are a pretty good starter heli overall.

For the best 'bang for the buck', I would go for the XK K110 which is relatively cheap, full CP, easy and cheap to repair (if it ever breaks) and comes with a reasonable transmitter. They actually fly really well for a micro and are pretty locked in.

Overall, I would focus on the sim (preferably Realflight, AccuRC, Next or HeliX - Phoenix is not the best these days for heli's although it will get you started), practice a bit with the K110 and aim for a 450 sized heli as soon as it's practical and/or affordable. Flying 450's is generally easier than micros as they have a degree of inherent stability that is missing from the micros. In my experience, I would go for Gaui or Protos in the 450 sizes. I have been through the Blade and Align stuff and it is generally OK to fly (450X, 360CFX, T-Rex 450) but again, quite fragile and, until you get a few hundred flights under your belt, fragile is expensive!

Of course, micro drones are great for orientation practice and worth flying for that reason but otherwise don't really relate that well with a CP heli.

Remember, this forum is called Heliaddicts for a reason, flying heli's is awsome and the best fun you can have with your clothes on but it is also massively addictive!

I hope it helps. Mark