FBL System for beginner opinion Bailout or not?

[Rich_H]

Hi Guys,
A long story short but persuaded my friend at work to buy a 450 pro heli and he picked up one from Midland hes only flown 250 size quads before.

He's now in need of and asking me about FBL systems and specifically bailout function. Not having used bailout as I only fly Spartan im not in a position to advise so I thought id throw this one open to opinions on here.

Not wanting to start a FBL war btw!

Do you guys think its advisable to get a FBL controller with bailout or not? and if so which one would be the recommendation bearing in mind ideally it would need to be not massively expensive and ideally second hand (as he's not got that much money to throw at it currently)

opinions greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Rich

[Flat Eric]

Why not just get a spartan for it, its tiny so will be perfect for a 450, it's a good unit, easy to set up and tune. Plus you use Spartan so you can easily help out, set up and tuning etc. I once had a Beast x on a 450 and it worked well.

As for bail out, I have never used it and doubt if I ever will but everyone seems to want it now? What did we do before rescue became available?...... we had balls

[Rich_H]

What did we do before rescue became available?...... we had balls

Thanks for the input mate.
Yes, to a degree I agree and suggested a Spartan for all the reasons you said BUT I do remember when I was learning, bailout/recovery would have saved me a shit-load of money in spare parts..lol.

Im not sure if I was in a position just starting out that id ignore bailout equipped FBL just because of big kahunas

Rich

[_tj_]

I have only used the ikon / msh brain.

But have found my flying has improved a lot since switching.
I hardly ever use the bailout out.

But it's good to know it's there and it works if needed.

When I first got it.
I had to teach myself not to rely upon it.

Has you tend to activate it at the slightest thing.
But now I activate it about once in 10 or more flights.

Depends what I'm trying to learn.

[Flat Eric]

Im not sure if I was in a position just starting out that id ignore bailout equipped FBL just because of big kahunas

Rich

That is just my opinion but I suppose nearly all fbl units have bailout now and they are quite cheap second hand

[Peteski]

What did we do before rescue became available?...... we had balls

Crashed more often maybe?

BeastX rescue is very good, but needs to be a Microbeast Plus or Spektrum AR7210BX to have the rescue functionality. Either can be upgraded to rescue firmware if bought used and not previously upgraded. But note that the older units i.e. Microbeast and AR7200BX cannot be upgraded to rescue as they don't have the 6-axis sensor. For a beginner there is also a self-levelling trainer mode, although I only use mine for last resort rescue. BeastX is a pretty beginner friendly FBL unit too and the one I started with and still use.

Other options are Spirit and MSH Brain/iKon. There should be plenty of the latter on the used market with the recent introduction of Brain 2. The older Brain units can be updated to rescue for free and rescue is standard on all Spirit FBLs.

[Planehazza]

I'm out of the loop, but I would recommend spirit. Not the best FBL out there, but I've found it to be very agile and precise on my 700 and the bailout is very handy to have. They're currently about £125 with the £ dropping like a stone.

[kenny d]

I have 4 heli's on beastx & 3 on spirit , both units work well , you still have to train yourself to use bailout but it's a great thing to have & should only help with progress
, I've only recently put the 3 spirit units on , I think it would have been better if I flew with them from the start as I have hit the TH & Bailout at the same time lol , I'm glad I put them on & has saved a few crashes so paid for them selfs , also lets me try new thing knowing I can recover if I need to
I wouldn't discount the beastx as it's a good easy to use unit & cheap

[tourerjim]

Having a Bailout setup in your flight controller is not necessarily going to save the heli, imo best to work out a bailout with each new manoeuvre your working on.

[Rich_H]

Thanks Guys for your valuable input.
My concern with having the rescue feature (apologies I did call it bailout..i knew what I meant ..lol) is getting dependant on it, I barely have time to pull hold in if im going to crash! just too busy trying to save it!

That being said I have advised him to go with a system that has got rescue purely and simply because I feel that it is a vital tool whilst learning (we're all still learning!) and will bring him on quicker, certainly with the max angle feature/auto level engaged.

From A conversation ive had this morning with my mate (ErnieT5) on here - although yet to post he's going with the MSH Brain.

Thank you all again, was invaluable.

Rich

[Peteski]

Thanks Guys for your valuable input.
My concern with having the rescue feature (apologies I did call it bailout..i knew what I meant ..lol) is getting dependant on it

FWIW I've always had rescue on my FBLs and am not dependent on it. I can self-rescue 99% of the time because I chose to learn that way. But rescue covers the other 1% of mistakes I make and more importantly gives me confidence to try new things knowing that I do have a safety net. I do practice using rescue both on the sim and in real life to get the muscle memory. It's no different to hitting TH in that respect, except without the cost! No crashes this year at all so far and only hit rescue for real once when I lost the plot while a bit too close to the ground for comfort. It was nice to see it snap level inverted and climb out.

MSH Brain sounds like a good choice for rescue, but not sure how well it works as a self-level trainer. I thought I'd read mixed reports of it in that mode?

[_tj_]

+1.

Self level is virtually impossible to use for learning unless you can adjust it.
Movement is very limited.

[waveydavey]

I think Pete has hit the nail on the head it's down to the way you learn. Most have learned to use hold so should be able to make the switch but you normally hit hold when you're in the shit and it's going in anyway. Me, I'm still trying to wrestle it from the grips of the ground demon before I think about hitting hold. If you start with bailout I do think it's a very different method than hold, at least it's used in the most at a very different time. I'd never get used to it due to the above although I'll give it a go with BeastX on a 450 and see how I get on.

[tomatwalden]

I would say that rescue is far from needed for a beginner. The different levels of SAFE mode that you have on Blade micro BNF helis is alright for learning, but rescue on a collective pitch is a different kettle of fish!

I think the best FBL for a beginner is one that is (a) easy to understand and/or (b) is used both others in your club/area who can help you out when stuck.

I always thought the AR7200BX was a good FBL as it is easy to setup and doesn't need a PC / VBC / Datapod etc.

[Martind]

If you want any help give me a shout. It's a tight for on the pro but will for.