Ah man, what to do ? Mini pred content

[gasgasbones]

Well I bought the Mini pred from a Model shop after being told that they are good learner models, stable etc blah blah blah.

Well then i come on here and find that they get a bit of a slating !!!
I know, I hear you "should have done your research first" ! But Im a noob so I take what the chap in the shop says as gossple. Maybe he has never had any probs ?

I havent attempted to fly it yet, When I got it home it seemed that the ESC was fried as the motor wouldnt spin up. ( Gives me more time on the sim )The model shop guys took the ESC back and Century are sending another to me. so now im begining to think that the stories are true about these models.

In a round about way what im asking is this. Are these models really that bad ? Should I cut my losses and flog it on ebay before i prang it and start with a more trusted model. Or should I give it a go .......

Carl

[xygax]

The mini pred is a cost effcitive model and some peoples have had reasonable results with them. Its not a walkers or a shuttle (which some people swear at) so if its set up right get somebody to check it for you and then go fly....

Steve

[LipolyGone]

As Steve said go fly it mate.
Not all people have had issues with the mini pred & you tend not to hear the sucess stories only the horror stories.
What's more is you've paid for it & wont get back anywhere near what it's cost you so why not just go & get it set up by someone experienced & go have some fun.
Martin

[DAZZ]

Carl,

For what it's worth ...............Everyone has an opinion and is entiltled to an opinion ........You can however get wrapped up in the usually banter of what is right and what is wrong ....................It's no differant to blinging up a car or bike and believing that you

"need to do it like this and buy one of those"..............

When i started 4 years ago i used to break out into a sweat when contemplated buying my first proper heli ..!!!...........

Having flown the mini pred and been the owner of couple of centuary models over the years I would echo the comments above and advise

JUST GO AND FLY !!

I will however add that Centuary have always been realiable for me and we all suffer from a bad part from time to time..............................

Enjoy ......and form your own opinions..................you will I am sure suprise yourself

Best of luck mate and keep posting on this forum for the most down to earth solid advice .....

DAZZ

[Mike W]

I started with a mini pred and TBH I had hours of fun with it and it was a nice machine to learn with albeit a little twitchy , but so is the blade lol.... Yeh people slate them but I can't as had nothing but fun and good times with it .. Yeh its no Trex but then you get what you pay for ... For the price like the Blade 400 they are good value for money .. Every machine has some pitfall and with the amount they produce quality control sometimes goes out the window ... Word of warning tho .. Like all stuff that they say is RTF .. they normally are not lol... Well not to a Noob so I would recommend someone that flies has a look and a check over of it before you take it in the air ...

[gasgasbones]

Sound advise, thanks chaps.

I will give it a go and see how I get on, just after reading some negative comments i thought it might be worth starting again witha higher regarded model

[brin]

hi carl as said before where in london are you as there maybe some of us near at hand that could help set it up with you are there any clubs near you as joining a club is a great help

[adeacon]

Carl

I have a falcon 3D (a mini pred equivalent) and it was my first "real" heli after flying a medevac.

Agree with everything said above - if you can get to a club and get help then it will really help.

Another couple of bits of advice - fit the training legs at first, even if you think you don't need them - will save you a few quid if it tries to tip over on take off/landing.

Second - check for glitching - cost me two bent booms and a tail gearbox - but falcon radios are reknowned for being dodgy.

Also - if you're like me take it gently at first (small hops) - when the thing spun up I couldn't believe how much power was there compared to a co-axial heli. Leave the idle up switch well alone for a while (but when you do hit it for the first time get ready for the adrenaline rush!).

Best of luck with it

Andy

[Si Goodchild]

Dude, Flown nothing but a MiniPred so far and it can be a great little heli. Some definite build quality frustrations to be had, but for the money I have to say that a good one will do just fine. For spares, I use heliguy.com and buy Falcon 3D spares: they are identical. If you want to treat yourself get the Falcon 3D canopy as it looks so much beter than the stock yellow one. Oh, and it flies a lot better without the training gear.

Good luck,

Si G