The 'disruptor' heli, that makes you re-think the fleet?

[trillian]

This is a 'thinking out loud' post. Have you ever bought a helicopter that made such an impact that it changed your thinking about the rest, or about helis in general? One that put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons?

I have had a couple, the first one being the Robbe Futura, way back around 2010 ish. The Futura was not a new model by then, but it was new to me. And it was a revelation for me because I was still fairly new to the hobby, and the Futura flew so much better than anything I had owned, it was a real eye-opener.

Since then I've had loads of very good helis and evolved away from flybars and nitro etc. And slowly I gravitated towards an almost all 'boutique' heli fleet. And I was very happy with all of them. But the latest disruptor is ---- the Henseleit TDSF.

I know the TDSF would not be everyone's proverbial cup of Java. And when I first heard about it, I actually wasn't imediately drawn to it because it is an exercise in weight-savings that is taken to such an extreme, I though it was too extreme. Although, the idea behind it was right down my alley because I was already flying my bigger helis at low-ish headspeeds and liking the 700s and 800s with lighter blade loading.

So my curiousity got the better of me and I wanted one, but unfortunately I missed the boat on the last production run of new kits and had to find one 2nd hand. Luckily I found a very good one with very low flying time on it and all very good electrics etc.

It has quickly become my favourite heli. Which, odd as it may sound, is one of the reasons I resisted in the beginning. I thought, what if I like it so much that I neglect all my others, which I had invested a lot of time (and money) into :-o

There are two reasons the TDSF has become my firm fav, one is that it's just gosh darn convenient - a 700 that flies beautifully and effortlessly on a single 6s or 5s pack, so much less charging, less stuff to carry around etc. The other reason is that it has a lovely 'floaty' quality that I had only experienced with lightweight 800s.

The TDSF has certainly changed the way I think about the rest of my small collection, and some of them won't get flown as much as they used to. But at the end of the day, the net result is that the hobby overall is improved for me. And I love contrast, so I still appreciate the heavier big helis, there is still something to be said for mass! And I still enjoy the 450s and my trusty old Trex 500. And as the TDSF is the ultimate 'single pack 700', there's really no reason for any of my other helis to try to fill that niche, no reason to wish any of them were lighter or anything that they're not. The 600s are a bit in limbo though, because those were the single-pack machines before, so more thinking is required :-o

[Mike Sanders]

For about 8 years I had yearned for a TDR. I read a review in a magazine and considered it to be the "Rolls Royce" of helicopters. Then a chap called Carl (or Karl, I forget) Newton (Delorado on here), joined our club, sunny MK. He had a TDR and I loved watching it fly. I wanted one more than ever. My fellow club members knew this.

About 6 years later Andy K offered me a second hand TDR with a Kontronik motor and four canopies, at a reasonable price. I jumped at it. I checked over the mechanicals and set it up carefully with my Spartan Vortex VX1. I couldn't get it to fly very well. I thought it could be better. I bought a second hand V Bar mini and put that on it. I still couldn't get it to my liking.

I now realise now that the TDR is a fast machine, suited to high speeds and large, big air manouevres. I like to keep the helicopter close to me and my flying is mainly slow upright hovering .

I persevered with the set up. I was flying it one day with the wind from behind us. Before I knew it the TDR had travelled at great speed away from me. I couldn't tell which way round it was or even which way up it was. ( I have since had cataract operations which have improved my eyesight tremendously). I tried to get it back but I obviously made a wrong input and in it went. The damage wasn't too bad but when I picked it up I made the decision that I would not repair it. I gave the remains away to a good home and don't regret that.

Apart from that and a Blade 130 X, which I hated, I have only had Align helicopters. I think I will stick with them for the near future.

Yes the TDR changed my helicoptering life. It has been a good education so I don't really regret having owned it. It has helped me to appreciate my limitations,

[barryorbik]

I started off trying to fly an ESKY King 2 (RTF on 35mHz). I persevered for almost 12 month, but despite help from other helicopter flying club pilots, no one could get it to fly right. On advice to try something bigger like a Raptor 30, but not wanting the added complication of a nitro, I bought a Gaui 550 from a chap outside a swap meet!! This thing terrified me as it was fast and 'felt' really heavy in the air compared to the King 2. After a few of buttock clenching hovers it was shelved until my nerves recovered. Progress finally came with a flybarred Mini Titan that I bought off the BMFA, which after having the Tower Pro 90 servo's (which had been epoxied into the frame - by a fixed wing builder?) and the rate gyro replaced, became my go to helicopter and despite being like Triggers Broom, (it has endured many ground strikes) is still my most flown. I think the real game changer though was an original Blade MXP-x, as that suffered major abuse, but usually just bounced ready for more torture in my (slow) progress to becoming a reasonably confident flier.

[trillian]

I bought and sold a few things with Carl, I don't remember the details as it was a long time ago.

Speaking of the TDR, I had the stupidest crash of my life with the TDR, due partially to the wind, but it was the other direction, towards me. And, as you say, before you know it the TDR can cover some ground, and in my case it got over my head in an inverted turn and I panicked, tried to flip it back over blind, then got sight of it but it was too close to the ground by then. (this was around, either end of 2018 or early 2019). So I repaired it and modified the layout with the idea of making it lighter by being able to use really small packs.

Well, now I don't feel like there's any point in that concept really, as the TDSF is far and away the ultimate light 700. So I am going to bring the TDR back to its original setup, (not that it was ever a heavy machine, it is a very respectable weight).

I guess the Minicopter Triabolo was a bit of a disruptor, in a fashion, because that's what started me running lower headspeeds. Before the Triabolo, I had carried on with the same sort of headspeeds I ran with nitro helis, so usually 1800-1900 ish. But the Triabolo made me think hmmm, three blades, so lets run at 30% lower. And it worked great, so I then lowered the headspeed on the Rave ENV I was flying, and just upped the pitch range to get back the same feel I was used to. From then on I began running my 700s at around 1300, give or take a bit, and pitch range around 14 degrees instead of 11.

(The Triabolo is still fantastic by the way, so incredibly precise)

[p4ddy]

Nope, I was too poor to buy a disruptor heli. One day I will put a separate gyro and receiver on my ripmax sabre to enjoy again. On that note I guess I can say that the Sabre was my disruptor Heli as it disrupted everything. It led me away from whatever path I was heading towards onto a path of helicrack and lack of sufficient funds to support my addiction.

[Grumpy]

TDSF was also the heli that made me re-think what a 700 heli needed to be. It goes so well with agility and punch, and 10 minute flight time, all on a cheap 5s 4500mAh pack. It makes you think why does everyone else make helis that have expensive monster power systems (and monster weight to go along with it) that fly for only 3-5 minutes? All manufacturers should have a long close look at the TDSF. Sure that degree of weight saving might not be for everyone but it does go to show there is more ways to get high performance than focussing only on 'more power'.