msr 1st heli what next

[dogbiscuit]

new flyer with blade msr. already becoming addicted to helis and cant stop looking and reading about them. did lots of research before buying the msr and turned out to be a good choice. getting on well after only 3 weeks and wanting another one already. so what should it be? it needs to be cheapish, durable, cheap to repair and fly well. what are peoples thoughts on the honey bee. either the fixed pitch or cp3. these new ones have been made stronger, are cheap to buy and fix and can be flown outside in more space than i have for the msr. every time i get to adventurous with the msr it clips a wall. theres only so many hits it takes before thing start to break... all good, learning to understand and repair helis, but with a little more space outside i feel it will be a bit easier and faster progress will be made.no dedicated section to them on the forum for them? are they ok?

[graycbr]

HH say the blade SR is the nxt step comes RTF
Have your got your own TX or using the controller came with the MSR ?

[tiddler]

Yup the Blade SR looks like its an ideal next step up from the mSR.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTjsTAj03U"]YouTube- Blade SR[/ame]

[dogbiscuit]

i thought thats what you would say. it looks interesting.at the moment i no very little about the sr. Is it actually available yet? have you flown one? I'm still on standard tx with msr at the mo. are you telling me its time for the DX6i? before i get to far ahead i have a new problem with the msr. I have lost foreward and backward flight on duel rate. ok with full control. when you go foreward the heli dips a little, manages a few feet forward before rising and then coming to a halt. at this point it tries to fall to either side rather than going forward. holding the stick full forward and it still wont go. it will cover more ground in a wave like motion, go, dip, rise, stop, then the same again. It always had a slight tendancy to fly like this when new but now you can hold foreward for maybee 5 seconds or so and still it wont move. side to side no problem at all.any thoughts on that. should i forget the honey bee? is it best to stick with models that will fly on the same tx (asuming honey bee cant be used with DX6i)

[msssltd]

I'm still on standard tx with msr at the mo. are you telling me its time for the DX6i? before i get to far ahead

It is probably time for a simulator (like Phoenix) and a radio to drive it, before you get too far ahead. The SR will come with a new transmitter which is specially programmed to make the SR more manageable for a beginner. The SR will also bind to a DX6i, but we don't yet know how that will effect the handling, as the SR is not available until the end of February. There seems to be a little confusion as to whether the SR's bundled radio will work with a simulator, which many people think is an essential for progressing onto a CP heli. A DX6i and Phoenix will prove a good purchase, even if it turns out to be slightly less than optimal.

i have a new problem with the msr. I have lost foreward and backward flight on duel rate.

Check the head and servo linkages are connected and working properly. Check the back of the swash plate has not popped out the guide in the frame. Check the upper swash bearing has not popped out, using the supplied swash gauge. It may be something else, but that is where I would start.

[graycbr]

I would get a dx6i/dx7 & a copy of phoenix for now .
The blade SR looks the part but only comes as a RTF plus don't know if the TX supplyed will work on Phoenix no info on this yet !
If you buy as above when the weather is unflyable you can use the sim

[dogbiscuit]

thanks guys for the suggestions. there seems nothing obviously wrong with the msr. not too woried as i am now far more competent with duel rate off. will look into it further tho. the faults are really subtle making beginners diagnosis tricky.

It feels like the word honey bee is a swear word. everyone seems reluctant to mention it?

[tiddler]

It feels like the word honey bee is a swear word. everyone seems reluctant to mention it?

You said it again

Now go wash your mouth out

Seriously though, If you want to make progress in this hobby, then Phoenix is the cheapest and best way of doing that. Once you have got the hang of things with it, then that's the time to look at your next heli.

Going the HB or the cheap Fixed pitch heli route will only end up with a carrier bag full of broken pieces and repeated repair bills with little progress.
Many of us have been there, done that and learnt from our mistakes

The Blade SR does look like a promising beginners next step heli but as its not due for release until the end of February, you might as well be learning with the sim in the mean time, plus you could always sell it on when you have finished with it. Although I doubt you would want to as its a brilliant bit of kit even for experienced pilots.

[dogbiscuit]

ok, sim seems like the route to take. that leaves the tx question to ponder over. what about other makes such as futaba rather than the dx6i. can you give me any info on the pros and cons of other makes. will a futaba bind to an e-flite heli ? any good reading you can direct me to about transmitters.is there a cheaper option tx that can be used with sim thats any good. finding phoenix and dx6i money in one go will hurt

[bigpops]

Honey Bee V2.

I have the V1, heavily modified, my Dad has the V2, stock. The V2 is excellent. It flies much better than the old V1, especially with the Xtreme fibre reinforced blades (these give it a higher head speed). Not only that, but those blades are very tough. I smashed them into a ceramic tub on the garden the other day and there wasn't a mark on them.

On a calm day, or indoor, it's excellent. Really fun to fly. Plus, when you crash, it usually doesn't break anything, or if it does, it's very very cheap to fix. They say if you can fly a Honey Bee, you can fly anything.

My thoughts on the Blade SR are these. Any common CP helil can be made as docile as the SR if you have a computer Tx, so I don't really see the point of it. Plus, when you crash, it's going to cost you. Eflite parts have crazy prices.

Sims are great (I have Phoenix myself) but it's nowhere near as fun as flying for real. If I were confined to flying on the sim, I'd have quit by now because if you're not in the right mood, it's BORING.

I admit I have a bit of a love thing going on with my Honey Bee, but I'm not the only one. I have a Trex 250, 2x 450s, an mSR, an mCX, and a Walkera 4#3b, but I like the Bee the best.

ok, sim seems like the route to take. that leaves the tx question to ponder over. what about other makes such as futaba rather than the dx6i. can you give me any info on the pros and cons of other makes.

Futaba are great, but the recievers are expensive compared to Spektrum.

will a futaba bind to an e-flite heli ?

No. Only DSM2 radios will bind to Eflite helis (and Parkzone planes for that matter). That means you need a Spektrum or JR radio, or a DSM2 Tx module.

any good reading you can direct me to about transmitters.is there a cheaper option tx that can be used with sim thats any good. finding phoenix and dx6i money in one go will hurt

If you want a cheap radio that can be used with Phoenix, have a look for a used Eflite LP5DSM. These come with the Blade CX2 and CX3 and work perfectly with Phoenix. Expect to pay £15-£40 for one. Those are the prices I've seen them go for on Ebay.

Hope this helps. Reconsider the Honey Bee.

[coptermanic]

Pops is correct. At this stage, a Spektrum DX6i or DX7 would make sense as it would cover you for many years of heli flying, particularly the DX7, should you branch into nitro where the extra ch is nice to have. The DX7 will bind to the AR6000/6100 or the AR7000 receivers, which are cheaper than their Futaba counterparts. Eflite BNF heli are no problem either, same for some planks.
Later on, should you want to go in the direction of scale, where more channels are needed, there are other options of TX from Spektrum/JR and Futaba.

[dogbiscuit]

you have just said what i was hoping to hear. the msr hasnt been that dificult to get to grips with, and has cost £12 in spares to learn the basics and have lots of fun. it does seem to make sense when you can repair the honey bee for the same price as my msr (which i love). i feel i want the actual fun of flying at the moment. if/when you break it, then learning to fix it is also part of the fun. how much wind can it take (the msr just wont move foreward with any wind) i assume the size and weight gain of the bee must make a reasonable difference? will the honey bee tx work with phoenix sim. if so then I'm still making moves toward the sim at a later date