Jumping in.... Advice for first 'real' helo

[Sabre6]

Hello all,

Kindly advise this newbie to the hobby. After reading the forums in the web, have decided to jump in to the world of RC electric helo.

I had decided to skip the Co-ax->FP->CP route and jump right to a CP. Rationale being that there will be minimal change of gear at least while I learn the ropes. That way, all the cash put aside for this hobby can go towards spares and rebuild (I expect to crash a lot).

Managed to pick up a Spektrum DX7 from one of the brothers here, and now am looking at the following options for the helo:

- Thunder Tiger Mini Titan E325.

- Align TREX 450 or one of its clones.

Options are shortlisted due to spare parts supportability, and the possibility of tuning them for learning. For the M-T, Rotor is advertising a ARF super combo that comes with everything except the RX, not sure if that will be suitable. Or will it be better to look for a used one of either choice as a learner instead?

Greatly appreciate any advice that the kind brothers here can provide.

cheers

[mahathyr]

My bro(jazallo) who is my trainer and his advise to me before my first hover in January is to master the hovering in a good simulator basically he wants me to master hover tail in, 45degrees right tail-in and 45degrees left tail-in and sure enough my first hover did not require me for a training skid..and i have never crash during my hover training and the first crash was actually during flight-training (stall-turn)...so i have given advice to 3 different beginners who have never touch any rc stuff and yes after 3 weeks of hovering on the sim they were able to hover the real thing without a training skid...but i see you're a member since 2008 so maybe u have master the sim...as a heli choice..i have tried both and i say i like the align 450(sport) better as a first heli...even a flasher or a clone (sport version) would work...im not saying MT is not good but its just what i prefer...cheerzzz

[rccollect]

My bro(jazallo) who is my trainer and his advise to me before my first hover in January is to master the hovering in a good simulator basically he wants me to master hover tail in, 45degrees right tail-in and 45degrees left tail-in and sure enough my first hover did not require me for a training skid..and i have never crash during my hover training and the first crash was actually during flight-training (stall-turn)...so i have given advice to 3 different beginners who have never touch any rc stuff and yes after 3 weeks of hovering on the sim they were able to hover the real thing without a training skid...but i see you're a member since 2008 so maybe u have master the sim...as a heli choice..i have tried both and i say i like the align 450(sport) better as a first heli...even a flasher or a clone (sport version) would work...im not saying MT is not good but its just what i prefer...cheerzzz

Sorry to butt in but need to ask a question: when do you know at which pt when u can dump the trainig skids and fly w/o them?

[UH-1H]

When u can hover and maintain hovering.

[iceman_215]

... and land the machine

When u can hover and maintain hovering.

I agree with UH-1H...

You can take out the training gear when you can hover perfectly in place.

However... I may want to add something to that... apart from hovering... you must also be able to land the machine without tipping it over. That's why the training gear is there for. To minimize the chance of your heli tipping over.

I too is a newbie... And unless I'm confident with my hovering, I'm not taking out the training gear.

[kiply]

Hello all,

Kindly advise this newbie to the hobby. After reading the forums in the web, have decided to jump in to the world of RC electric helo.

I had decided to skip the Co-ax->FP->CP route and jump right to a CP. Rationale being that there will be minimal change of gear at least while I learn the ropes. That way, all the cash put aside for this hobby can go towards spares and rebuild (I expect to crash a lot).

Managed to pick up a Spektrum DX7 from one of the brothers here, and now am looking at the following options for the helo:

- Thunder Tiger Mini Titan E325.

- Align TREX 450 or one of its clones.

Options are shortlisted due to spare parts supportability, and the possibility of tuning them for learning. For the M-T, Rotor is advertising a ARF super combo that comes with everything except the RX, not sure if that will be suitable. Or will it be better to look for a used one of either choice as a learner instead?

Greatly appreciate any advice that the kind brothers here can provide.

cheers

If you wish to get a mini-titan, I suggest you get the V2 as it has better design features. The V2 is a very good 450 size heli, can be stable or agile. If you prefer the older version, best to get second hand.

[UH-1H]

If u re on a budget, clones combos are good enough to start with. But please get a 450-500 size to start with not a 250.

[rayshaw23]

definitely a good simulator is needed if u want to go far in this hobby. the simulator not only allow u to learn hover, but also all the acrobatics that u want to perform in the future.
as for which heli to get, get one that is cheap, parts are cheap, parts are easily available, and easy to set up. in the end, what u really want to do is go out and fly, and not wait at home for the spares to be available at the shops and spending too long a time at home setting up a heli, although properly setting up a heli is a must!
just my 2 cents.

[kaon]

Simulator!

In my opinion, and from my own experience, if u want to skip coax and fp, then must learn and practise on a sim!

I have a DX7 too, and I am happy with Phoenix. Bought it more than 1 yr ago. It is nice to have all the frequent free updates. Available at many local shops, or online shops. It is much cheaper than Real Flight.

[feudallordcult]

In my opinion, and from my own experience, if u want to skip coax and fp, then must learn and practise on a sim!

I have a DX7 too, and I am happy with Phoenix. Bought it more than 1 yr ago. It is nice to have all the frequent free updates. Available at many local shops, or online shops. It is much cheaper than Real Flight.

+1. get a sim first and practise lots with the dx7.

[TWE75]

Erm i'm also thinking of trying 6 channel heli cos my last 3 channel rc heli battery was abused by me and is now dead after just a few months :P . Now that i've read up some info about how to take care of lipo battery .. so was thinking of trying 6 channels but somehow was given the impression of it being difficult to learn and very time consuming from "some pple" .

Also have a budget of ard $300 because i don't want to buy a big nice heli ... only to be thrashed by my own crappy skills :P . I also have zero tx to speak of . Only achievement to speak of was just making a zero channel ( first generation toy grade ) rc heli to move forward and fly it all around instead of just up and down .

Besides i do shiftwork also , so sometime i may not have much time even to think about the heli . So any recomendations ? Should i try a 450 size or a mini size 6 channel heli first ?