Anybody here own an RC Helicopter?
 

I've never built or flown one. I've been told to be prepared to crash and burn a lot during the learning process.

So......I'm not sure what would be a decent into level Heli to start with. I don't want to invest a shitload only to fuck it up on the first flight.

I'm looking for a regular size one, not one of those micro pieces of shit.

Any suggestions?

Yes I have one aaron they are a blast, you just gotta be careful learning how to fly them gets very very pricey :)

I have the e-flite Blade cx2 it was under 199 and its a lot of fun, if your gonna buy one hit me up I can show you the new e-flite one thats even better and cost only a bit more.

According to their website, those are micros.

Shok over at SIC is big into RC - mostly planes but I think he might have a helicopter too. He gets into the super powered gas exploding type stuff ;)

Just search on "shok" for his contact info.

Thanks for the info. I definitely want nitro as well. If you're gonna do it, do it right. :)

What is the radius on the RC copters for those in the know? I've also been interested in using it.

i went all out and got myself a real sweet gas powered RC helicopter. Spent about a month putting it together and thinking of how great it will be. Got it all done and after my trial flight that consisted of going up moving about 5 feet and then landing I figured this should be fun.

Wham, broke the shit out of it on flight two. Good news was I got about 25% back after selling parts and I was still able to sell the Radio control portion. After that I got an RC-10 and stayed on the ground.

i had a cheap $80 one and smashed it in about 20 mins

LOL.....That sucks.

They still make RC-10s? I have a sick Yokomo YZ-10 that I've owned since about 1990. Upgraded and customized the hell out of it but now parts are hard to come by.

Do not really know if they do. This was years ago.
I had also bought a gas powered Stunka airplane, never put it together after the helicopter incident and sold it like two years ago.

Most of the hobby shops that sell the ones you are looking for will offer free lessons if you buy from them. I bought a huge 6' gas airplane at one a few years back, spent like 750 on it, and they took me out and showed me how to fly it and how to keep from crashing it. However, I lost interest and never really flew it since the lesson.

i suggest you getting some micros to learn it first... practice, then move up...

dont learn stunt driving in a cobra ;)

work up to it...

and yes, you go through a lot of trial and error... learning to fly, adjusting your trim... getting curves and flow down... DO NOT TRY AND LEARN INSIDE!!!!



they are fun

I hear they're really tough to fly. I built an RC plane once and a friend crashed it right off.. that was the end of that.

check this guy out https://youtube.com/watch?v=WM-x9Hc8Xyc

I've flown them a bit, but practiced on a sim first. Helped a lot. It was this one or something similar... http://www.realflight.com/products/interlink.html

Sorry aaron didnt know yiou wanted the big gas run ones, thats what Im gonna be picking up next summer, I bought this one to learn on now its time for the big one

I would think that they fly very differently.

I got one! Bought it off of Woot.com . I can't get the thing to stop turning around in a circle and then crashing and burning. I don't think I've played with it in weeks now.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=q6F-0rIpLJE

insane....

I have about 5 copters and a dozen or more RC scale aircraft, including a few Byron Jets F15 etc.
I suggest you go down to your local Hobby Lobby and buy a mid size gas or electric for around $500.00 all in. Get the training gear which looks like 6 foot long stick with ping pong balls at each end and make sure you use them. They will stop most of the crashes, tip stalls etc. You should also pick up a few sets of spare blades you are going to need them. Futaba make the best radio gear http://www.futaba-rc.com if you want to make this a long term hobby ?

The UK has a great range of scale copters that dont look like a flying plastic takeout boxes http://www.rchobby.co.uk/hirobo_lama.html

This is an interesting video and these guys are supposed to be experts ?https://youtube.com/watch?v=e5Wy5uiOcKA

This is another f15 im working on, fitting a real minature jet engine.

http://www.fantasyforge.com/images/f15.jpg

http://www.fantasyforge.com/images/f15kit.jpg

:2 cents: Start with something basic and work up.

You will crash it! For around $200 you can get something that will do most everything the bigger ones does and cost alot less to rebuild.

Once you have the smaller one under control upgrade to something BIG :thumbsup

My brother has a very small heli... It is fucking awsome to fly. Crashes all the time, but still fun

i own a few, they are difficult to learn to fly but a lot of fun once you get it.

expect a lot of crashes for a week or more

Cool....I'll check out the UK link. I was thinking of spending between $500 and $1000 including the radio to get started. Can you recommend a specific model in that price range?

you can barely walk should have known you were gonna fly like shit...:1orglaugh

I believe most of the higher-end radios now have a means to connect to a flight-sim of sorts? Granted, it's been some time since I've even looked into it.

Someday I want to get into these as well, my plan was to get a radio I could connect to the PC and do it on the sim before going into the real world. This way, you at least have the basics down (e.g. which stick does what). This won't help learning to deal with "real world" things like wind gusts and the like, but I think it's a hell of a lot better than nothing :)

Sounds like fun though!

-Phil

Check out the real flight software from Great Planes

http://www.realflight.com/

True to life simulation using the actual controller you would use on your RC

http://www.xheli.com/e4chflsitrki.html
Learn to fly it on the puter ;)

I flew planes for about a year and decided I wanted to get more challenged.

I quickly learned that there is a big difference between planes and helis.

In a plane it is going forward and if you tune it correctly it would continue to move in the same flight line until the battery runs out... Need to get some dust out of your eye? Just pull up a notch and drop the power down and you have plenty of time. This is NOT the case in a heli.

In a plane, if you are flying straight out away from you and do a big turn to the right and come around crossing you to the left it is pretty easy to orientate yourself with the aircraft. This is because you don't have to continually adjust anything. This is not the case in a heli.

A heli requires CONSTANT corrections. So even in 100% still air you cannot take your hands off the controls. The heli is creating a vortex of its own and this is what makes flying one very difficult.

You might get hovering down in a day or two. But once the heli is turned to the right, hovering is now 5 times harder. And once it is facing you it is about 30 times harder. You have to shift from right is right and left is left to all of a sudden right is left and left is right and if you get it to fully turn around you need to switch back again...

So when you watch videos of guys doing amazing things you have to realize they have been flying for YEARS... And they fly their heli like you use your camera. In other words, if the heli is going to come second to photography you will need years just to do basic stuff.

Gas is good if you ONLY have outside to practice. An electric is going to be pushed around by the slightest breeze pretty hard. So if you get an electric you need a large place to fly in. Think conference room. The living room will NOT be big enough. The garage will not be big enough. You will want a very large room or very still air outside.

I would suggest getting a small electric to learn on. You WILL crash. Even the pros crash. Ontario is having a convention where you can see pros crash up close and personal. That is Ontario, California.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/amaconvention.aspx

I have the one in the link i posted to the UK site. Not sure what it cost as we got it for a film that was canceled. Search a few UK sites and if you have problems hit me up and ill source a few places i used to deal with if they are still there after 12 years !!!

Get a Hydrofoam.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=g_cbigre7bE

Nope, but they look cool.

I played around with one of those electric mini helis and even that was great fun, but I like RC planes way more. Have lots of fun!

Just order one of those Air Hogs that they always advertise on TV. You can fly it from your desk.

http://www.airhogs.com/

Into the hobby for about 6 months. All helis. I first purchased a mini styrofoam for $25 and it was fun!

Next came the MASH Rescue copter $150, but I crashed it in day one and it took forever to find replacement parts.

Then I found a LOCAL hobby store and got a E Flite Blade CX2. $199. but I still crashed way to often. Luckily the store had replacement blades.

I then got the gift. Real Flight simulator G4 $175. The actions on the remote are near perfect. 30 aircraft, 10 airports, cockpit views, competitions and more.

Now I can even fly my blade in the wind. In order: accessible replacement parts and practice.
Good luck :thumbsup

http://www.beetx.com/rc.jpg

There are two types of RC helicopters: Those that are crashed and those that are going to crash!

Make sure you get some EXPERIENCED help! Also, check for a local club! You will learn more from them than you can imagine! Get something small and then move up! You can also check out RunRyder! Best of Luck!

The guy at the hobbie store said to learn on the smaller battery one before flying the big gas operated ones, so thats what me and my cousin did, we bought two of the battery ones till next summer

Now we just need to put a camera on these Helicopters! What a niche this could be!:2 cents:

Hi Aaron

Been flying RC models since i was young both planes and helis now you can learn to fly helicopters on your own just about with the small electric ones.

However these are pretty basic and you cant learn how to fly one of these and then expect to be able to fly an engine(nitro) powered helicopter you will crash !

Helicopters are extremely complicated and need to be set up by some one who knows what they are doing !
I worked for one of the larger UK hobby shops when i was younger and we routinely set up customers helicopters so i am sure there must be similar shops and services in the states !

I buy some of my stuff from the states too towerhobbies.com are very good.
I would also advise going to some of the rc forums and trying to find someone local or a club etc !

Enjoy the hobby its great fun i have a couple of indoor helis too which are great fun when its wet or windy in crappy ole England

Incase someone didn't already say it, they have pretty good computer programs that will help you get used to the controls. Definetely start with a cheap one until you get some skills, because that shit is expensive.

I watched a guy crash one that cost him about 1500. He actually started crying, it was tough to watch.

Hey Aaron,

I fly all turbine jets and a few helicopters.

That being said, helicopters are the most challenging sector of R/C.

http://towerhobbies.com/products/heli-max/hmxe06.html

this is what you need to start.
this one is very stable for beginners, but can do 3D flight with throttle up availability for inverted flight.
But before you take off, you need to get used to how helos react so you need to use the simulator.

Flying a helicopter is basically a balancing act.
Take a piece of glass and put a marble in the center and try and keep it there...thats about how it is to fly them.

I have friends with turbine jet powered helicopters and they are awesome to watch

I have crashed a couple
 

I bought a couple from this site http://raidentech.com It seems to be the cheapest. Here is me crashing my jet in a choppy phone video https://youtube.com/watch?v=HuSG7B9ZqPE