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How do I choose among all of the great helicopters out there?
The best bang for your hard earned dollars if just starting out is most likely a fixed pitch model such as the Esky Honey Bee FP or a Walkera 4G1b. Whether you buy it as a RTF (Ready To Fly) version or get a bare bones kit, you should be able to get a decent learning platform airborn for about $100.
Here is the Walkera 4#1B. You get a 2.4gHz transmitter so no radio interference or channel worries (maybe), and a very nice heli already upgraded with CNC metal head.
This is the real deal, a single rotor helicopter similar to the real ones we see flying around every day. They are very challenging to fly, but in the challenge lies the reward!
Cheep, light and easy repairs can be made using super glue (CA) and BBQ skewers. If you know this starting out, you will not be so discouraged when you break something. You will break something in the learning process! Or many things! This type of heli is one of the most durable and best trainers.
If you purchase an FP, there is much to learn. The head and blades must be balanced just right for it to fly really well. The shaft and flybar must be straight, and the center of gravity should be right below the main shaft so the motor does not have to fight imbalance in addition to gravity to provide lift. You can get away with straightening out a flybar several times, but usually not the main shaft. It is good to have a supply of stock main shafts, flybars, main gears and blades so the mechanics can (you) can repair it when needed.
When you can fly forward circuits (circles) and figure 8s with the FP, you will be ready to move on to a Collective Pitch heli. But keep the FP by all means for indoor use and extra nose-in training.
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Can I Use A Transmitter That I Already Own?
Building from scratch can be a good way to go. If you already have a 4 channel plane transmitter, then you certainly do not need another transmitter box in your collection. So you might want to buy a bare bones kit like the Esky HBFP bare bones kit for $33 from BPHobbies LINK
Add:
Items from HobbyCity:
2 HXT900 servos ($3.69/ea) LINKHXT 1000 mAh D9 G2 11.4V LiPO ($14.55) LINK
Items from CNCHelicopter.com
Brushless motor and ESC ($25) LINK
Items from XHeli
Esky HH gyro ($29.95) LINK
Items from Tower Hobbies:
GWS CN12-RXC Motor (1)/EP3020 Prop (2) - $10.75
GWS CN12 Motor Heat Sink - $1.50
GWS EP3020 Tail Rotor Blade EDP-50/H - $5.00
GWS Tail Rotor Housing & Vertical Fin - $2.50
ESC for GWS CN12-RXC Motor
Items from Ultimate Hobbies:
Kyosho M24 Blades - $12.95 (optional)
Most low end starter helicopter manufacturers try and bundle all you need to sell as a low priced package but end up skimping on electronics to get you to buy it. So generally you get a really poor transmitter with the low priced starter packages.
By using your own transmitter and building your own heli from the bones up, you benefit from better electronics and you don't have to throw away the crummy one later when you upgrade to a really good one.
Eventually, if you decide this hobby is really fun and you want to continue with it for a long time, then you will probably purchase a transmitter that costs more than your first helicopter did. A nice programmable transmitter with 6 or 7 channels of the modern 2.4gHz type will cost between $150 and $400.
Flying a 4-channel FP heli with a standard plane 4-channel transmitter is a good way to start out without having to spend too much for a quality learning experience.
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Other Ready-To-Fly FPs?
I would look for what is the most polular selling, what is the best supported for parts in the stores or on-line, and what model has the best forum support. The more people that frequent a particular model forum, the more likely you are to get answers to your questions in a reasonable amount of time, and the best help you will find from other posts.
The following heli come with transmitter, motor and everything needed.
Esky Honey Bee FP RTF is very popular, has a huge forum presence on several forum sites and there are many on-line parts suppliers. ~$100
Walkera 4G1B FP, while impressive looking with CNC head and 2.4gHz transmiter, I ave read that it has not been the best performing heli. Some who have tried both are using the Esky instead with modifications. ~100. I wouldn't mind having one of these though.
Falcon 40 from Exceed is good at $89 and a very hot seller.
Venom Night Ranger II is a contender at $149.
To be honest, I skipped the FP, 4 channel step and went straight to a 6 channel Esky HB King II. Many times while rebuilding the King II, however, I have wished I had started with an FP.
400 CLASS STARTERS?
If you think you are ready for a 6 channel CP heli then you might try this:
The Esky Honey Bee King II:
Many have started with an Esky King II because it is inexpensive to get into and they think it has all that they need. However, they will quickly find many shorcomings. The motor cannot handle the load and must be upgraded within several flights to a brushless system with a new brushless ESC and a larger battery pack. For this reason I recommend the Esky BeltCP as a better low end starter. It comes with a brushless motor, matching ESC and 1800mAh LiPo, metal linkage balls, and is slightly larger making it a bit more stable. It does still come with a barely sufficient transmitter which will neeed upgrading.
An even beter starter would be the Blade400 from E-Flight. It comes with a great transmitter but at twice the cost! The quality of the transmitter though is ample justification for the price difference.
450 Class Starters?
E-Flight's Blade400
This is an excellent 450 size trainer that comes with a Spectrum DX6i transmitter for about $470. You can also buy the heli seperately.
Kyosho Caliber
450V Electric is good I am sure.
Dragonus
has a excellent product in the 450 class as well.
Who are we?
Fellow heli enthusiasts of course. Perhaps we have some knowledge gained through experience to share in these pages that you will find usefull. There are a lot of heli sites out there. We are trying to be different. We shall try to follow these guidelines when creating content:
Can we make the site fun?
Can we keep it informative and useful?
Can it please be different than most other sites out there? |
6-CHANNEL TRANSMITTERS?
If you do not have a 6 Channel transmitter, you should get one! You will need a 6 channel transmitter to fly the more advanced Collective Pitch (CP) type helicopters that can fly inverted.
Futaba FAST 2.4gHz or Spectrum have some good entry models for less than $200.
The Futaba 7C runs about $279 with reciever, but you can get discounts on it occationally at Tower Hobbies or other places. This is quite a good radio though and well worth the price!
Great 450 helicopters?
Align Trex 450
Align pretty much revolutionized electric helicopters, so they will will always be highly regarded.
Thunder Tiger
Mini-Titan 325
Many swear it is the most fun 450 sized heli out there to fly.
Beam has a great product.
Outrage G5 looks pretty sharp also.
CopterX is a Trex 450 clone availible for less cost than the Trex but nearly the same great quality.
OTHER LARGER MODELS?
The GAUI Hurracane 550 is certainly a nice model.
Century is having good success with the Swift 16.
Align just launched the 700 series which is very large, and their 500 and 600 lines are beautiful as well.
What about Gas Helicopters?
Yes, I totally left them out. There are many, Thunder Tiget's Raptor comes to mind because the hobby store near me carries them. All of the major manufacturers have Nitro versions too. They come in .30, .60, and .90 sizes, which denotes the motor size. Can't fit everything on one page you know.
Some are actually flying Zenoah gasoline engines in their heli. The Gas Helicopter Engine [ZENE231H] Price: $299.99 is quite popular for a power plant.
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My current 400 class custom heli:
Xtreme King II frame,
Scorpion HK-2213-14,
Power Up 40A ESC,
CopterX head and tail,
Gorilla gear skids
Gorilla gear paddles,
Gorilla gear tail blades, Shogun 288mm FRP main blades,
Tellebee 302 HH Gyro,
S3154 servo,
HS-65HB cyclic servos,
Custom skid covers.
The only original parts left are the boom and bottom shaft retainer. But man, it flies great!
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Other pages comming soon:
Flight School How do I fly one these dang things?
Maintinance How do I set it up and take care of it?
Repair Shop How do I fix this broken thing?
What's cool? Who is doing cool stuff with modifications to their heli?
Flight Club? Who has achieved the next level in their flying skills? |
