fireteacher

was thinking of getting into it, i know its hard to learn but i kike a challenge. what did you use for your first one?

CyMoN

i had a buddy that got into it he dropped around 800$ on the chopper 200$ on the controller got it built in a week got the training stand for it on his second try to fly it on the stand it flipped over and smashed apart the gyro was messed up and i think he said it was going to cost around 500$ to fit all the things that broke in the 20 min he got to run it
i have heard planes are a good start for RCs

CJM

I dont own one but I did fly this one thata friend has: http://www.helihobby.com/html/blade_cx_helicopter.html super easy to use with the stabilizer.

midiwall

I fly 'em... gas & electric.

A full-up 5 channel rig is interesting to fly, it's a lot of mental work to keep things in check. You won't believe how tired you are after an hour of air time. You're _constantly_ working 5 different inputs (throttle, collective, pitch, yaw & roll) to keep the bird stable. A good gyro will help _a lot_ when you're starting out.

The Eflight that CJM pointed at is an easy-flier, nice chopper, and pretty stable from the word "go". It's not too costly to get into and since it's electric, you can fly indoors when it's raining. The downside is that it's not stable outdoors.


If you want to start out with gas, then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE find a local fly club and get someone to help you set up the chopper and to take it on it's first flight. If you don't, you'll end up like CyMoN's friend.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

I need a new hobby, and that looks like it will fit.
I did not see a price on it yet...

Looks like it is pretty easy for a beginner to learn too.
I do not need something super high tech, just to have some fun after work, at work on lunch breaks (we even have a heli pad here for the pres's), and perhaps take it to the mountains to play around with.

midiwall

You're at about $200. Use Froogle...

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=+Blade+CX


The counter-rotating blades are VERY easy to fly. But, don't get over confident if you progress into a gas bird or a fully 3-D electric. It's VERY VERY different.


Not gonna happen - there are larger electrics that will handle being outside, but this isn't one of them. It's simply not heavy enough to deal with _ANY_ breeze - ANY breeze.

Indoors only. Living room, local gym, etc.


fwiw, I have one of these too:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/833d/

If you can catch them in-stock, they're a LOT of fun for $40.

midiwall

More "think tank" babble...

There are generally 3 classes of R/C helicopters, electrics, 30's and 60's (the latter two being gas). The larger the bird the more stable it will fly _on it's own_, i.e., without counter-rotating blades or gyros. But, the larger the bird, then the more $$$ you will be spending for a) the purchase of the helicopter itself, b) the support gear, c) the repair parts.

You _WILL_ crash your helicopter. Even the counter-rotating electrics, or a gas bird on skids. YOU WILL CRASH. And, just like our fun of off-roading, you have to be ready to spend the money to buy the replacement parts and put the chopper back in the air. If you can't afford to do that, then you shouldn't walk into the sport.

The electrics are cheaper to repair than the 30's, the 30's are cheaper than the 60's. Blades for an electric will run as low as $12. Blades on a 60 will run about $100 (plus the first time cost of a balancer, then weights, covering material and time).

The thrill of flying an electric is pretty high. But, if you get bit, you'll want more. A 30 flies nice, is _quick_ and nimble in the air and will get you to doing a lot of the classic 3D stuff (inverted hovers, rolls, verts, etc). The thrill of a 60 is intense... They're BIG birds with a LOT of power. Sticking a 60 inverted 3" off of the ground is a different experience than doing the same thing with a 30.

If you're looking for a push into the sport/hobby, then wander Google video for "R/C Helicopter":
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=r%2Fc+helicopter


Now, this is a _FLYER_. This guy is seriously hot doo-doo:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...99402901911766

DO _NOT_ think that you're gonna head out and pull off some of the stuff that he's doing. The tricks he's running through take HUNDREDS (thousands for some) OF HOURS of practice to learn. On top of it, that helicopter is VERY well built and dialed-in dead cold.

With a gas bird, you need to plan on taking a solid month to learn to hover with training gear. Then you worry about taking the gear off and starting to become stable, then fly facing you/away from you... It's a LONG process.

fireteacher

thanks alot midiwal! i will try the 40 first to play with at work and in the apartment. more i think about it, cars would be better!

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Mark, a lot of the office geeks here fly those little choppers you listed from thinkgeeks site.
They also fly little airplanes too.
They are all over here on campus.

And on one of the access roads I use that is down by the overflow parking they bring in nitro cars and trucks and run them.
Since that first chopper is indoors only I think I would be better off with a nice 'lectirc truck that can handle gravel in the parking lots here in some places.

Rock Slide

iTrader: (1)

Some friends of mine got into flying electric airplanes. I tried it and it's a lot harder than it looks. They took me out to an old air field that now belongs to a "RC Flight" Club to see some Real planes being flown. Those guys fly the big 2 and 4 engine planes that are at least 5ft long and have a 6-7ft wingspan. One guy even had a jet there (he didn't fly it though) that cost around $10 grand he said. (Ouch on the pockekbook.) A couple other guys had the heli's and made flying them look easy. We asked one fella how long it took him to learn how to fly his helicopter successfully and do a few tricks and he said it was a least 6mos to a year to get decent at it.

So yeah, like Midiwall said, I too believe it's difficult to fly a helicopter or anything else for that matter, but you just have to be patient and really want it. It can get expensive depending how deep you delve into it, but like any other hobby, the fun factor out weighs the cost factor.

CJM

My grandfather flys those planes, they are tough to learn and even tougher to build right. I tried it a few times and thank god he has whats called a buddy box (his ontroller is hooked into mine and he can take over).

I have had my eye on the blade chopper for some time, but costs keep me away, more bills to pay.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Boeing has an RC club, and they fly them on some land that Boeing owns, right next to the complex where I work.

I have seen the big ones out there (gas) and I swear they look real when they are flying.
These too had a big wingspan, around 7 or so feet.

midiwall

I'm into gas & electric cars (trucks actually) as well. Lotso fun there.

Don't be scared off of helicopters. The rewards are HUGE, but you have to be willing to put in the time to make it happen. They're not in the "instant gratification" side of the hobby.

Rock Slide

iTrader: (1)

Yeah those big RC planes are awesome to see flying in the air. I flew one for about 2 mins w/ one of those buddy style controllers (Thankfully that was in place or otherwise I'd be paying for a RC plane if you know what I mean.)

Anyone ever seen the RC Jets? Those things are awesome! I have not seen one being flown in person, but I have seen a video of a guy w/ over 10yrs RC flying experience flying one. They can turn on a dime and easily reach incredible speeds. I believe it was about 4ft long and 5 or so ft wide. In the RC flying club around here, they know of only one guy who owns one and can actually fly it. They say those jets costs around $16,000.

The video of the guy flying one was sick! It'd be cool to see it in person.

midiwall

There are a couple of flavors of jets...

One is actually a ducted fan where there's an engine in the fuselage that has a small 6-7 blade prop on it. The engine is rated at about 20,000rpm - hence the screaming tone of the plane. There are also electric ducted fans these days... those are dern cool.

The other flavor is a true _jet_ in that it's producing thrust by way of a controlled explosion in a container with the exhaust pointed to the rear. Generally these are pulse jets, though I've seen a real turbine fly.

Both are awesome to see - both can hit _actual_ speeds of 120mph or more, which with these (usually) at 1/6th scale, you're looking at the equivilent of over 700mph.


The price tag on these planes (versus similar scale biplanes, Cessnas, etc) is mostly a ballpark number that the builder will give you to ward off anyone saying "I'll write you a check".

The basic fuselage kit for an 1/6th F-16 is about $1200. Fan is $400, radio is about $400, robart retracts $300, misc hardware $300... There are other pieces, some expensive, but the net sum is well under $16k.

The HOURS put into building a jet tend to be priceless given the rarity of guys that are flying them. i.e., a LOT of guys fly 1/6 (or even 1/3!) Cessna's but very few fly jets. A guy may sell you his 1/6th Cessna 182 for $4000... You would make a jet flyer laugh at an offer that low.

drguitarum2005

i have ALWAYS wanted to learn to fly an RC helicopter but never had the money to do it. i asked for one for my bday once and got a cheapo intro plane instead. it was a lot of fun to fly...until my sister broke it. my other sister's boyfriend flies an RC helicopter...ive unfortunately never gotten to see it and i have moved away so i cant play with it but maybe i could get advice from him.

BajaRunner

Id definetly start out with a gas or electric car. Learn how to screw with settings, servos speed controlers and whatnot.

I have a nitro (gas) powered RC truck that takes a ton of maintenece. They crash and break easily, but, are easy to fix and usually not too much money.

Helicopters are fun but very time consuming. They are also VERY dangerous. I would be very careful flying those around anyone. My buddy who has 3 helicopters, 2 gas 1 eletric says that for every 1hr flying is about 2-3 hours maintence.

Just my .02... My RC truck is so damn fun. you can launch it soooo high.

Check out the Losi LST and HPI Savage.

Stephenb

Newbie Alert:

I started off with a indoor rc helicopter Syma 107G, lots of fun, 3 servos, easy, cheap ... but the fun was over too soon due to lack of a challenge. Bought a bigger one (still electromotors) but that turned out to be a lemon, did never fly properly. I guess it was some sort of design flaw as some bearing carrier came always apart. Wasted $100 on this POS, learned my lesson. Still fly the small Syma occasionally.

Stephen

ldivinag

the counter rotating blades kinda fools you into thinking how simple it is to fly a rotary wing aircraft.

in real life, a majority uses a single plane main rotor and then a tail rotor to counteract the torque (unless of course you are using the NOTAR system).

cyclic and collective for the main rotor while rudder is the tail.

i have only flown helo flight sims and i thought i had it down. but when i used the flight sims in display on various hobby shops i have been to, i keep crashing every single time i try to fly a helo... sigh...

i'll stick my various cars and trucks RCs... lol...

ffmurray

Sorry about the year old thread dig...

if you are going to really go into learning to fly a rc helicopter there is A LOT of learning to do. There will be a lot of crashes and a lot of repair time. if you are just looking at the hobby and are not sure if you want to get into it, try a Eflight Blade MCX. it has counter rotating blades but is a full four channel bird. DO NOT go with something that is not "hobby grade". for a beginenr I recomend Eflight, I know if thers other RCers out here that i might get some crap for that, but the information on them is out there, the parts are common. Try and find a good hobby shop, if your going to be doing this as a hobby your going to need parts, batteries and other things, a good hobby shop is a lifesaver, spend time talking to the people there.

If you are going to be going serious on a 6 channel bird, dont buy it, just dont. 1) find an rc club, talk to them about what they fly, its a lot easier to get tech help if the people are used to what you are flying. 2) get a simulator... get real flight. A sim will save you $$$$ and heartache, I know you want to jump in and start flying but if you crash your $800 heli four seconds after you first start it up its gonna sting, a good sim will teach you a lot at a much cheaper cost. Even experienced pilots often use the sim to learn new move or just keep everything fresh.

flying rc stuff is a great hobby, can be hard on the wallet, but if your here you know all about wallet ache in the name of a hobby.

another Idea is to look at multirotors, quadcopters etc. They are so much fun, less likely to break lots of small parts and and the stability offered by some of these new systems is amazing. check out http://witespyquad.gostorego.com/ paul will hook you up and will help however he can. He offers great stuff at an amazing price