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Advice on RC heli

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  • 22-08-2011 1:46pm
    #1
    keys101
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭


    Hey I bought an rc heli about a year ago, its a flyor RTF 3CH Airwolf FJ-735. When i bought it i had zero experience with Rc helis. And broke one of the holders for the blades pretty much straight away. I laid it up soon after that, but recently got sick of it teasing me and took it out again determined to make it fly! I am doing better with it but not as well as I'd like.

    I'm considering changing to maybe a more stable lighter/smaller heli just to get some decent airtime, also looking into some simulators as well.

    If anyone has any advice on maybe better Helis to start off with it would be greatly appreciated, or should i just keep practicing with this one??

    Also any advice on simulators too?

    Im also finding it hard to find exact matches for parts for it online, it came with some spares but im running pretty low, so if anyone has any links (or shops) to parts that would be great too.

    Cheers
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    Where are you living? If you want something for flying indoors, the lama v3 one is good. Its a 4 channel one, which is the minimum needed for proper heli control. We have one here which is great for flying in the house.

    3 channel gives forward/backward, up/down vian throttle, and rotate the tail. 4 channel also gives sideways hovering, so it can actually hover in any direction, not just forward and back.



    If you really want to go for the full outdoor one, something like a trex 450 is another one, but it is a lot more advanced than the lama v3, and more money of course. Proper radio needed etc. We have one of them as well, and a trex 600, which would be for the serious heli flyer.


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    #3
    keys101
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭keys101


    robbie7730 wrote: »
    Where are you living? If you want something for flying indoors, the lama v3 one is good. Its a 4 channel one, which is the minimum needed for proper heli control. We have one here which is great for flying in the house.

    3 channel gives forward/backward, up/down vian throttle, and rotate the tail. 4 channel also gives sideways hovering, so it can actually hover in any direction, not just forward and back.



    If you really want to go for the full outdoor one, something like a trex 450 is another one, but it is a lot more advanced than the lama v3, and more money of course. Proper radio needed etc. We have one of them as well, and a trex 600, which would be for the serious heli flyer.

    I live in Meath but I can be anywhere from Newry to Dublin during the week, so anywhere near the North East is semi suitable anyway.

    For the most part id be flying inside. But where I work is a well sheltered area just sort of up a lane so the laneway would be ideal place with plenty of space.

    It is a hobby I'd like to get into tho more tho, but there seems to be a mountain of stuff to learn about them! So for the minute I'd be looking for a half decent one that will take knocks and can repair easily when things do go wrong.


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    #4
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    In meath/navan myself so you could come and have a look if you want. planes and helis here. More into the gliders now, but have the lama v3 and 2 t-rex`s as i said.


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    #5
    gerryk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭gerryk


    keys101 wrote: »
    Hey I bought an rc heli about a year ago, its a flyor RTF 3CH Airwolf FJ-735. When i bought it i had zero experience with Rc helis. And broke one of the holders for the blades pretty much straight away. I laid it up soon after that, but recently got sick of it teasing me and took it out again determined to make it fly! I am doing better with it but not as well as I'd like.

    I'm considering changing to maybe a more stable lighter/smaller heli just to get some decent airtime, also looking into some simulators as well.

    If anyone has any advice on maybe better Helis to start off with it would be greatly appreciated, or should i just keep practicing with this one??

    Also any advice on simulators too?

    Im also finding it hard to find exact matches for parts for it online, it came with some spares but im running pretty low, so if anyone has any links (or shops) to parts that would be great too.

    Cheers

    I have had good experience with the Solo Pro, from Nine Eagles. Pretty inexpensive for a 4ch.
    It files well and is stable once set up and trimmed. Parts are also cheap and readily available, as are upgrades.
    I am thinking of a walkera 4g6 for my next helo.


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    #6
    Kashkai
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,399 ✭✭✭Kashkai


    I have two helis, a Syma S107 coaxial which is a doddle to fly and an eflite MSR which is the opposite end of the spectrum, i.e. very bloody hard to fly!.

    Most people, including myself, thought helis would be easier to fly than planes but its the opposite. I have 7 planes that I'm pretty good at flying but the MSR heli has me reacting to it instead of flying it. I'm thinking about selling it as I just can't get the hang of it - and I'm not sneakily advertising it btw Mods:p. If you want to get into the rc flying hobby, consider buying a plane as they are easier to fly than helis.


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    #7
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    Prosperous Dave wrote: »
    I have two helis, a Syma S107 coaxial which is a doddle to fly and an eflite MSR which is the opposite end of the spectrum, i.e. very bloody hard to fly!.

    Its a catch 22 with helis. A trex 600 would be far easier to fly than an eflite msr. The catch 22 comes in because its the cheaper, harder to control helis that people start with. My first one was a falcon 3d. Second was the trex 450 you actually seen flying. The 450 was far easier to fly than the falcon 3d.

    I test flew a few honeybee king type helis for people as well. All much harder to fly than the trex 450 or 600. The 600 is easier/smoother than the 450, but would be more intimidating for a beginner, as well as more expensive.

    So the point im making is, its just not as hard as you might think. Many are put off by the difficult to fly cheaper ones. The difference between them and a good flying one is a major difference.


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    #8
    Kashkai
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,399 ✭✭✭Kashkai


    I understand your point Robbie and I know the smaller helis are more jittery than bigger helis but the MSR at €100 isn't that cheap!;)

    I did consider buying a larger heli but didn't want to commit myself to a large investment in helis if I decided it wasn't for me. The catch 22 for me is that I might be missing out on a great side to this hobby due to my skittery MSR putting me off helis.


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    #9
    syl77
    Registered Users Posts: 446 ✭✭syl77


    I would agree with Robbie. I have a few (500 size and up) helis and an MSR (and sorry Dave, but put in the overall picture of RC helis prices - 100 euro is cheap for a 4 ch heli), the MSR is a little to unforgiving in the air, at Full FF flight you need at least another 10feet to stop it.
    However it does give a budding RC heli pilot a taste of flying and help with flying skills when moving up to something bigger. But there is always the downside that some people could lose their patance with smaller helis and put them down for good.....
    I believe more clubs should try promote buddy boxes for both helis and planes, it gives someone with little or no experience a taste of what its like to control something that is true RC flying. Sims are also good here....
    My 2cent worth on a monday morning....


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    #10
    Kashkai
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,399 ✭✭✭Kashkai


    Thanks Syl. A hundred quid on a heli would have bought me another warbird like the new Parkzone Spitfire so it looks like the heli side of this hobby is a much more expensive one. I have the Phoenix sim and I can fly the helis on that no problem and I can fly my coax heli quite easily. I thought there might be something wrong with my MSR but from online reviews, it is very skittish and it looks like I made a bad choice.

    Fixed wing flying is so much easier:D


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    #11
    gerryk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭gerryk


    Prosperous Dave wrote: »
    Thanks Syl. A hundred quid on a heli would have bought me another warbird like the new Parkzone Spitfire so it looks like the heli side of this hobby is a much more expensive one. I have the Phoenix sim and I can fly the helis on that no problem and I can fly my coax heli quite easily. I thought there might be something wrong with my MSR but from online reviews, it is very skittish and it looks like I made a bad choice.

    Fixed wing flying is so much easier:D

    It totally is... if everything goes a little pear-shaped with fixed wiing, you can generally centre the controls for a second to just think about the situation. With a heli, this could easily end you up in a wall, or someone's face, if they're unlucky enough to be in the flight-path.

    I have not flown an MSR, but they have a reputation for being an advanced flyer. The Solo Pro I have is also a 4ch, but has a 3 axis gyro and a 45 degree flybar, and as such is not quite as twitchy.

    Some of the small Walkera helos have a good reputation for being stable flyers... the CB100D and 4#3b would be 2 that get recommendations.


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    #12
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    Prosperous Dave wrote: »
    I have the Phoenix sim and I can fly the helis on that no problem and I can fly my coax heli quite easily.

    There is a bit of a step from flying one on the sim, and then in reality, but its not a major step in my opinion, although it will differ for different people. If you can easily fly circuits on the sim, then someone with a buddy box and you could try something like the t-rex 600 and see what thats like.

    I found it a handful flying some of the cheaper helis flying circuits with them, where as the 600 was effortless. As sly said, €100 would be a cheap one in the heli dept. As i said in earlier post, i started with the falcon 3d, which was over €200 i think, and then got the t-rex 450, which is about the same size, but far easier to fly. Too much slop, cheap gyro in tail etc in the falcon, ESC failed in it too:D. The CCPM setup in the 450 made it far more solid.
    Fixed wing flying is so much easier:D
    I dont think the helis would be much trouble for you, it just depends on getting a decent one if you have the interest. They might be a bit more difficult to fly, but they certainly are far more involved to setup properly.


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    #13
    keys101
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭keys101


    Just to let you all know that i went with Robbies suggestion of the lama v3 and im pretty happy with it so far. its a bit more stable and easier to control anyway, and its very durable. iv had some smallish scrapes and bumps wit it so far and all iv broken on it was a set of blades. My brother attempted to fly it (We've both been using to sim with it) and he actually dropped the controller, ended up flying it straight into a wall. I was expecting the worst from it, but all it did was break the blades. so its good to know that it can take some damage. Although obviously I dont want it flown into walls!!


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    #14
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    The blades on this site, xtreme blades, are very tough, we have some for the sons one, as well as all the other parts, landing skids, tail boom, canopy etc, and it looks like a different heli now.

    But the xtreme blades take some amount of abuse.

    Have a look here anyway.

    Not sure if that site sells them blades, but they should be easy to find.

    We got new batteries for it from hobby king, about 4 or 5 euro each, way better than the one that comes with it.


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    #15
    Bruthal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,422 ✭✭✭✭Bruthal


    Just looked and here is the site where i got the xtreme blades for the sons lama, the actual page with the blades is here.


    If your buying any blades anywhere, dont forget there are upper, and lower ones, they are pitched in the opposite direction to each other for opposite rotatating.

    Co-axial helis are subseptable to blade strikes when doing any sharp control movements, upper blades hit lower ones, so if it happens, its not unusual. Thats where them xtreme blades are very good.


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    #16
    ec5
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭ec5


    keys101 wrote: »
    Hey I bought an rc heli about a year ago, its a flyor RTF 3CH Airwolf FJ-735. When i bought it i had zero experience with Rc helis. And broke one of the holders for the blades pretty much straight away. I laid it up soon after that, but recently got sick of it teasing me and took it out again determined to make it fly! I am doing better with it but not as well as I'd like.

    I'm considering changing to maybe a more stable lighter/smaller heli just to get some decent airtime, also looking into some simulators as well.

    If anyone has any advice on maybe better Helis to start off with it would be greatly appreciated, or should i just keep practicing with this one??

    Also any advice on simulators too?

    Im also finding it hard to find exact matches for parts for it online, it came with some spares but im running pretty low, so if anyone has any links (or shops) to parts that would be great too.

    Cheers


    hi for simulators , i can recommend Phoenix if you have a radio say dx7 or ff7 its compatible with many types you can use, theirs also real flight i think you can get it with a controller look on the web for info .

    j


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