good beginner micro heli, with ability to fly 3D?
12-22-2003, 05:14 PM
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good beginner micro heli, with ability to fly 3D?
I have flown airplanes for 20 years and am considering the micro electric helicopter arena. I am looking to spend between $ 200 and $300 for a heli without the Transmitter, servos, and reciever. What heli model would give me the opportunity to learn and also develop into more complex 3D flight. And where would be a good place to purchase this. Thank you for you advise...
12-23-2003, 12:21 AM
#2
RE: good beginner micro heli, with ability to fly 3D?
First, you need to define your goals. You are looking for a lot of different things, and some of your goals are contradictory.
Most experienced heli pilots will tell you that micro helis are not good for beginners. To twitchy. To sensative to perfect setup. I do not agree with this, but to be honest, they do have a point. They are twitchy. They are difficult to get set up properly. But they can take a lot of punishment with the usual damage being the head popping off. Pop it on, straighten the paddles and spool back up. And they can be flown in your livingroom.
I definitely say to skip the 3D requirement as a beginner. The 3D aspect complicates an already rough setup issue. It adds another element to the learning curve, is easier to break and more expensive to repair.
After you have learned to set up the FP machine, learned to troubleshoot issues with less variables, learned to hover and progressed to nose in hovers and circuits, THEN consider collective pitch setups for more advanced flying.
Knowing that you intend to go to an advanced setup will steer your purchasing decisions. You will likely want to avoid the all-in-one control board and go with seperates. You will want LiPo batteries and charger. You will want to choose a heli that will let you upgrade to a brushless motor and CP.
I know that the piccolo does this (I fly a FP piccolo). Many other people here can tell you of their success on other heli platforms. But be aware that learning to fly helis on a CP bird with fragile CP blades can get expensive quickly.
Most experienced heli pilots will tell you that micro helis are not good for beginners. To twitchy. To sensative to perfect setup. I do not agree with this, but to be honest, they do have a point. They are twitchy. They are difficult to get set up properly. But they can take a lot of punishment with the usual damage being the head popping off. Pop it on, straighten the paddles and spool back up. And they can be flown in your livingroom.
I definitely say to skip the 3D requirement as a beginner. The 3D aspect complicates an already rough setup issue. It adds another element to the learning curve, is easier to break and more expensive to repair.
After you have learned to set up the FP machine, learned to troubleshoot issues with less variables, learned to hover and progressed to nose in hovers and circuits, THEN consider collective pitch setups for more advanced flying.
Knowing that you intend to go to an advanced setup will steer your purchasing decisions. You will likely want to avoid the all-in-one control board and go with seperates. You will want LiPo batteries and charger. You will want to choose a heli that will let you upgrade to a brushless motor and CP.
I know that the piccolo does this (I fly a FP piccolo). Many other people here can tell you of their success on other heli platforms. But be aware that learning to fly helis on a CP bird with fragile CP blades can get expensive quickly.
12-23-2003, 09:20 AM
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RE: good beginner micro heli, with ability to fly 3D?
I am aware that the micro heli's are "twitchy" and have accepted this as is, I already use and fly Lipo,s with brushless systems so this is common knowledge for me. I intend to go brushless with the heli, just not from the start, a later upgrade I suppose.
As for "FP" machine and "CP bird, blades", what do these mean, I am not familiar with this terminology.
I guess my real question would be this, What is a good starter heli that can be or already is capable of flying moderate acrobatics, upgradeable, and perhaps good to learn with.
I know this contradicts itself, with more than 20 years of RC plane experience, I understand that a new pilot shouldn't fly a Jet airplane to learn to fly, for example. I would just like to get the most bang for my buck and not regret the capabilities of the heli I choose after developing in my flying capabilities.
Thank you for you suggestions as of yet and perhaps a few names of good helis as described above and a visit to the hobby store will help eliminate some of my confusion.
As for "FP" machine and "CP bird, blades", what do these mean, I am not familiar with this terminology.
I guess my real question would be this, What is a good starter heli that can be or already is capable of flying moderate acrobatics, upgradeable, and perhaps good to learn with.
I know this contradicts itself, with more than 20 years of RC plane experience, I understand that a new pilot shouldn't fly a Jet airplane to learn to fly, for example. I would just like to get the most bang for my buck and not regret the capabilities of the heli I choose after developing in my flying capabilities.
Thank you for you suggestions as of yet and perhaps a few names of good helis as described above and a visit to the hobby store will help eliminate some of my confusion.
12-23-2003, 10:50 AM
#4
RE: good beginner micro heli, with ability to fly 3D?
FP is Fixed Pitch. The Piccolo Fun and ECO are fixed pitch helicopters. They do not have the ability to change the pitch of the blades relative to each other. You control lift by increasing or decreasing the main motor throttle. They still have cyclic pitch, which lets them control pitch and roll. This is done by inceasing the pitch of one blade and decreasing the pitch of the other. The entire head teeters, but the blades remain fixed to one another.
CP is collective pitch. The Piccolo Pro has collective pitch. In addition to cyclic pitch, they have the ability to increase of decrease the pitch of both blades together. This is more like real helicopters. You can put the main motor on a governer and just use cyclic and collective to fly, or you can mix the main motor throttle and the collective together. As I understand it, mixing the collective and throttle prevents inverted flight.
Go look at helihobby.com for good information on the different models available.(as far as vendor endorsements go, I have had good experiences with helihobby, but I am aware that they are concentrating on their physical stores and less on the internet service)
When I purchased my piccolo, I planned on going CP and brushless, so I did not get the basic kit. Here is what I recommend. I think you could substitute other models, but my experience is with Piccolo.
Piccolo Fun kit
Bearings upgrade
Aluminum hub (to better hold the tiny bearings)
CNC AntiRotation Link (ARL)
LiPo batteries and charger
Seperates componnents rather than the all-in-one piccoboard
-gyro - this can be the CMS HLG200, or the heavier Futaba gy240 OR if you have a heli transmitter, the GWS PG03
-main ESC pixie7P or GWS100
-tail ESC pixie7P or GWS50 (or the schulze slim105he, a bit more money, but higher swtiching rate, better for running 3 LiPos)
This leaves the path open for the easiest transition to CP and brushless.
If you are going to go with Piccolo there are a [link=http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=138982&page=0&view=collap sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1]few[/link] - [link=http://www.pgoelz.com/piccolo1.html]good[/link] - [link=http://www.dream-models.com/h/flying-index.html]links[/link] that would be good reading. Actually, the links have a lot of infromation that would be good for ANY micro heli newbie.
CP is collective pitch. The Piccolo Pro has collective pitch. In addition to cyclic pitch, they have the ability to increase of decrease the pitch of both blades together. This is more like real helicopters. You can put the main motor on a governer and just use cyclic and collective to fly, or you can mix the main motor throttle and the collective together. As I understand it, mixing the collective and throttle prevents inverted flight.
Go look at helihobby.com for good information on the different models available.(as far as vendor endorsements go, I have had good experiences with helihobby, but I am aware that they are concentrating on their physical stores and less on the internet service)
When I purchased my piccolo, I planned on going CP and brushless, so I did not get the basic kit. Here is what I recommend. I think you could substitute other models, but my experience is with Piccolo.
Piccolo Fun kit
Bearings upgrade
Aluminum hub (to better hold the tiny bearings)
CNC AntiRotation Link (ARL)
LiPo batteries and charger
Seperates componnents rather than the all-in-one piccoboard
-gyro - this can be the CMS HLG200, or the heavier Futaba gy240 OR if you have a heli transmitter, the GWS PG03
-main ESC pixie7P or GWS100
-tail ESC pixie7P or GWS50 (or the schulze slim105he, a bit more money, but higher swtiching rate, better for running 3 LiPos)
This leaves the path open for the easiest transition to CP and brushless.
If you are going to go with Piccolo there are a [link=http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=138982&page=0&view=collap sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1]few[/link] - [link=http://www.pgoelz.com/piccolo1.html]good[/link] - [link=http://www.dream-models.com/h/flying-index.html]links[/link] that would be good reading. Actually, the links have a lot of infromation that would be good for ANY micro heli newbie.
