Wes The Mess

My Feedback: (1)

Ok so Im looking at mini R/C Helicopters because I want to get into the hobby. I have already been racing R/C Cars for a few years so I do have pretty decent coordination. I dont want a flight sim because I already have one. Im looking into Kyoshos new mini electric helicopter...can anybody tell me about their experience with one or should I look into a different helicopter? Thanks!

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

Do yourself a favor get a sim first spend $ 150.00 get AFP aero fly professional and practice the helis on there. It doesnt matter what your skill level is on any RC platform if you have never flown a heli before you will definatly spend more time and money than its worth. I am a verteran fixed wing pilot of almost 10 years and I still needed the sim for my micro heli. I am fairly good at 3D performance on my planes too and I still needed the help. IMO it will save you a lot of $$ even though the micros are very durable and they are they can still get costly in repairs. working all four sticks at once is not difficult just new and anything new has a certain learning curve attached to it. Just some advise to help you not get frustrated to soon and maybe save some $$. I have the mini Dragonfly and I love it.

VinceHerman

Joe is speaking from experience. A sim will help.
Also, choosing a heli that will fit your intentions will help.
Are you looking to fly indoors? A fixed pitch micro heli will be best.
Outdoors? A bigger helli will be better.
I fly my Fixed Pitch Piccolo indoors, with some outdoors on very calm days.

smokingcrater

also, as others have sort of mentioned, helis tend to be money pits. (there are LOTS of sales of helis for parts, from people that got in over their head and wanted a way out...) take the cost of your base heli, then multiply that times 2 or 3. that is your yearly cost, at least at first...

(your experience may vary, but helis break stuff, and there are lots of little parts that are just begging to be upgraded, then you need lipo cells and a charger, a better radio...)

what flight sim do you have currently?

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

I Cannot say which flight sim will be the one for you but I can comment on which one I perfer. I had Real flight with all of the addons and i sold it when I heard of all the hype Aero fly professional was getting with there 3D physics engine being the most realistic on the market. Having done that I saw for myself what the difference was in the 2. Real flight was nowhere near as capable to perform 3D in a way that could help you get a feel for it in a realistic way, and Aero fly was unbelievable. So haveing said that I must ask what are you looking for in a simulator. For general flight characteristics and attitude in flight control inputs all will be good and in that case price would have to be a factor. But if you are leaning toward 3D performance in planes or helis and you are looking for that realistic type response. Of course there are differences from the real world to the sim but for the most accurate sim I would say its Aero Fly and its also the cheapest. (right now) The micro helis can be money pits especially if you go at em blind. I keep a stock pile of extra parts for mine mainly because I dont want down time. The only things I have replanced in my heli was the landing skids. I made my own with a support from one skid to the other for extra strength. Cost? $2.00 at my LHS for the carbon fiber rods. I also had changed tail rotor and main rotor blades once each. Its inevitable especially if you have never flown one before. so for $ 20.00 more than the heli cost me I had to use those parts. And prior to this heli the sim is the only flying I had done with helis. But, I do have back up parts just in case. head stiffner, head assemblies, tail motors, extra main blades and tail blades, and couplings. All in all approx 35.00 in extra parts to have just in case. But I havent used them yet and I am pretty good with the heli right now to the point where there are no usless crashes. So I wouldnt say money pit but a bit time consuming in the beginning.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

Tsk, tsk. You guys don't read thoroughly. He says he's already got a sim.

Wes, I have read of and seen many problems with the new kyosho heli; I'm not sure whether they are attributable to user error or manufacturing defects, so I won't offer any conjecture on this machine. However, I picked up a used Century Hummingbird (bell 222 version) complete a few months back as my first helicopter. After removing the heavy scale body and balancing the machine, it is very stable and I can hover it within a 4' x 4' area for 5-6 minutes without incident now. I have about 3 hours total time on it now. The first hour I spent with the machine proved its durability. I flew it into everything in my basement at least once, and didn't break ANY mechanical parts, only fractured the lexan body. The GWS Dragonfly and the Humminbird V2 are very similar and are available cheaply in combos(the aerohawk and piccolo might be other options), so take a look around at those.

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Wes The Mess

My Feedback: (1)

Thank you Matt... Rkramer-I have Aero Fly Pro already and I have been using it every day for the past 3 or 4 months so I already know how to fly. I want to get an indoor electric heli and my budget is about $400. I was also looking at the Piccolo Pro just to tell you...