Blair 61

Hi I am interested in Electric Heli. I have a somewhat large basement and would like to try and fly down there in the winter. I have looked at the classifieds and the price range form 550.00 – 79.00 is getting me confused. What are the thoughts on this from some of you that know about these? I am open for suggestions
Thanks
Blair61

ctshaynes

Hi and welcome! I've been bitten by the bug as well, and have been reading everything I can get my hands of for a couple of weeks now. There are several different types of mini electric Heli's. It gets a bit confusing because they all look very similar to each other, and some are direct copies of others, It all depends on how much you want to spend. but to get started with a Fixed pitch basic model will probably cost you around $250 to $300.
Here are some sites that might help you.
[link=http://www.pgoelz.com/piccolo_faq.html]Designed for the Piccolo, but a lot of the info here will apply to almost any Heli out there[/link]

Lots of good stuff here as well.
[link=http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1]Ikarus Board[/link]

Some more here.
[link=http://www.rotory.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=MINI1]another board[/link]

And this site has been very helpful as well.
[link=http://www.helihobby.com/html/remote_control_helicopters.html]helihobby.com[/link]

And if anyone else knows of any more info sources post them!

tomflier

I recomend using seperate componets... (NO Mixing Board)

What kind of radio do you have?(if one at all)

I recomend a Hummingbird and buy seperate speed controlers to mix the main and tail rotor with a transmitter and use a piezo gyro or if you don't have a comptuer gyro you can use a Heading Hold gyro to keep the tail straight.

Helihobby is one of the best places for info especially seperate componet setup...

Cheers
tomflier

P.S. The reason for not using a mixing board is that if a part of it burns up the whole thing needs replaced.(unless you are you are really good with electronics) ALSO seperate componets are much more precises and easier to control than a mixing board.


http://Runryder.com and www.rcgroups.com have good electric heli info also.

Blair 61

I have a Futaba 9CH radio but I have never flown a Heli. I have been reading and some people say that he small electric heli's are not a good thing to learn on. Is this true? I don’t think I can afford the money for a large heli. I don’t know much about the difference in the gyros but I will try and read up on them.

FlyingFish

My Feedback: (17)

Well, you can start with something very stable that requires no assembly, that would be the LAMA. It has a 9 foot Teather cord, but since your in the basement you won't be going to far anyway. Their are no batteries to charge and no adjustments to make. You take it out of the box, plug it in and fly it, IT GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT!!!!! Flying practice is what you need as a begginer, not down time charging batteries and making adjustments. The LAMA is about $300 and can be purchased online at http://www.modelrectifier.com/produc...opters/xrb.asp I use the lama in my house when the weather is bad or If I just want hassel free relaxed Flying. It is capable of all the same manuvers as a large R/C Heli.

tomflier

The lama is a great heli but is not as manueverable. The 9CHP is excellent(i also have a 9C).

If you want good practice and all the time flying(no assembly or tuning) get realflight G2 Simulator and you can get lots of practice....then you can get a heli and not have as much problems than to start out with the real thing.

Having a 9C is excellent as using seperate speed controlers is very easy and becomes very precise to program.

It depends on how much money you want to spend and what your skills are already...if you have no problem flying an airplane(manuevers requiring all 4 stick movement control) then you will be able to adapt to helicopters easier and you might not need a simulator.

Maybe buy a heli,see how you can fly it...if no good then get a sim and get better until you are confident enough to fly your real heli.

tomflier

Blair 61

I have the G2 and have been practicing from time to time with the helis. I have been mainly using it for airplanes. It did help a great deal when I was learning to fly. I think I missed a good one in the classifieds here on RCU. The 9C is great. It has come in real handy with the PBF’s and the other S.P.A.D. planes I also have an Electra jet and a trainer one radio does it all. I will keep looking or maybe the urge will pass but I think sooner or later I will find a good deal winter is just starting. I just don’t want to get something that is not good and leave a bad impression on me as to what a good heli of that size will do. Maybe I should be asking what not to get!
Thanks
Blair 61

ctshaynes

I think I'll wait a while as well. mini helicopters are still in the early stages of development, and they will only get better. The prices will hopefully drop a bit. I was looking at brushless motors,and the prices are outrageous. they're more expensive than the ones for larger heli's[>:]. PLus If you want anything beyond the very basics get ready to take out a second mortgage. Of course most helicopter related thigs of any size are like that. I'm willing to give it a shot, luckily I'm mechanically inclined so I can do a lot for myself, instead of forking out say $12+shipping for a tiny straight peice of plastic or CF with two holes in it(head stiffener).

ctshaynes

Bump, cuz There are some good links in this thread.

gamegeek

My Feedback: (11)

I'm just gettting into electric helis also. I admit it's easy to get overwhelmed by some of the prices of the upgrades such as Li-Poly and brushless motors. However, the good thing is that you don't have to have these things. I've read plenty of posts of people who just fly their heli stock and I also got to watch one in person a few days ago. I was amazed at how well it flew stock and how resistant to crashing the Hummingbird can be. Just starting out, you don't have to have 30 minute flight times. I'll be glad to stick with the stock 8-10 minutes as I can't clinch my anal sphincter much longer than that. A second battery for $11.99 means I'm back flying after a short break and my motor shouldn't get as hot either.

Having the 9c and using seperates makes trying this stuff out less risky. If you don't like it, the seperate esc's, servos, and receiver can go into planes as well as the battery packs.

These small electric helis might be harder to fly than the larger ones but they're the only option for those of us who want to be able to fly in the winter. I'm already getting tired of frozen aching fingers.

chris

ctshaynes

Personally I'm just tired of driving 45 minutes to the closest flying field...[8D]

Tubes

Micro electrit helis are great. I got a Hummingbird from HeliHobby. I do have 30 size bird as well. I wanted to be able to fly inside over the winter too. Gamegeek is right, they can fly perfectly well stock. I will admit that they are harder to learn on than a larger bird due to their small size. Don't let that get you down though. They are a lot more resiliant and cheaper to fix! After saying that, I would suggest a couple minor mods though. The shaft collar and the motor heat sinks. The shaft mod supports the shaft much better than the plastic tube crap that comes on the stock bird and allows the swash plate to move much more freely. HeliHobby gives this to you "for free" with the Hummingbird kit. When I fly a full battery worth, the motors do get pretty hot. I figure that for $10 or so, a heat sink can't hurt.
Have fun and let us know if you have more questions

Reuben