jeffk464

I have been flying rc planes for years but have never flown a rc heli before. I would like to know if it is fairly easy to learn how to fly heli''s starting out with the 450 sized. I have thought about getting something in the 500-600 sized range because I figure it will be easier to learn on, but I really would like a heli that I can fly in the front yard. The larger the heli, I''m assuming the more room is needed to maneuver and the more potential for property damage and injury. I have been practicing with the FMS simulator, but I''m not sure how much that will prepare me for it. Anyways if its fairly easy to learn on something like the 450SA, that would be my preferred setup.

homeunt

My Feedback: (3)

450 size heli like belt-CP gives you awesome flight performance but to prevent crash and burning 100 dollars in repair, you may wanna start from real small helicopters like 4ch Fixed Pitch helicopter.

Trust me, with the money that you spend on repair, you''ll be able to buy a lot of smaller helicopters and learn on.

srouthouse

i got both a 450 and a HBFP and it worked out ok.

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

I''m similar to yourself. Beendoing planes 10 years and started helis last fall. My main reason was to keep my fingers in this somehow as I had to get catract surgery done. Planes were getting fuzzy and did not want to stuff any, so i bagged it all. Just had the surgery a couple weeks ago so it looks like a few of the planes are coming down from the ceilng. The small ones are nice but fixed pitch. They''re toys. IMHO if your going toget one, get a cheap one. Once you go to a 450 size, your going to have to learn all over again and again IMHO you really should practice on a simulator.

bigairlife

Just go for a 450 size. Plenty of people i know who fly helis learned on a t-rex 450. They are great heli''s, very stable, and you wont have to get another heli as your skillz increase. I''ve flown a t-rex before and i would highly recommend it. They''re really stable and are really great for 3d stuff.

Skarn

Yep, get a 450 size or larger.

The TREX 450 SE v2 would be a great one, or a Mini Titan.

Good luck!
Skarn

ea01bg

I was in the same situation myself. I started on a 450 and moved to a 550. The 550 is much more stable but unless you have a very large yard you wont want to fly it there. With the 450 and a confined space you wont be doing anything but hovering for some time. when you first start learning forward flight you will want plenty of room for corrections.

bigairlife

If you want a 450, but dont want to spend the money on a t-rex, try a helipro blackhawk 450. Those r great helis, or maybe a hurricane 550?

ea01bg

I own and fly booth the Helis bigairlife mentioned there booth fine birds. Not that the T-rex isnt its just a little pricey

jeffk464

Ya, I was thinking of buying the hurricane, its getting great feedback and the price is about the same as the trex450. One question is how dangerous is something like the hurricane 550, I would like to fly out the local park so safety might be an issue.

There is also a esky 500 sized helicopter coming out that looks like its built alot better then the hurricane.

pappy35

I've never owned or flow a heli in my life. Beeing flying RC (IMAC, Pattern, sport) for 25 years and got the heli itch last fall. I went and bought Realflight, downloaded a T-Rex 450 model, and have spent probably a hundred+ hours training in the sim.

Last week I purchased a used Trex 450 and after spending three or four days farting around trying to figure out how it should be set-up (thanks to H-F.com's Finless Bob!), I flew it around for three flights today. Nose-in hovers, nose out, figure 8's, pattern work, all worked out great.

The moral of the story is that if I had listened to the gloom and doom warnings from the local hobby shop I would have wasted a lot of time and money with a Blade CP or Co-axial toy. The Trex flies great, is very stabile, and is in every way a "real" heilcopter (CCPM, variable-pitch tail, etc.).

I guess my advise it to practice a LOT in a sim, then buy whatever brand you like (TT, Align, Century, etc.) as long as it has all the mechanical attributes of a full-size bird.

bigairlife

hurricanes are built really well actually, probably better than esky products

jeffk464

I know the old line of esky products are decent, but below the standard of the likes of align and thunder tiger. However, this new esky 900 looks heavily influenced by the trex 500, which I'm sure is the gold standard.

The hurricane looks like an excellent choice to learn, large, stable, and cheap and readily available parts. From what I here though, it requires a lot of upgrades for high performance flight.

kuade

My Feedback: (3)

I learned with a Trex 450 and I can't fly a sim, I learned how to fly on my own. Although, I'll admit I need some guidance. The only thing I suggest is the training gear. Many thanks to the finless bob vids as well.