Who else here flies these things?

[gearhead455]

 

[L3 RC]

Oh man! I have been eyeing one these for months now! We (my house of 3 boys ranging from almost 2 to 6 plus myself who I barely consider any older than 12) have a few of those microcopters that are only to be flown inside. As fun as those are, everytime we see the bigger versions in the LHS, we all drool!

My fear has always been crashing and the amount of repairs that would come from it. Considering how bad we destroy our cars, I wonder if my hesitations are corrrect. The logical response would be for me to get just one...for me and me alone but the first time the two older boys would see it, they would want a turn. Then I'd let them have a turn. Then I'd realize that the oldest is probably even better at flying it than me and the middle one is almost adequate. Then I'd by two more. It would be a slippery and expensive slope!

 

[RC_User]

I used to be into the helicopters but lost interest due to how expensive (and time consuming) they were to crash and my RC buddies got out of flying so I sold them off. i had a trex 450, HK clone 500, 250, a blade 230x. never did get very good at flying them, at most i could roll or flip inverted for a second. I never put in enough time to get good because I wasn't near an area big enough to feel comfortable. still kind of wish i would have kept my little 230x though, it was fun and very tough once the tail gear was upgraded. i just moved recently and i'm right next to an elementary school with a big field...

i see you have an old t-rex there with a flybar, everything now is flybarless, i've had both and for learning i say stick with the flybar...

Oh man! I have been eyeing one these for months now! We (my house of 3 boys ranging from almost 2 to 6 plus myself who I barely consider any older than 12) have a few of those microcopters that are only to be flown inside. As fun as those are, everytime we see the bigger versions in the LHS, we all drool!

My fear has always been crashing and the amount of repairs that would come from it. Considering how bad we destroy our cars, I wonder if my hesitations are corrrect. The logical response would be for me to get just one...for me and me alone but the first time the two older boys would see it, they would want a turn. Then I'd let them have a turn. Then I'd realize that the oldest is probably even better at flying it than me and the middle one is almost adequate. Then I'd by two more. It would be a slippery and expensive slope!

there are some great ones out now for newbies. check out the BLADE series. they make all levels for learning, and the electronics are so much better now than when I got into it, i spent eternity fixing and trying to get them to fly right again after crashing... 15 years ago the electronics were nowhere near as good (and cheap) as they are now...

 

[gearhead455]

I used to be into the helicopters but lost interest due to how expensive (and time consuming) they were to crash and my RC buddies got out of flying so I sold them off. i had a trex 450, HK clone 500, 250, a blade 230x. never did get very good at flying them, at most i could roll or flip inverted for a second. I never put in enough time to get good because I wasn't near an area big enough to feel comfortable. still kind of wish i would have kept my little 230x though, it was fun and very tough once the tail gear was upgraded. i just moved recently and i'm right next to an elementary school with a big field...

i see you have an old t-rex there with a flybar, everything now is flybarless, i've had both and for learning i say stick with the flybar...

I’m taking this kinda slow, I got these two (450se V2 Trex and Blade 400 3D) used as a basket case for $150 with TX and enough spares parts to build them 3x over. I’d say that I spend 30 min a day on a simulator for the past 5 months. I can hover them great and just started getting all the settings dialed in for figure eights. I can see how this is going to get expensive, already upgraded the Trex to a Talon60 and a Scorpion. I think I’m going to buy a 3D micro to 3D before I try it with these.

Oh man! I have been eyeing one these for months now! We (my house of 3 boys ranging from almost 2 to 6 plus myself who I barely consider any older than 12) have a few of those microcopters that are only to be flown inside. As fun as those are, everytime we see the bigger versions in the LHS, we all drool!

My fear has always been crashing and the amount of repairs that would come from it. Considering how bad we destroy our cars, I wonder if my hesitations are corrrect. The logical response would be for me to get just one...for me and me alone but the first time the two older boys would see it, they would want a turn. Then I'd let them have a turn. Then I'd realize that the oldest is probably even better at flying it than me and the middle one is almost adequate. Then I'd by two more. It would be a slippery and expensive slope!

Yeah, I got mine used as a basket case for cheap. Didn’t know if I could fly them so I did not want to spend the money, but after time in the air after after lots of simulator time I’m hooked on it. Have not crashed them yet!

 

[MailManX]

RC heli's fascinate me! I have a few, not all of which have flown yet. I sure do like the flybarless rigs. They may be harder to setup, but they sure are stable! One thing I hated about having a flybar while I was still VERY new was that if I made any sudden or large stick movements, the flybar would smack the blades and that usually meant a crash. I spent a fair amount of time flying 4-channel helicopters thinking that it would help me learn. It was fun, but it was so different from how you control a 6-channel rig with CP, idle up, throttle hold, throttle cut, and so on that I may as well have just started with 6-channel. I have a few of the newer Blade SAFE enabled heli's in 6-channel. They sure have made it easier to learn. I know that some heli pilots sneer and call it a crutch. I call it training wheels for a heli. Not many people think that learning to ride a bike with training wheels is cheating.

 

[gearhead455]

I think I'm going to get a FBL rig eventually, for $150 I figured if I could fly this I could fly anything. What I figured out is if your rates and expo are not set up correctly in your TX then its completely impossible to fly. Almost gave up trying to hover then I discovered that 100% rate and 0% expo is a really bad thing. If the flybar see-saw is not completely smooth and free it wont even fly at all. I did all my learning on Realflight for the past few months and its paid for its self 10x over probably. I think all the modern FBL units have a bail-out function now. I don't see a problem with a button that saves you money, because that is all that is.

 

[Crash]

I did for a while but not that scale. Mine werea little smaller. Definitely no room for error!

 

[MailManX]

I did for a while but not that scale. Mine werea little smaller. Definitely no room for error!

Same here. Mine are all 250 or less. Sometimes I watch Youtube videos of the best 3D heli flyers in the world. It all happens so fast that I cannot even comprehend how they do it. I believe that people who can fly like that are "prodigies" of 3D heli flight in the same way that someone might be a piano prodigy. That is, I believe that anyone can learn to play the piano to some degree (chopsticks), but the true piano prodigy was BORN to do it. Same with heli flight. All of us can do it a little bit, but only the true prodigy can make the bird dance in the sky and defy gravity, or even logic.

 

[Escobear]

never a helicopter but i fly by buddies phantom 3 from time to time. are helicopters about the same as a drone?

 

[gearhead455]

never a helicopter but i fly by buddies phantom 3 from time to time. are helicopters about the same as a drone?

There is firmware inside the flight control board of the drone that automatically stabilizes it’s flight, especially a Fantom 3. You are only going to get a little bit of aileron and pitch and when you let off the sticks the drone goes level all in its own. On a helicopter it really doesn’t do that at all, flying one is like balancing on top of an invisible ball, the pilot is fully responsible for flight stability. The only thing that is automatic is the gyro that holds the tail in the desired position.

 

[RC_User]

Yup a drone is 10x easier to fly and less nimble. Start with a drone and once you master the orientation aspect,, can do figure 8s etc, you're ready for heli.

 

[DG40]

Have a 450 now but never use it. I need a buyer

 

[142Racing]

View attachment 106

Not yet...they look difficult....im alright with quads though

 

[cnk]

I fly. Latest heli is an Oxy2. Have a Oxy3, Gaui X3, Mikado 480 Xxtreme, Synergy E7, and a couple Sab Goblins I still have to build. Started with an JR Voyager E and Mikado Logo 10. Have some E-flight Blades and a T-rex 450 and a whole bunch of quads and FPV racers as well.

The cost is high for entry, but you get hooked. Spend the money on a Sim if you really want to learn. I use RealFlight.