Getting started???

Hi Guys, I recently was looking for a new hobbyu to pick up and decided that I would take up R/C Helicopters. But, I don't know what is the best chopper for a beginner and if buying something used from E-bay would be a good idea. Is setting it up that hard? I know it can become a expensive hobby if it crashes, but that the chance I'm willing to take. I hear that the Nexus is a good beginner
Any help would be appreciated

[colin]

Hi Snake Bite,

Yes, Nexus is quite a good starter heli.

Getting a used heli is not a problem so long as it hasn't crashed before. But you're probably not going to know that even after buying a used heli.

One of the major problems with a used heli is that you might face problems that you don't know how to solve.

I'll probably only buy a used heli if the buyer is willing to take the heli out for a spin and let you see it in flight.

But my golden advice for beginners is that you should get the best radio that you CAN'T afford. The radio is something that will stay with you longer than the heli, so having a good all rounder radio with good enough features for various setups would be better than buying a cheaper one, and you outgrow it after learning how to fly your heli.

Anyway, just saw another post in the forum... someone selling a nexus here.

http://www.helifever.com/forums/show...s=&threadid=35

Cheers!

[darren_uk]

Yeah, I saw that Nexus.

He seems to be selling *everthing*,. i.e., giving up his hobby?? Maybe he's gone mad? Or moving to a planet where there's no atmosphere to fly in? I can't imagine any other reason why one would want to give up flying a model helicopter, especially a kit as neat as his!

Seriously though, the Nexus he's selling does look really good. I think he's based in Australia (picking up clues from his webpage address and references to "down under" and "gidday").

well thanks for the help guys I appreciate it. Also, is there a big differnece in collective pitch and non-collective pitch helis?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=19164

I sae this one on e-bay and was wondering if this one sounds like a good deal
hopefully the link works

[darren_uk]

Originally posted by snakebite
well thanks for the help guys I appreciate it. Also, is there a big differnece in collective pitch and non-collective pitch helis?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=19164

I sae this one on e-bay and was wondering if this one sounds like a good deal
hopefully the link works

Yes, there is a big difference in collective pitch and non-collective pitch helicopters.

In summary: although the non-collective pitch helicopters are cheaper, you'll outgrow them. Get a collective pitch heli. The ebay one you showed would be collective pitch - i.e., it's a "real" model helicopter. All full-size helicopters (i.e., the ones pilots get in and fly) are collective pitch.

The difference is:

To lift into a hover, something has to change. Two of the many things that affect lift are: airspeed and angle of attack. (other things you cannot change: density of the air, area and shape of the aerofoil)

If you can imagine a commercial jet, you first have to increase speed of the wing (i.e., start off down the runway) and second you have to increase the angle of attack of the wing (i.e., raise the nose).

With a collective pitch helicopter, the engine is started and taken up to full throttle, which engages the clutch and spins the rotors up to speed. So there is airspeed, but because the pitch of the blades are relatively flat, little or no lift is generated. So then the collective is raised (on the same single control on the radio as the throttle so you don't have to think about pitch and throttle separately, just keep moving the stick in the same direction you had to to get the engine and rotors to spool up to speed) then this "collectively" (hence the term) increases the pitch on all the blades (normally two on a helicopter, but can be more depending on the type). This increases the angle of attack, resulting in more lift, and the heli lifts from the ground.

With a non-collective pitch, you cannot change the pitch - it is fixed. instead you can only change airspeed: by increasing or decreasing the engine speed (non-collective pitch only applies to electric helicopters, doesn't it? Someone correct me if I'm wrong).


WARNING: One of the fundamental things about a full-size helicopter is its ability to continue to fly in the event of an engine-failure. This is called "autorotation" and it works in the same way as a sycamore seed rotates as it falls to the ground. Mechanically, it's achieved using a one-way clutch (like the rear sprocket on a bicycle, except different in design so you don't hear lots of clicking as you do when you're backpeddling!).

In a non-collective helicopter, if the engine fails then the rotor speed decays to nothing and the helicopter falls to the ground.

In a real model helicopter (like the one on ebay you showed us, and in full-sized helicopters too) if the engine quits, the rotor continues to freewheel because of momentum. You, as the pilot, then simply lower the collective to set up the autorotation effect (the sycamore seed) so the rotors continue to turn: the helicopter is still flying, albeit in a decent. But it is a controlled decent - the helicopter can still be controlled directionally, just don't raise the collective juse yet!

Then as you near the ground you use the momentum in the spinning rotors to keep them spinning as you raise the collective and cushion the landing. (you can also flare the helicopter, but this reply is complicated enough without attempting to explain that one - good "How to fly" books will teach you the technique under their "Autorotation" chapters).

Result: Fix the problem with the engine, and off you go flying again. If it crashes, it'll be because of pilot error, not because of mechanical failure.


As an appendix to this reply, and in general: Has anyone thought about buying a Private Pilot Licence student manual on how to fly helicopters?

I can strongly recommend, "The Helicopter Pilot's Manual" Volume 1 "Principles of Flight and Helicopter Handling" by Norman Bailey. ISBN 1 85310 759 X.

You will learn a great deal about flying model helicopters from this book, and it'll be a great way to learn too because the book is designed to be the only book the student needs as a study guide for the helicopter flying part of his licence: so it describes all the exercises the student pilot needs to learn.

- Effects of the controls
- Hovering
- Landings and Take-offs
- Transitions (that means, hover to forward flight, and vice versa)

Just don't follow the syllabus in strictly the order it's mentioned: when studying for the licence the student on his first flights is first taken on a flight to get used to the controls, in other words hovering comes later. As a model heli student pilot, the first thing you'll be learning is hovering, way before forward flight.

snakebite------

the question you posted is the same one i posted 2 months ago. all the answers were mostly the same. i decided to go out and compile some info. i made my own folder on the old computer and labeled it helis. then i spent the better part of 40 hrs online compiling info on 30 and 50 size helis that fit in my budget. i decided that a used heli was out of the question. a new heli pilot has a hard enuff time learning to hover w/out having to worry what MIGHT be malfunctioning with the USED gear he bought. other experienced pilots agreed with this. if you cant fit the new heli in your budget- save up your dollars until you can afford it===

i know that you want it (just like me) RIGHT NOW. however- i think that this hobby teaches us one thing if nothing else- patience is a virtue. rushing through any step in the heli world will likely end up costing you more than doing it the proper way would have. and crashing is not just a risk you should be willing to take. YOU WILL CRASH. i have yet to meet a rotary wing RC pilot who has not had a crash. so, figure crashed into your budget as well. feel free to email me at grnkota@hotmail.com of you have any questions on heli choices for the beginner-or anything else. happy hoverin'

thanks grnkota, I went to my local hobby shop and did some research of my own and I was told the same about getting a new heli and radio. I agree with you with wanting it now, but have decided to save up some more cash and get everything new. The guys at the hobby store said they would help setting up all the trims.