cheap heli question???

A FP helicopter is like a 'chuck it and see' toy plane - it relies on increasing air speed travelling over the fixed angle of the wings to get airborne. A CP is like a r/c plane with adjustable wing/tail angle and is more controllable. FP is ok if you just want to launch a model into the air and it vaguely go where you want it to but l would suggest you'd get bored of it quickly. It IS possible to fly a CP helicopter as your first model and do it without a simulator. Just because an opinion is different it doesn't make it 'wrong'.

[jameshk]

Originally Posted by Daz(DJLFlapper)

Hello,



The advice given in this reply is a repeat to what has been said before and I am afraid that it is bad advice like this that costs the newbie and puts them off for ever.
Do not try to learn with a fixed pitch right from the off UNLESS you are prepared to spend time and money having lessons on a buddy lead first off. If twistedtim new what he was talking about he would have warned you about the extreem hazards of learning from scratch with a collective pitch heli. Higher rotor RPM, the need for a computer radio that has the ability to opertate one in the first place. and the fact that unless you have got somone on your right arm to help you set it up and configure it you are not going to have it as easy as this guy seems to think.
Certainly being able to drive a car is not going to help you at all. I spent over 30 years with airplanes and when I tried to fly with a collective pitch straight off it cost me dear, Very dear.

The best thing you can do is get yourself a flight training simulator such as the reflex XTR or the realflight G3. there are others to choose from and they will do the job of giving you a great insight to flying whilst also teaching you how to react and fly these heli's.

A collective pitch heli carries a high main rotor head speed and therefor it is a very dangerous thing, If you get close it can and will cause you damage. The helis also get a lot more damage than the fixed pitch versions. they are also a lot more expensive to repair.
It is true you can learn to fly with them a lot more quickly than going the fixed pitch route but you must either spend a lot of time sim training or at the very least get someone to give you lessons via a training cord.

the fixed pitch is only difficult to fly if you dont have it set up for flight. It is simply a case of getting used to the way any heli flys and having the ability to fly them once the heli is set up. Have fun and if you want to go fixed pitch from the off follow some of the very good advice on here and you should have lots of fun.
I do recommend you get a simulator to help though, if not now later, but the sooner the better realy.

i got try aerofly software is much more better then g3... www.aerofly.com this is the best simulator software i ever play...with Esky simulator...just cost me RM50 in malaysia...the software was pirated....cheap and good ^_^"

[jameshk]

what i suggest is...play lama v3 Esky and play more on simulator aerofly then get belt-cp...then get titan raptor....this is the best way to level up...now i can fly very well....thanks to daz...

[DarkSide41]

I haven't flown a RC heli since I had a Concept .30 and a Concept 11 back in the day (Early 90's ) I only learned to hover then and sold them after a few months due to no time to invest . Last year I started getting the bug again after painting several canopies for a friend so I bought a G3 sim and Wow , I wish thaey had that back in the day . It really beats the Dave Brown sim I remember playing with . I've had the G3 for about 4 months now and just ordered a Falcon 3D electric for $250 shipped . I hope it is decent . I just want something I can hover around with and get into forward flight before I spend the big bucks I suggest you get a good sim before actually buying a heli . If you can't get the hang of the sim you can save yourself some $$$ .

.02

[uneverno]

Hey shayne

Just for my two cents, the car analogy you've drawn is pretty close as I understand it. I used to race electric 2wd dirt. Going to nitro 4wd pavement was very much different as the driving principles are nowhere near the same (as you describe with the 1/12 pan car, which I also used to race on carpet.

CP is definitely more complicated. More moving parts = more to break. Also pricier as Daz points out as the radio gear is more complex = more money as well.

FP is fun, but has its limitations - you can't fly outside unless it's dead calm. Can't go inverted. No autorotation. That said, if as Tim points out, it's harder to control, I see that as a good thing.

As for relaxing, if that's what you're truly looking for, thermal sailplanes are the way to go. Given your racing descriptions though, I somehow doubt that

[heavymetal92]

Hi and welcome to the forum from me as well. I myself am learning on a fixed pitch so if you learn on a fixed pitch just apply your skills to the collective pitch heli when you have enough to buy one. I also would consider the availability of parts, because you will crash it, maybe not on the first flight (i got lucky) but you will crash it. My first crash the heli slammed into a stool and bent the main rotor shaft and broke one of the blades. There are also a couple of things a fixed pitch cannot do that a collective pitch can and they are fly upside down and fly aerobatically.



hope this helps


JD

[3dee]

Hi and welcome, my advise would be to get to that fltying club and join it. there you will find some one to teach you first hand with a buddy box and if you did go the nitro route from the start a fellow club member will be there to show you haw to start it safely trim it out and fly it for you, then you will be able to steart your self with a heli thats trimmed and with help at hand. good luck and have fun