Electric heli for beginner?

[Morris Lee]

I'm thinking about getting into helis for the first time. I've been flying
fixed wing RC for 13 years, and the high initial investment for a glow heli
plus the repair costs for minor crashes have kept me away from trying them.
Recently, I've seen a number of small, light electric helis advertised. I
have a more than adequate transmitter (Futaba 8UHF) to fly helis. There are
several out there: Corona, Piccolo, Hummingbird, Shogun, etc. Any
recommendations? Please feel free to e-mail me at the address below.

Thanks in advance!

Morris Lee
flydog9@hotmail.com

[Frode]

(Note that I am a complete beginner myself)

I am sure most heli flyers will advice you against starting with light
helis, as their are more difficult to handle (because of their
lightness). I believe this is very true.

I currently have the Kyosho EP Caliber M24:
http://www.kyosho.co.jp/web/products/helicopters/ep_heli/ep_caliber/caliber_m24/caliber_m24-e.html

I think its half the price of the other helis you mention. Its fabric
built, trimmmed and comes with a remote (but you can probably still use
yours). Since its light, and almost all parts are plastic (inkluding
blades) it seems to survive crashes very good. So far my worst crash has
cost around 20£, but most of the crashes (heli falls on side near or on
ground) ends up costing 4£ (one plastic gear ruined when rotor suddenly
stops).

Still - I bought this helicopter at first because I was not even sure if
I would get into fling RC helis. I tried many years ago, but gave up
because of steep learning curve and cost (I had not flown anything before).

Now I have just bought a used Raptor 50 - and are looking forward to
start flying a more "real" (the Kyosho heli is fixed pitch and a litle
more toy like then "real" and the other helis you mention). Everyone I
speak with say it will be more fun and easier to learn on as it is more
stable beacuse of the extra weight.

Hopefully I will get in contact with some talented people in a local
club that could help me in the begining. Maybe even by buddy boxing - I
am sure that will save some money. Allso being patient and disciplined
while learning and progressing will save allo of money (my experience
from my last failed heli attempt).

Anyway - this was just allot of talk. The best forum for anything RC
heli related on internet is http://www.runryder.com/ - you will probably
find more usefull information there.

Allso another very usefull web site is this: http://www.raptortechnique.com/
Its related to the Raptor heli, but contains allot of general usefull
information about rc helis (setup , configuration, radio and so on...)

Best of luck!

Frode


Morris Lee said the following on 22.08.2004 19:25:
> I'm thinking about getting into helis for the first time. I've been flying
> fixed wing RC for 13 years, and the high initial investment for a glow heli
> plus the repair costs for minor crashes have kept me away from trying them.
> Recently, I've seen a number of small, light electric helis advertised. I
> have a more than adequate transmitter (Futaba 8UHF) to fly helis. There are
> several out there: Corona, Piccolo, Hummingbird, Shogun, etc. Any
> recommendations? Please feel free to e-mail me at the address below.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Morris Lee
> flydog9@hotmail.com
>
>
>

[BillW50]

Hi Morris... Well I did the same thing as you were thinking of. And I
purchased an electric Dragonfly (most of the parts are the same for the
Hummingbird). Later I purchased a Raptor 30 v1. And I have to tell ya, I
wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.

For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control. It is
definitely not the best thing to use for a beginner. Sure they are
cheaper to start with and the parts are only slightly cheaper than a
Raptor 30 v1. But the electric will crash far more often than the Raptor
30 would anyway. Luckily most electric crashes won't hurt anything, but
those that do will add up.

So far, I've probably added about 150 bucks more to the up front cost to
my electric Dragonfly (in a year's time with parts and spares). But my
Raptor 30 costs me less than this (not counting up front costs) even
adding in fuel costs (I've purchased 5 gallons so far). And the Raptor
30 is about 10 times easier to fly as well.

If I had to do it all over again, whether you have no experience with
planes or helicopters (in your case you have experience with planes and
so do I) or not, I'd go and get a real good RC flight simulator like
RealFlight G2 or something and play around with this. Instead of
shelling out more money for electric or gas craft. That way you can see
if it is for you or not and it doesn't cost a dime more than the up
front costs. And worse comes to worse, used RealFlight G2 copies sells
pretty close to new anyway.

That's my 2 cents anyway. Good luck on whatever you decide.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000



"Morris Lee" <flydog9removetoreply@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:WF4Wc.2058$il.1667@fe39.usenetserver.com...
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:25:08 -0400

I'm thinking about getting into helis for the first time. I've been
flying fixed wing RC for 13 years, and the high initial investment for a
glow heli plus the repair costs for minor crashes have kept me away from
trying them. Recently, I've seen a number of small, light electric helis
advertised. I have a more than adequate transmitter (Futaba 8UHF) to fly
helis. There are several out there: Corona, Piccolo, Hummingbird,
Shogun, etc. Any recommendations? Please feel free to e-mail me at the
address below.

Thanks in advance!

Morris Lee
flydog9@hotmail.com

[BillW50]

Hi Morris... Well I did the same thing as you were thinking of. And I
purchased an electric Dragonfly (most of the parts are the same for the
Hummingbird). Later I purchased a Raptor 30 v1. And I have to tell ya, I
wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.

For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control. It is
definitely not the best thing to use for a beginner. Sure they are
cheaper to start with and the parts are only slightly cheaper than a
Raptor 30 v1. But the electric will crash far more often than the Raptor
30 would anyway. Luckily most electric crashes won't hurt anything, but
those that do will add up.

So far, I've probably added about 150 bucks more to the up front cost to
my electric Dragonfly (in a year's time with parts and spares). But my
Raptor 30 costs me less than this (not counting up front costs) even
adding in fuel costs (I've purchased 5 gallons so far). And the Raptor
30 is about 10 times easier to fly as well.

If I had to do it all over again, whether you have no experience with
planes or helicopters (in your case you have experience with planes and
so do I) or not, I'd go and get a real good RC flight simulator like
RealFlight G2 or something and play around with this. Instead of
shelling out more money for electric or gas craft. That way you can see
if it is for you or not and it doesn't cost a dime more than the up
front costs. And worse comes to worse, used RealFlight G2 copies sells
pretty close to new anyway.

That's my 2 cents anyway. Good luck on whatever you decide.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000



"Morris Lee" <flydog9removetoreply@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:WF4Wc.2058$il.1667@fe39.usenetserver.com...
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:25:08 -0400

I'm thinking about getting into helis for the first time. I've been
flying fixed wing RC for 13 years, and the high initial investment for a
glow heli plus the repair costs for minor crashes have kept me away from
trying them. Recently, I've seen a number of small, light electric helis
advertised. I have a more than adequate transmitter (Futaba 8UHF) to fly
helis. There are several out there: Corona, Piccolo, Hummingbird,
Shogun, etc. Any recommendations? Please feel free to e-mail me at the
address below.

Thanks in advance!

Morris Lee
flydog9@hotmail.com

[Glen Peden]

In article <huydnbiJIZ5x46TcRVn-pA@sysmatrix.net>,
"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:


> And I have to tell ya, I
> wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.
>
> For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control.

Whoa!!! You guys are not talking about electrics, you are talking about
electric powered MICRO-Heli's. Electrics are just as heavy as their glow
counterparts and work just as well. For instance the ELECTRIC LOGO 20
weighs about 8-1/2 pounds, just like its .50 size glow counterpart. They
are not harder to control - if anything they are smoother and easier to
fly.

A good electric heli for a beginner is the LOGO 10. Check out my site,
logoheli.com and stop by the very active forum there for more info about
electric heli's.

A micro is not that great for a beginner. An alternative that works out
very well by virtue of its almost indestructible nature is the Lite
Machines Corona fixed pitch heli. Instincts learned with it can be used
on a larger heli after hundreds of dollars in crash repair bills have
been avoided.

--
Cheers!

Glen

[Alan]

I'd second that Glen. My Logo 10 was an EXCELLENT heli and in flight behaved
just like a 30 sized glo machine, but with Nicad battery packs it didn't
have the same raw power or duration.

With the advent of LiPol battery technology, the future is probably
electric. You SHOULD have seen the leckys at the 3D Masters.

Unbelievable performance and duration!

--
Alan
alandotrait@btopenworlddot.com
Remove the dots to reply
http://heliweb.users.btopenworld.com/


"Glen Peden" <glen2@logoheli.com> wrote in message
news:glen2-0D4FD1.11444907092004@news.telus.net...
> In article <huydnbiJIZ5x46TcRVn-pA@sysmatrix.net>,
> "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
>
>
>> And I have to tell ya, I
>> wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.
>>
>> For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control.
>
> Whoa!!! You guys are not talking about electrics, you are talking about
> electric powered MICRO-Heli's. Electrics are just as heavy as their glow
> counterparts and work just as well. For instance the ELECTRIC LOGO 20
> weighs about 8-1/2 pounds, just like its .50 size glow counterpart. They
> are not harder to control - if anything they are smoother and easier to
> fly.
>
> A good electric heli for a beginner is the LOGO 10. Check out my site,
> logoheli.com and stop by the very active forum there for more info about
> electric heli's.
>
> A micro is not that great for a beginner. An alternative that works out
> very well by virtue of its almost indestructible nature is the Lite
> Machines Corona fixed pitch heli. Instincts learned with it can be used
> on a larger heli after hundreds of dollars in crash repair bills have
> been avoided.
>
> --
> Cheers!
>
> Glen

[RCHeliFans]

"Alan" <alandotrait@btopenworlddot.com> wrote in message news:<cht0k6$4k9$1@sparta.btinternet.com>...
> I'd second that Glen. My Logo 10 was an EXCELLENT heli and in flight behaved
> just like a 30 sized glo machine, but with Nicad battery packs it didn't
> have the same raw power or duration.
>
> With the advent of LiPol battery technology, the future is probably
> electric. You SHOULD have seen the leckys at the 3D Masters.
>
> Unbelievable performance and duration!
>
> --
> Alan
> alandotrait@btopenworlddot.com
> Remove the dots to reply
> http://heliweb.users.btopenworld.com/
>
>
> "Glen Peden" <glen2@logoheli.com> wrote in message
> news:glen2-0D4FD1.11444907092004@news.telus.net...
> > In article <huydnbiJIZ5x46TcRVn-pA@sysmatrix.net>,
> > "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> And I have to tell ya, I
> >> wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.
> >>
> >> For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control.
> >
> > Whoa!!! You guys are not talking about electrics, you are talking about
> > electric powered MICRO-Heli's. Electrics are just as heavy as their glow
> > counterparts and work just as well. For instance the ELECTRIC LOGO 20
> > weighs about 8-1/2 pounds, just like its .50 size glow counterpart. They
> > are not harder to control - if anything they are smoother and easier to
> > fly.
> >
> > A good electric heli for a beginner is the LOGO 10. Check out my site,
> > logoheli.com and stop by the very active forum there for more info about
> > electric heli's.
> >
> > A micro is not that great for a beginner. An alternative that works out
> > very well by virtue of its almost indestructible nature is the Lite
> > Machines Corona fixed pitch heli. Instincts learned with it can be used
> > on a larger heli after hundreds of dollars in crash repair bills have
> > been avoided.
> >
> > --
> > Cheers!
> >
> > Glen


I owned 1 eSky and 1 DragonFly helicopter. Based on the experience,
the eSky micro helicopter is a very good helicopter for beginner. And
the price is good too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------OWNED:
1 eSky Helicopter, 1 DragonFly Helicopter, 1 Hirobo Nitro Helicopter
Recommend:
RC SHop: http://www.HobbyJapan2000.com
RC Forum: http://www.rcboard.net/forumboard
Searc Engine: http://www.google.com

[RCHeliFans]

rchelifans@yahoo.com (RCHeliFans) wrote in message news:<b50667fe.0409131134.21d69c9d@posting.google.com>...
> "Alan" <alandotrait@btopenworlddot.com> wrote in message news:<cht0k6$4k9$1@sparta.btinternet.com>...
> > I'd second that Glen. My Logo 10 was an EXCELLENT heli and in flight behaved
> > just like a 30 sized glo machine, but with Nicad battery packs it didn't
> > have the same raw power or duration.
> >
> > With the advent of LiPol battery technology, the future is probably
> > electric. You SHOULD have seen the leckys at the 3D Masters.
> >
> > Unbelievable performance and duration!
> >
> > --
> > Alan
> > alandotrait@btopenworlddot.com
> > Remove the dots to reply
> > http://heliweb.users.btopenworld.com/
> >
> >
> > "Glen Peden" <glen2@logoheli.com> wrote in message
> > news:glen2-0D4FD1.11444907092004@news.telus.net...
> > > In article <huydnbiJIZ5x46TcRVn-pA@sysmatrix.net>,
> > > "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >> And I have to tell ya, I
> > >> wish I never purchased an electric helicopter to begin with.
> > >>
> > >> For starters, those electrics are so light and so hard to control.
> > >
> > > Whoa!!! You guys are not talking about electrics, you are talking about
> > > electric powered MICRO-Heli's. Electrics are just as heavy as their glow
> > > counterparts and work just as well. For instance the ELECTRIC LOGO 20
> > > weighs about 8-1/2 pounds, just like its .50 size glow counterpart. They
> > > are not harder to control - if anything they are smoother and easier to
> > > fly.
> > >
> > > A good electric heli for a beginner is the LOGO 10. Check out my site,
> > > logoheli.com and stop by the very active forum there for more info about
> > > electric heli's.
> > >
> > > A micro is not that great for a beginner. An alternative that works out
> > > very well by virtue of its almost indestructible nature is the Lite
> > > Machines Corona fixed pitch heli. Instincts learned with it can be used
> > > on a larger heli after hundreds of dollars in crash repair bills have
> > > been avoided.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Cheers!
> > >
> > > Glen
>
>
> I owned 1 eSky and 1 DragonFly helicopter. Based on the experience,
> the eSky micro helicopter is a very good helicopter for beginner. And
> the price is good too.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------OWNED:
> 1 eSky Helicopter, 1 DragonFly Helicopter, 1 Hirobo Nitro Helicopter
> Recommend:
> RC SHop: http://www.HobbyJapan2000.com
> RC Forum: http://www.rcboard.net/forumboard
> Searc Engine: http://www.google.com

I have ordered a Lipo battery from HobbyJapan2000.com today for my
eSky helicopter. I will test that and give you guys a report after
use.

Recommend:
RC Shop: http://www.HobbyJapan2000.com
RC Forum: http://www.rcboard.net/forumboard
Free Simulator: http://www.flying-model-simulator.com
Searc Engine: http://www.google.com