Hi, I've tried and mastered the micro heli's just having some indoor fun. Got a 3D walkera V400D02 and hard landed it a few times or it got away and hit something. Have rebuilt two of these and now tired & frustrated. Obviously, I'm not ready for a 3d and need a good grow-into intermediate heli. What's everybody using as an intermediate flyer? Your recommendation is appreciated.

Thanks,

Try a 4 channel coaxial, that's a good in between design. More stable because it's coaxial, but still has the controls of a 6 channel 3D.

I'm not looking for a toy, but an adult rc helo. The coaxial's seem to close to toys (have a few S107's). Any model recommendations on a coaxial?

Try the CB180Z or 4#6bell. These have the stability of a coax, but are a little more
manoverable. And have the added complexety of an adjustable pitch tail.

I have a review on the CB180Z in that thread, in the micro helis group. Page 49.

The shameful thing is i seriously am of the opinion that this heli doesn't exist anymore. No more HBFP. Walkera are crap. Sick of tail wagging and DD tails. No more Neon FP. Clones are so damn cheap that a competitor is struggling to spec out a decent heli in any size that poses as an option. It would have to be < $200 for people to take it seriously. Otherwise everyone will just say build a fleet of clone 450s and learn on them rather than going the in-between coaxial and 6 channel helis. The Blade SR has been given crap reviews (it's got a motor driven tail.... so durrr...). The Blade msR and Blade 120 SR are both quite expensive and not actually teaching you much more than a coaxial for actual heli skills. Though they are a LOT more fun than a coaxial due to the ability to enter light to moderate FF.

SOoo......

The reall options are generally crappy ones.... (in my opinion)

Build some weird firefox EP200 clone thingy (spend almost as much as a clone 450 in doing so)
Buy a used HBFP + parts
Buy a used Neon FP + parts
Buy a used Quark + blades (more initial cost)


ORrrrr............................

Go with the CP heli from the outset. Take baby steps. Get a sim. Get someone to help you learn how to fly the CP. Build the CP yourself to whatever budget you can handle crashing once completely. (i.e. double initial cost - this should give you an idea of a rough cost to fly the thing for a year in an average scenario).

The only problems with the last one is you need somewhere to fly, someone to help you, have a decent attitude towards simming, purchase a potentially expensive TX from the outset when you only have 1 or maybe 2 heli's that will use it initially, have no idea how to setup your heli/TX without doing maybe 5 hrs (min) to say... 30 hrs (max) homework reading around here and other heli sites (esp. finless vids).

So..... what to do... what to do...

I say some fancy company out there has a market to fill... a belted/torque tubed FP that binds to common TX's and has relatively cheap parts, can cost $200-230 BNF. Metal swash. Everything else high grade plastics and carbon fibre with a few metal bits where essential. Can be sold in kit form even... (if necessary to hit the target cost, though if it's not coming with an RX/servos etc. then i would expect a lower price). Let's say 300 sized... and don't release it with stupid problems like walkera's, don't make us have to own some dumb tx, and make parts easily available. Also i would prefer a 90 deg. flybar with no stupid self stabilisation.

Hm.... but by now this almost sounds like CP price territory.... that's why the Blade SR on paper sounds sooo awesome... pity the motor driven tail....

Hm... i am totally ranting... please disregard everything i said. Unless you agree with me

Have completely rebuilt two walkera's including retrofitting elite servos. The helo is great in the air (hovering, I'm a beginner) but the moment you freeze up, get into trouble or it takes off, the repairs are ridiculous. I'm done rebuilding walkera's and waiting weeks for parts because the local guys are out of stock on the parts. It's my guess the helo parts market are just as popular as the RTF market etc, as stupid things happen that cause helos to go down. My situations were dumb and a few feet off the ground. Just seems the aluminum and plastic are so cheap they are designed to be replaced almost routinely. The slightest hit causes the low-end servo gears to break and the servo housings to warp. Guess if you are experienced, crashes wouldn't happen due to pilot error. I don't mind replacing parts (part of the hobby), but the costs are escalating and so is the time to rebuild. I'm practicing on some sims but would like to hear recommendations on intermediate helos to fly. Will check out the CB180Z!

I would recommend a Blade SR120 or used Hirobo SRB Quark. These are the best beginner helis IMHO. Not too easy, not to hard, but able to give you a reasonable start in the learning process.

or build a FP 450 FrankenHeli

I've built one, but have not been able to 'fly' it yet do to RAIN in SOUTHERN CA, hovers very nicely

here's some video of the guy that came up with it

FrankenHeli CARRYING a GoPro!!

Fixed Pitch 450 onboard video (11 min 14 sec)

FrankenHeli flight taken with a GoPro

Fixed Pitch 450 (7 min 34 sec)

it's a clone 450 frame with a funcopter head

Originally Posted by bigo66

Hi, I've tried and mastered the micro heli's just having some indoor fun. Got a 3D walkera V400D02 and hard landed it a few times or it got away and hit something. Have rebuilt two of these and now tired & frustrated. Obviously, I'm not ready for a 3d and need a good grow-into intermediate heli. What's everybody using as an intermediate flyer? Your recommendation is appreciated.

Thanks,

The only sensible thing to do, IMHO, is get some type of 450 heli. My preference would be an Align 450 Sport Super Combo at minimum. This can be made to be anywhere from an intermediate to an advanced 3D trainer, and at a reasonable cost. This is a guaranteed solution. Just add some flybar weights to tame it down. Take the weights off when you want it more "active".

I think this is the most straight forward choice. Any bigger and it is cost. Any smaller (like a TRex250) is a bit less stable.

My feeling was some type of FP and/or 450 style. Anything less than 24" is a bit too small for my preference. I should bite my pride and go with a 12", but want something to grow into. The walkera v400d02 has tons of potential, but I just can't fly it confidently. Too much going on in the cockpit! It's actually easier to fly a real aircraft! Flew fixed wing grumman while working toward a private rating but quit before getting the ticket. Maybe an engine out as a student (alone at 45 hours) and 3 brake failures on final approach had something to do with it. I am trying to avoid getting a 450 clone with inferior parts or a wannabe "Align" on fleabay that isn't actually a true Align 450. Any ideas where to get one from without paying retail pricing?

well in my opinion, if you were considering a FP would be a funcopter, it's a 500 class heli.

here's my latest video, even has a crash

Funcopter Crash (3 min 54 sec)

Looks like a fun copter. Trying to avoid a third re-build lol. A 450 to 500 is what I had in mind. Prefer an RTF.

the funcopter comes in two versions ARF (you add esc/gyro/servos/rx/tx/battery) and RR (you add rx/tx/battery)

I bought the RR version, and if I had to do it over, I would get the ARF

Tower has coupons, and they have a three pack of hs-82's

ARF - 234.99
3 pack hs-82 - 57.81
CC thunderbird esc - 42.99
Total - 335.79
- $35 coupon
free shipping
total $300.79 and you still need a gyro

bphobbies.com
make offer arf - 217.36
make offer hs-82 - four pack for 67.96
make offer cc thunder esc - 38.21
-10 for big order discount
313.53
plus shipping 17 to CA $330.53 and you still need the gyro

i like bphobbies turnaround time a lot better than tower, bp is $30 more, but you get an extra servo so BP is about $10 more

The fun copter looks very promising. It's big and durable. I like the fact it's a step up from coaxial. Probably cheaper and more durable than a 450. Don't think you can fly the funcopter in your house lol. Somehow when I added everything up the total came to $440 not including a 6 channel tx/rx. Over 5 bills is twice the budget amount for a larger helo. Not sure of the tx/rx or if my walkera 2603 tranmitter / receiver can work in it. What is a reasonable 6 channel tx/rx? Where is the coupon?

yeah, no FC flying in the house

check my youtube channel and you can see how big it is in a garage