Remote Controlled Helicoptors

[Daston]

Hi guys,

Not sure if this is the right place.

My Dad is turning 60 next month and for years he has been going on about getting a remote controlled chopper.

So I thought I would get him one for his birthday. He has never used one before so what ever I get will need to be easy to use and pretty strong.

Any idea's?

[Anthony Micallef]

How much do you want to spend? What kind of model will it be? Do you want an indoor one for £30 or a proper fully blown 6 channel model for £500?

[Daston]

Was thinking of spending £150ish

So just something to give him a taste of what a full blown one is like before spending silly money.

[Anthony Micallef]

Well this is a great site http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/rc-helicopters-buyers-g... you should be able to find something there.

[Wanchaiwarrior]

This combo might be worth a look:

http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/Sub-Micro-RC-Helicopter...

Loads to chose from though from other manufacturers, like e-flight, here:

http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/radio-control/rc-h...

HTH

Jamie

[Daston]

I am thinking of this with the delux kit (as training arms are a must)

Any one got any experience with them?

http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/RC-Helicopters/Honey-Be...

[Anthony Micallef]

Well this is a great site http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/rc-helicopters-buyers-g... you should be able to find something there.

[zasker]

Started off with a Honey Bee FP but now have a Belt CP. If it is a Honey Bee you are interested in then this looks like a better deal.

http://www.heliguy.com/Electric-RC-Helicopters/Hon...

Be prepared to have to buy some spares along the way especially if you use it indoors!

[sgrimshaw]

What are the Honey Bee's like outside?


Dave - I've been looking at these for ages too. Finding a safe place to fly can be a challenge - maybe Roger would let "us" play in the grounds of the "Mill" before or after our monthly meeting :-)

[Holst]

Daston said:

I am thinking of this with the delux kit (as training arms are a must)

Any one got any experience with them?

http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/RC-Helicopters/Honey-Be...

I would strongly recomend against buying one of these.

Cheap outdoor helis are much harder to fly than a more expensive model, espeically those with a motor powered tail and a cheap transmitter.
I had a guy bring one to the club and it was VERY hard to fly in comparison to a "propper" helicopter. Even very experienced pilots had trouble and the general consensus was that it was the worst way to learn.

Personally I would start him off with a decent quality indoor helicopter.

For something small and easy to fly this is a good buy (and its not too expensive)
http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/blade_s300_ready_e...

If you want to go outdoors in VERY light winds then this is ok
http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/radio-control/rc-h...

Both of these helis are "contra rotating" which means that they will self stabalise and should hover hands off once trimmed properly.
For a present either of these will be ideal and even a novice should be able to fly them without crashing too many times.. (unless they have no natural aptitude)
You will break things when your learning so its an idea to order a few spares with the kit, to avoid a frustrating wait for parts after breaking the heli on your first "flight"

If you want something to fly outside then you are into the world of propper expensive helicopters and I would strongly recomend going to your local club before you spend any money.... and you will be spending more than £150 if you want to enjoy it.
If you do want to go outside then I can tell you what I think for a "budget" setup, but it still wont be cheap.

For those of you interested in the micro helis from buzzflyer this guy sells the brushless versions from the same manufacturer which are much better (and the price may be better as well)
http://www.chinesejade.com/walkera.htm

Edited by Holst on Wednesday 10th March 18:34

Edited by Holst on Wednesday 10th March 18:35

[caduceus]

If he has nit flown a heli before, he needs to start with a micro/indoor one. About 60 quid will get you an E-flite MCX (coaxial/very stable), which is ideal.
Once he has got the hang of that, then move onto an E-flite MSR. This is a fixed pitch Micro, but it's alot more twitchy and quicker. Its another level up from the MCX.

Once used to the MSR, which means flying nose in/out, reverse figure 8's, etc, he can then think about going onto either a larger fixed pitch heli, or an entry level collective pitch (just like a real heli). The collective pitch helis are fookin hard to fly.
E-flite are good, because of the parts availability. And trust me, you need that! Or if you want to spend more, you can go for ALIGN.

A good forum is RCheliaddict.

[M-J-B]

I'd go MSR every time as a newbe as they are tough and will enable flight indoors every day of the year.

[Holst]

caduceus said:

If he has nit flown a heli before, he needs to start with a micro/indoor one. About 60 quid will get you an E-flite MCX (coaxial/very stable), which is ideal.
Once he has got the hang of that, then move onto an E-flite MSR. This is a fixed pitch Micro, but it's alot more twitchy and quicker. Its another level up from the MCX.

Once used to the MSR, which means flying nose in/out, reverse figure 8's, etc, he can then think about going onto either a larger fixed pitch heli, or an entry level collective pitch (just like a real heli). The collective pitch helis are fookin hard to fly.
E-flite are good, because of the parts availability. And trust me, you need that! Or if you want to spend more, you can go for ALIGN.

A good forum is RCheliaddict.

Although I started with an eflight heli I would now recomend that people start with an align or other manufacturer where you get higher quality electronics.
The Eflight airframes are ok but the quality of the servos, transmitters and gyros supplied in the kits is pretty low.
Poor quality electronics make the heli harder to setup and fly.

[JG911]

Hello,

Just my 2p worth of info.

Iv tryed flying heli's and they are really hard and if you get a nitro/electric standard heli after about 5 minutes it will be packed away in box and on Ebay.

Your best bet would be going for a coaxia Heli or somethink along them lines.myself i would go for a flight sim then you can fly planes/helis all day long and not cost a lot of money if you crash.

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR DAD.