What is the best beginners Helicoptor?

[stokrgs]

I am new to the RC Heli hobby and am interested in buying my first helicoptor. What is the best beginners helicoptor to purchase? Should I buy gas or electric? What size should I buy?

[Bugg77]

Man you are asking for all kinds of posts with this question. I'm also a newbie and I think the only universal piece of advice you'll get is to start with a simulator... after that, it's all up to your budget, comfort level, flying sites, etc.

My first heli will either be the TREX 450XL or the Swift 16. I'm not interested in messing around with the RTF helis like the Blade CP, but that's just because I enjoy the modeling and mechanical side of putting the heli together almost as much as the flying side.

Best of luck in your search

[Motions]

That is the most asked question anywhere and it always sparks a debate and long threads. I have given my input so many times but this time I'll just give a warning. "Expect hundreds of different answers and opinions".

Bugg is right though, the best thing to start with is a sim. Whether you have your heli yet or not, try to get a sim.

[HeliRaptor]

My advice is to also start with a Simulator. But I recently had this same question. After 1.5 years of looking into helis (I had Real Flight G2 during this time) going to flying fields, browsing forums and visiting hobby shops, my choice is definately the Thunder Tiger Raptor. For many reasons, It is very popular in my area (helps for when I had questions). Price to performance, the Raptor series can do everything any of the others can do. Availablility of parts and cost of repairs was another driving factor. All in all the best choice for me was the Raptor. Now I started with a Raptor .30v2 (which was against everyones advice) and I love it. But now 6 months into the hobby I have just about out grown it. I have much work to do on my skill but I am trying things that the 30 has a bit of difficulty with. So now I find myself 6 months later going with the advice I originally got, go with the Raptor .50v2 with the OS 50 Hyper engine and the best Radio you can buy as this is one thing that will move with you in the hobby. So I just bought my second Radio to take advantage of the extras I thought I would not need or want. And now I am building a 50 size too. All in all I am not sorry I did it as now I will have a second machine if there is a mishap.

My vote goes to the Raptor .50v2 with the OS .50 Hyper and a minimum of a 6 channel Radio with 5 point pitch curves. I'd strongly recommend if you are sure this hobby is for you go with a 9 channel Radio and not worry about out growing it anytime soon as it will have plenty of channels and features to keep you happy for the long haul.

Hope this info helps. But like said previous to my comments you will get many different answers. But the quality and availability along with price is a great reason to start with the Raptor Series. If you do not plan on doing any Serious 3D then the Raptor .30v2 will suit you fine. My advice if you go with this get the OS .37 engine with a MP2 exhaust, more power and very reliable. This bird will do 3D and pretty good. But not a seriouos 3D machine. Just my opinion.

[Motions]

You bring up a good point H.R. I'm working on getting my Raptor 50v2 now because it is a very popular machine. Being in a club you are directed towards what everybody else flies. If your around a group of people that fly the same thing, it helps to get the same model because there will be a lot of help available to you but don't go against your gut feeling or budget just to get what everyone else has. If your going on your own, try to find a reliable machine that you can find parts for easily and information when you need it.

When I started out, I went with the Blade CP because that's all my budget would handle. If you plan on moving up like I am, the experience you master on a micro will help a great deal with the more stable nitros.

[HeliRaptor]

The experience you master on a micro will help a great deal with the more stable nitros.

This couldn't be more true.

But I caution any new Heli Pilot that starts out with these machines. I have seen several people start with these HARDER to FLY and inherently unstable machines and they get a bad taste and totally give up on the hobby.

Helis are hard to fly period. But the larger the machine the more stable it is. But I have also seen people start with a 90 size and quit the hobby as well because the cost to repair such a beast is high. The 90 size are also very intimidating especially to a new pilot.

Just thought these points are worth mentioning. I would start with a 30 or 50 depending on what you type of flying you are intending to work towards.

Either way keep us posted, it would be nice to see your choices and progress. Please continue to ask, most people in the hobby are willing to help. I am no expert but I have done my research and I have close to 200 flights in in 6 months. I can help you with the basics but for the advanced questions, I 'll leave those to the more experience pilots or the pros.

HeliRaptor

[Fasrc]

You guys all make good points so here are a few more:

Get a heli that everyone flys and your local hobby shop sells parts for in your area. There have been many times where I needed a part quickly and going to the local hobby shop allowed me to fly as ordering parts online can take a few days. If you need help in setup or tuning, the guys with the same ship will be able to help you the quickest.

In my personl opinion, the Raptor 50, OS50 and 9 channel radio will take you a long way....

I have owned and flown the majority of the popular birds out there and the one I fly the most is my Raptor 50. ;)

[stokrgs]

Thanks for all your input. I am very excited about this hobby. I have been a fixed wing guy for a while but have always been interested in the helicoptors. I can't wait to start. I have decided to buy the Real Flight G3 simulator to start and then will look at the birds. I will let you know which bird I buy.

[Fasrc]

You'll really like G3...make sure you update it online once you install it as that will get you the Photo Field backgrounds................Enjoy ;)

[darkfa8]

the proverbial "what's the best first heli" question...

I have a few points and the rest will be up to you.

1. If you're considering purchasing a micro heli and can find some people local to you who have one, after you get some sim time, if you can buddy box with them. I'd hedge to bet you get turned down or, if perchance the "buddy" is brave, he'll let you take a stab and maybe you won't crash, but more then likely you will.

The micro electrics are no where near as stable as a 30-size heli, while parts are cheap you'll likely break them often, they cannot handle much of any wind so flying outside is more limited then what a larger machine can handle. With a 90-size, when you're ready, a experienced pilot can keep it under control in 25-30mph winds whereas a micro would fly off and splat into the ground.

When it comes to starting out it's simple, size does matter and the micros are best left for a fun toy for when you have more real flight time under your belt. Since you're a experience fixed wing pilot you'll likely know the answer to whether or not a micro airplane flies more stable then a 40-size fixed wing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just giving you advice to burn your money up and your nerves.

2. All modern RC helis use the same principals of physics to fly. There are two types of linkage setups that are most common in this segment, mechanical mixing and electronic mixing. Don't let yourself be pressured into buying Brand A because everyone else flys Brand A. You can either be a sheep or be a wolf. Try something new or different, you might just start a trend. If you goto a local field or heli-equipped hobby shop, the person you want to help you is the guy that can work on any heli and get it to fly for you.

My sentiment on the Raptor is that it is essentially a 7 year old design. A lot has happend in the heli industry in the last 7 years pertaining to rc heli manufacturing and design and there are other models to consider that are products of the 21st-century. They're worth a fair shake.

3. Since you already fly planes you know the value in quality tools. You'll need some specialized tools for setting up and maintaing your heli. A blade balancer (KSJ), pitch gauge (Mavvrick (Miniature Aircraft copy), dial indicator/base and vise for checking run out if you get a heli that has a clutch hub setup (Century Hawk/Raven/Falcon do not require this), duckbill style ball link pliers (Century), fly bar lock, quality 6mm one-way starter extension (Robbe), quality allen drivers (Hudy, MIP/Thorpe, Team Losi) for starters....

4. You'll surely run into the digital vs. analog servo debate. The digitals win hands down across the board and are worth saving your pennies for. They have superior centering and are more precise. The digitals do require a bit more battery juice since they are active all the time to hold their position. So, I always recommend a 2000mAH receiver pack at minimum (NiCD is a robust and proven technology). Li-Ion/Li-Po batterys require a voltage regulator a charger that can handle their specific chemistry and are more expensive then the NiCD counterparts. The NiMH batteries are also good, but beware of smaller-then sub-c cells because they have a high internal resistence = higher self-discharge rate. Just food for thought on that.

5. Most popular transmitters are the JR 9303 and the Futaba 9CHP. The Airtronics are also used, but I personally found their computer menu navigation a lot less intuitive then the JR or Futaba competitors. I have used the 9303 and it feels great in your hands, very ergo friendly. I do own the 9CHP and love it. I've grown up with Futaba since my days of rc cars back in the early '90s. A upgraded transmitter battery will also be a worthwhile investment since the factory provided battery is rather lame. A 1800mAH+ battery will keep you in the air longer between recharges or until you're tired :)

6. more to come when I can think of it

PS: this is just my opinion based on reading through tons of posts, real life flying and being in the rc hobby for a long time.

PSS: This should be a sticky!

[tdswan]

I've got a point to bring to light that I wasn't able to debate before because I didn't have any experience with a crash. In this scenario I will use the T-Rex 450 vs. Raptor 50v2 because these are the two models I have experience with. I will add that I learned on the Raptor. And my opinion is that the Raptor is a better bird to learn on.

Let's say you crash in a standard hover crash/ dumb thumb/ whatever you want to call it. I've read tons and tons of posts on this topic of Micros being cheaper to fix in the event of a crash. Now I haven't crashed my Raptor....yet but I did recently crash my T-Rex. I do haven a friend who has crashed his Raptor and I'm going off from his crash for my comparison. In His crash, he needed to replace blades, a couple of ball link ends and his flybar assembly and tailboom. His crash was in mowed grass which is proned to catching things and stopping them in a hurry. Thus possibly breaking things easier. I'm not sure of the dollar amount but it was definately less than $100 and probably less than $80. Now for my little accident. I was hovering on concrete, and crashed (in scale) much closer to the ground than he did. My Heli DISINTEGRATED!!! There was not many major supporting members that could have been salvaged in this crash. Total bill for repair? $164 for an entire new heli kit. I was able to salvage all electronics and motor off from it.

If you're flying a heli such as the blade CP or other RTF heli, they are not as powerful and probably will be cheaper to fix in a crash because they do not have near the ability to tear themselves apart like the more powerful 3D kits out there. Not looking to step on anyone's toes, it's just something that newbies should take into account before going with a 3D micro as they are much more fragile than the big birds out there. I agree, initial investment is a lot cheaper on the micros and a very attractive selling point when someone is looking into starting with Heli's. Just look at the long run wile shopping.

Just my 2 cents worth!