Thread: Looking for some guidance on new Heli

Hello all,

I have spent the first 60 mins looking over the forum, its a wealth of infomation and looks like a great place to help and advice. With that in mind, I am hoping some of you will be able to help me out with making a decision on a Heli. I have pasted an email I sent to a few stores last week, the advice they gave me was good and in fact after further research I started looking at options they had not suggested. My point is, I wanted you to see the email I wrote to give you an idea where I am, and then I will fininsh the note off with the choices I have given myself

"Hi guys. I am going round and round in circles (no pun intended) as I try and figure out what helicopter to get. I have spoken to people on forums, in shops and I even resurrected an old mate of mine who used to be a test pilot for Ripmax back in the day. Each of them have different opinions on what I do next.

Based on the advice so far, people are split down the middle in terms of my next step.

Myself and my son have been flying indoor 4 channel, fixed pitch, single rotor heli’s for a couple of months. We are both pretty competent, him (16 years old) more than me. We want to take the next step on our progression but want to be sure we are doing the right thing.

50% of those who we have spoken too are saying that there is no point in going to a another 4 channel heli. Even though the flight characteristics are going to be different with a model which is designed to fly outdoor. They are saying to bite the bullet and go for a 6 channel heli. Ranging from a Belt CPX to a T-Rex 450.

The other 50% are saying go the Honeybee 2 route. Learn to fly that outside, then move onto a 6 channel. A small number of people have even suggested a 6 channel heli with a Helicommand or something similar to help whilst learning.

I am on the fence, and cant seem to get off. Everyone seems to have a valid opinion. I don’t want to waste money on a heli that I may only use for a month, at the same time I don’t want to set us up to fail. Some of the advice has even focused on the TX unit, that the TX unit in some cases should be a higher priority that the Heli."


Since writing that, and speaking to people who actually fly I have com to the conclusion that I should get one of the following:

Eflight Blade 450 Package
Century KDS 450 Q (Package or Heli Only and Serperate radio)
Century Razor 500 (Package or Heli Only and Serperate radio)

There are pro's and cons with each. I'd love the 500, but the initial outlay for batteries is huge, the saving I make on the batt's could be spent on more for the 450 size helo.

Then there is the radio issue. i know, from previous R/C aircraft expernce that the radio, especially for heli's is important.

I'm of to Hong Kong and Tokyo in a month as well. I do not want to buy a heli there but I know stuff like the radios and batt's are a lot cheaper.

Any advice you can give would be very much appreciated.

Sorry in advance for going on a bit!!!

Thanks for the replies so far. Can I ask why you both reccomend the Blade over the Century heli's? Thanks again chaps.

Another option to consider is the Blade Mcpx coupled with a Spectrum DX6i radio. I recently made the move from 4C single rotor (MSR) to the Mcpx and having loads of fun.

It's fly able inside and out even in light wind and is very damage resistant so a crash doesn't often end up with time out to repair. They tell me the skill learnt apply to bigger heli's.

That said a 450 heli is my next planned step but I have considerable learning to go on this little heli.

Need the radio though to tame its responsiveness down to newbie levels, don't go for the rtf package.

Gotcha - I did have, as an option that CenturyUK 450 and 500 without Radio, I could get just the basic Helo with an upgraded radio. I guess that's an option. The only reason I am making a big thing about the CenturyUK stuff is that the factory is litterally 10 mins away. Pretty handy for spares.

Thanks guys - Im gonna see what deals they will do tomorrow on the Century Helo's, if they cant match the Blade I will wait until Monday then get a blade from one of the online retailers I think....

Hi Guys,

I bit the bullet and went with the Blade 450 RTF picked it up for £293.00 all in!! Wicked bit of kit can recomend it to every one starting out with £300 - £350 to blow!! Got it today set up was easy ....... recomend checking the swash plate as mine need minor adjustments and a bit of blade trim!!!! but the first few hovers in a very small garden was really good and ultra stable!!!

Also like every one else keeps on saying get a decent Sim.


Cheers,


Pete