R/C helicopter info
Discussion
I had a go at this a couple of years ago, they are very tricky to fly but provide a massive buzz!
My first recomendation would be to get hold of a simulator, they are very much more than just a game and will enable you to get a proper feel of how to move the sticks around. A crash in the sim doesn't cost you anything, a crash for real may well write of your entire heli(including all electronics. There are two main competitors in the sim market Realflight and Reflex, they are basically the same but relex requires you to have your own transmitter which you connect to your PC, where as realflight comes with it's own dummy usb controller/ I would be willing to part with mine (realflight G3, it is updatable for free to the latest 3.5 version) if you are interested let me know, i've been meaning to put it onto ebay.
Get yourself down to your local club (there's a list of then here http://www.bmfa.org/ )and have a chat with the people there, they will more than likely be very helpful with advice and let you look at all their stuff. Some clubs even have a club heli that they may let you fly too.
When buying a heli see what your local club is flying and also what radio gear they are using. You might be able to buy a decent heli for a good price but if no one ha any knowledge of how to set it up and get the best out of it then it can prove to be very stressfull to you as you are trying to learn how to fly with something that isn't set up properly
I started with a Hirobo Evo 50. 30 size are the smallest for a beginner but they tend to be blown around a bit more. You can try electric but they tend to be even smaller unless you spend a fair amount on batteries/motors etc. I also bought a small T-rex electric just to play with in the garden but I didn't have much luck with it. To get yourself kitted out expect to pay well over a grand for some decent kit.
Take your time when building your heli, make sure all the links are set up as the manual states, there can't be any approximations with heli's they have to be very balanced or you will constantly be fighting it which will ultimately result in a crash. Most of the good shops will provide a setup service, I highly recomend that you take advatage of this. The guys at your club may well be able to help you set it up too.
Make sure you never fly alone, heli's are very dangerous, the tip speed on any of the larger (30 size and up) heli's will be around 400mph. This can obviously result in injury both to you and the heli's.
Why did i stop flying? A guy turned up at the club a couple of times 1st to chat then brought his new heli along. Following a thorough setup and check the chairman agreed to test fly it for him, after a couple of mins of hovering all seemed well so he started to move it about. At this point there was an electrical faliure in the reciever which resulted in a complete lockout of the controls. The heli flew its self over peoples heads (only a couple of foot above) and around in a big arc and began to make it's way to the floor. However some of one of the members kids were playing in the area it was headed, luckily it just missed them and it ploughed it's way into the floor and pretty much destroyed its self. I decided at that point that i do not want any injury on my concience even if it wasn't directly my fault. It could be my heli that causes serious harm to someone just because I was trying to have some fun. So i sold all my gear and went back to playing with R/C Cars. I'm not trying to scare you off of the hobby as nasty accidents are rare but they could happen.
To see a heli being flown by someone that really knows what they are doing is an awsome site. They can do things that you just wouldn't believe are possible.
A couple of example vids:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-PfrUfhghMo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nSsl4GOFAp4
By far the best site that I found for helping is www.runryder.com
It's a great hobby mate, i just wish I had the balls to do it.
Any questions just ask
My first recomendation would be to get hold of a simulator, they are very much more than just a game and will enable you to get a proper feel of how to move the sticks around. A crash in the sim doesn't cost you anything, a crash for real may well write of your entire heli(including all electronics. There are two main competitors in the sim market Realflight and Reflex, they are basically the same but relex requires you to have your own transmitter which you connect to your PC, where as realflight comes with it's own dummy usb controller/ I would be willing to part with mine (realflight G3, it is updatable for free to the latest 3.5 version) if you are interested let me know, i've been meaning to put it onto ebay.
Get yourself down to your local club (there's a list of then here http://www.bmfa.org/ )and have a chat with the people there, they will more than likely be very helpful with advice and let you look at all their stuff. Some clubs even have a club heli that they may let you fly too.
When buying a heli see what your local club is flying and also what radio gear they are using. You might be able to buy a decent heli for a good price but if no one ha any knowledge of how to set it up and get the best out of it then it can prove to be very stressfull to you as you are trying to learn how to fly with something that isn't set up properly
I started with a Hirobo Evo 50. 30 size are the smallest for a beginner but they tend to be blown around a bit more. You can try electric but they tend to be even smaller unless you spend a fair amount on batteries/motors etc. I also bought a small T-rex electric just to play with in the garden but I didn't have much luck with it. To get yourself kitted out expect to pay well over a grand for some decent kit.
Take your time when building your heli, make sure all the links are set up as the manual states, there can't be any approximations with heli's they have to be very balanced or you will constantly be fighting it which will ultimately result in a crash. Most of the good shops will provide a setup service, I highly recomend that you take advatage of this. The guys at your club may well be able to help you set it up too.
Make sure you never fly alone, heli's are very dangerous, the tip speed on any of the larger (30 size and up) heli's will be around 400mph. This can obviously result in injury both to you and the heli's.
Why did i stop flying? A guy turned up at the club a couple of times 1st to chat then brought his new heli along. Following a thorough setup and check the chairman agreed to test fly it for him, after a couple of mins of hovering all seemed well so he started to move it about. At this point there was an electrical faliure in the reciever which resulted in a complete lockout of the controls. The heli flew its self over peoples heads (only a couple of foot above) and around in a big arc and began to make it's way to the floor. However some of one of the members kids were playing in the area it was headed, luckily it just missed them and it ploughed it's way into the floor and pretty much destroyed its self. I decided at that point that i do not want any injury on my concience even if it wasn't directly my fault. It could be my heli that causes serious harm to someone just because I was trying to have some fun. So i sold all my gear and went back to playing with R/C Cars. I'm not trying to scare you off of the hobby as nasty accidents are rare but they could happen.
To see a heli being flown by someone that really knows what they are doing is an awsome site. They can do things that you just wouldn't believe are possible.
A couple of example vids:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-PfrUfhghMo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nSsl4GOFAp4
By far the best site that I found for helping is www.runryder.com
It's a great hobby mate, i just wish I had the balls to do it.
Any questions just ask
Edited by Bungleaio on Thursday 5th July 11:55
The flying on that second video is simply phenomenal. I never realised an R/C Heli was capable of such feats these days.
I used to be into R/C helis but never really had the the time to properly explore it. My Hirobo MH-10 has been sat in the garage for the past decade gathering dust. Trouble is, if I decided to fly it again, one crash would spell the end for it. I doubt spares are avaialible for it these days.
I used to be into R/C helis but never really had the the time to properly explore it. My Hirobo MH-10 has been sat in the garage for the past decade gathering dust. Trouble is, if I decided to fly it again, one crash would spell the end for it. I doubt spares are avaialible for it these days.
Rather than a sim I bought a wireless Hirobo Lama XRB to learn on. Taught me nose in flying and how to fly circuits from the comfort of the living room and was great fun. It cost £300 and I recently sold it on ebay for £150 as I've moved on from the hobby.
Really good fun though, but crashes are not only very dangerous, as illustrated, but also expensive. When I knobbed up an auto on my Shuttle from 50ft (fuel line came off!) it cost around £100 and 6/7 hours to fix!
Really good fun though, but crashes are not only very dangerous, as illustrated, but also expensive. When I knobbed up an auto on my Shuttle from 50ft (fuel line came off!) it cost around £100 and 6/7 hours to fix!
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