gravelexpress

I have it in my head that I need a new toy. Just watched "Hes got to have it" and the machine they had on the program looked amazing.

Anyone have any tips for starting my new (expensive) hobby?

mj

check ebay for one, theres usually loadas of RC stuff

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

I have one. My g/f bought it for me, I still haven't flown it properly.. it's only been 6 months

Bloody scarey thing to do once you put so much effort into a build!. Get a good simulator for the PC (if you get one), you can plug the controller into the pc and learn to fly. It's a different story when you fire the real thing up for the first time

robski

Yes!

A) its very expensive
B) its very very expensive
C) there are a fair few variations of whats available in this area so research well

A friend of a freind had was changing job and they had a collection and asked if there was anything he wanted, he said yes a rotor blade for xxxxxx (dont remember name) model helicop. They said ok thinking it was gonna mean they still had most of the hundred odd quid that they had collected to find something else. Apparently the blades cost like £80 EACH!!

he gets through them quite regularly apparently but is supposed to be an ok pilot, not awesome, but certainly not crap

I would suggest (this is what he told someone else who said they fancied it) to get yourself to a meeting and talk to some of the people there. Also they go cheap secondhand apparently, a lot of people dont realise how expensive its going to be as a hobby so crash a few times and decide to cut their losses.

robski

Alpine99

I have one.. Hours of preperation for minutes of flight.. and whallop.. parts please.. Get insurance as they motor and coming from height can do a lot of damage...

krazy

I got a few.....
There not that expensive, certainly not compared to what they used 2 be!!

Get a 30 size one such as the raptor like on the prog u saw, cheap and fly great. Can't remember exactly but think u can get the standard wood blades for about £6, 'crash kits' are about 30 - 50 and contain most of the things likely to be damaged in a not to serious crash, ie blades, boom, spindle, drive shaft etc..

Be careful of 2nd hand ones alot can have badly worn bits, badly repaired etc..

Best advice if u dont feel like building it get an ARTF one, most important bit is the set-up, make sure its spot on or get someone who knows/flys them to do it/check it and get a training undercarrige thingy..

gravelexpress

Krazy ,
Do you need any special tools to build them - or are they quite straight forward to put together.
My friend in Kuwait was a very keen RC aircraft flyer and showed me a video of all the expensive crashes his club had captured.
But you have to start somewhere

midget1500

unlike model planes, when u stuff them it's not a case of balsa wood and solarfilm - expensive! and they are damn hard too fly as well.

Pepper

LOL

I've had one for about 3 years, and I've flown it 3 times, a total of about 2 hours.

Its cost me a fortune as each time I've crashed it, plus if you're a complete novice you really can't fly the thing unless there's no wind whatsoever!

A great toy, but I'd defo agree with getting a software simulator and (didn't know it was possible until now) some insurance as well!

sempers

Learn to fly on a fixed wing - then transfer. Pick something unstable and aerobatic, at least it gives you a start on how to cope with the principles.. then move to whirly...

krazy

No... no special tools, I'm fairly sure my raptor even came with all allen key sizes required, just the usual tools pliers, spanners etc will come in handy.
A pitch guage and blade balancer and ball link pliers come in useful when setting up thou.
The built in pitch scale on some helicopters is not always accurate..
The trouble is most people don't quite get them set up right, then they can be a bit (alot) of a handfull, added to its their first time flying one = usual crash....damn thing.....impossible to fly these things...don't buy one of those etc....
There not easy to fly, but not hard, *if* it's set-up and trimmed out properly, just a case of practice, its true less wind is easier/better for initial learning, but nil wind isn't a necessity, a constant gentle breeze is ok, its just if its inconsistant/gusty it can get interesting.
Don't necessarily buy the cheapest deal in the mags etc. A decent engine and gyro can make all the difference etc.
I fly planes too, not sure it does help helicopter flying, u tend to have to unlearn some bad habits u get into etc..

check out http://www.rcuniverse.com if u haven't already.

DaveU

Hi Gravel,

I have one I bought last year - it's a complete kit, copter, engine, radio gear, starter motor even fuel!

Unfortunately I got into rc monster trucks (got a Savage 21) and never finished it, so now it's sitting on top of the wardrobe. It's about 3/4 built. I think i spent in the region of 650 on it. Would accept 350 for the whole lot. If you're interested or want some more details send me an email thru my profile

Dave

gravelexpress

Dave U,
I will get back to you on that - I think I have settled on wanting a Raptor 30 - from what I have seen and heard

DaveU

OK. It's a Nexus if your interested

NACRO

My friend has one- it's diesel powered I think, a Raptor as mentioned earlier.

He spent a long time flying on a simulator as well as having a background in flying other models.

Last time he visited he achieved flight in my dining room! All controlled and no dodgy moments. Watching him fly the thing at the local club was very funny-e was doing all kinds of acrobatics and the instructors there were asking him how to do it!

Practice makes perfect- when he gave me a go ,after a couple of days solid on the simulator I binned it.

Great fun and fairly cheap if you go for a model like the raptor- I'm getting one soon.

Nevetas

You'll get bored off it after a while, then you will just end up ebaying it, or crashing it through the mother in laws bog window.

Get a 4.6 Range Rover (J plate for about 3k) and rag it through fields at silly speeds, should cure the problem for a few weeks

[Edited by Nevetas - 6/28/2003 10:19:14 PM]

gravelexpress

Nevatas,
what you like!!

Have I seen you on "Worlds most dangerous police chases"

Crapaud62

Apparently Miko Salo the ex-F1 racer had a remote controlled helicopter which he started up in his hotel room! It came towards him at just below waist height and almost made him jewish. The blades stopped when they hit his legs.

south-star

One bit of advice........make a large circular landing base out of something light and strong,fasten it to the landing legs (sort of home made stabalisors) and practice lifting off and landing before you do anything else.(without going more than 5 feet off the ground).

Simon S3

South Star,

The problem with that is that it`ll constantly be in ground cushion effect, the condition that occurs when the disc is lower to the ground than the span of the disc itself. This will give plenty of lift and is good for a few practise lifts but it`ll make the transition harder.

Rusty Festa

Corner

pacenote

Gravel
I have a Shuttle ZTS (30 size engine) started learning to fly end of last year - joined a local Heli club which has been very good for advice etc and also to see what can be done with a model heli,
One of the club members flies 3D acrobatics to world class standard, absolutely unbelievable !

If you're just starting out a Raptor30 is a good piece of kit, try and get it setup by an experienced flyer at local club and invest in a flight sim - I use CSM10
Try this site for possible clubs in your area
www.bmfa.org
hope this helps

gravelexpress

Thanks Pacenote,
I thought along thses lines after posting the thread, and sent an e-mail to a local club.

However, I was attempting to fly the Jetranger for about 3 hours last night on MS Flight sim 2002. I set it on the most realistic setting and used the chase view------- results were abysmal .. lift up CRASH...blown over to one side CRASH... attempt gentle hover CRASH... etc

If the models are like the sim or worse I`m defo not going to be able to master it.