LG John

Having bent the main axes on my r/c chopper in an unfortunate 'blades hitting livingroom wall' incident I hit the net to find spares.

I found this UK spare parts site

and this US spare parts site

Please note the massive difference in price for the same parts between each site!! This really highlights how much we get bent over a barrel (probably an oil one costing about £10k a drum!) and shafted in an uncomfortable place in this country

So my question is this: Is there any reason why I shouldn't/can't buy the part(s) I need from the US? Will I have to pay any taxes or duties and what are those taxes/duties likely to be on a $5 part? I'm thinking - since the US site is so cheap - of buying $20-30 worth of common spare parts to save on postage, etc and give me lots of reserve for when I smash things.

New To Scoob

SB, e-mail them first and see if they'll send it as a gift, or get the parts sent in one package and the receipts sent in another package

Personal Disclaimer; I do not accept any laibility for dodging the Tax man

John.

eClaire

ROFPMSL

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

TBH, alll R/C stuff is way too overpriced.

It's part of the reason why I have 3 semi-shagged R/C cars in my cupboard. Had to pay £40 last time for a flipping diff gear (and that was without the ball bearings and drive rings) £40 for a peice of plastic!

LG John

If we assume for a minute I do everything legit how much 'extra' would I have to pay for $20 of imported parts?? What percentages are we working to here?

MDBinaWagon

There's no duty on packages under £18 (or £36 if it's marked as a gift), so $20 won't be a problem.

New To Scoob

SB, sorry don't know exact figures/ percentages but from what I've heard it can still work out cheaper, also I think there might be a limit e.g. under $50 no import duty to be paid. I can't confirm any of this just what I've heard from various RC forums.

John.

P.S. if you think the US sites are cheap you should track down some of the Japan sites

LG John

Woo-hoo That limit I can work with

Johnny50

Not a constructive reply....

...But i had horrible images i my head when you mentioned playing with your chopper in the living room...

Sorry Kenny..

cheeseboy

saxo, depending on what you are flying, you could give these guys a bell:

http://www.heliproz.com/
http://www.cyberheli.com/
http://rotor.com.sg/

and of course being a heli pilot you will know of this:
http://www.runryder.com/

Neal

LG John

Johnny, strangely enough the computer and its pornband connection is in the living room


Yes of course I knew that........sure.........um

speedking

... this recent thread along similar lines.

Think of a number and double it would be my estimate, and always more than you thought

cheeseboy

saxo, Runryder is like the scoobynet of heli flying... all you need to know (and dont need to know) is on there... loads of info, great bits and pieces. good responses from most too (but they are mostly in america, so the responses come either when we go home or are sleeping...)

anyhow, what is it you fly btw??



the only thing better than pulling up to the flying field in a scoob, is pulling out a heli

Neal

LG John

Nice picture - is that a Kyosho raptor? I'm a TOTAL beginner and bought a electric smartech aerohawk from ebay. I got it 2nd hand and figure that if need be in a few months time I can either punt it for what I paid (ish) to a) upgrade or b) give up. Thus far I have spun the rotors up till she is very light on her ski's and played around with holding the tail, pitching etc. If the truth be known I think I bent the main shaft by connecting the battery (in my eagerness to get going) for the first time without the transmitter on The thing went mental and I sort of chucked myself on top of it before it broke me/it/something

I then spent about 5 batterys worth playing around with it on the floor and was very dissapointed and how random it moved. I then actually took the time to fit the body (couldn't be ar%ed before) and then noticed it was far more stable (guessing the updraft acting on random internal components was the problem). I've not really tried to get it properly off the ground yet, just tried to 'hop' a metre or so over the room in a controlled fashion. Very exciting to see something I'm controlling fly (well sort of fly!)

SiPie

What was wrong with the Impreza ?

LG John

Ironically I've had my scooby further off the ground than my helicopter and yest THAT was fun Not quite sure if 'controlling' would apply though

cheeseboy

That is a pic of my old ergo 30 after quite a few upgrades,.. but in the cellar is a brand new sceadu 50 - now that is a work of pure loveliness

Keep at it mate, and just keep practising. It is an awesome sport, and after a while it starts coming a lot easier.

If you really want to learn without breaking things - buy yourself a good simulator. They are truely invaluable, and when you start playing with more expensive helis, it shall save you a bundle....

Neal

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

keep at it mate, the ones your using are cool for parts, wait till you get your hands on a bigger more expensive one. and your replacing the boom all the time.

im on my 3rd now, its very addictive but also very expensive when the innevitable happens, it does happen and it happens to most poeple!!!

get yourself a simulator of ebay for about 30 - 40 pounds, you get a lead that goes into your usb port, and I plug mine into my handset, then play, it acts just lke the real thing without the bent parts.




jamo

LG John

I have ordered some parts from RaidenTech so should be in the air again when they arrive

I flew the heli last night in the living room and despite the oscillation of the head I managed a few successful hovers and also a few nasty ditches! Defo getting the hang of it and its going to be a lot of fun when she is running right. I stripped it all down and sure enough the main shaft is bent. I must have hit it pretty hard on something though because it’s a metal shaft and the plastic blades attached to it don’t weigh much.

Nice pic I've always wondered how the hell helicopters can fly upside down though

cheeseboy

helis do not fly mate, and raptors definetly do not! They are just so ugly they repel the earth

To inverted flight, well, when you invert your pitch (blade pitch), you are then able to hover inverted... Model helis are able to do this primarily due to the high power to weight ratio and the fact that we use particularly stiff blades - mine for example are carbon fibre.

LG John

Ah, figured it would be blade pitch. The blades on my heli are fixed pitch so I'm guessing I'll not be going upside down. This raises another point: Are decent petrol heli's far harder to fly than my electric Aerohawk??

john banks

Is there an issue with fuel surge?


Sorry

Often ordering from the US you get customs charges which amount to VAT, and then about half that again for charges for the carrier to collect the charges

LG John

Its electric John so at best I'll get voltage surge Incidently if you look at the inverted picture on page 1 it looks very much like that red liquid in the container is the fuel and that the fuel line coming out of it is about to suck dry Did that bird come right out the sky just after the pic was taken?

Scrappy2

I reckon petrol helis are more stable to learn on the electrics IMO therefore easier. I fly a collective pitch electric indoor heli as well as an IC powered outdoor heli...

cheeseboy

John Banks - err, yes and no - if you are flying 3D like this here, it is often advisable to have a header tank (basically a small tank which then fills the original tank once it starts emptying...) it gives a better pressure on the fuel tank and often helps reduce air getting into the fuel lines...

I too am with scrappy here - although the nitro helis are a lot more dangerous, due to their weight and setup (flexibility etc), they are often easier to get into nice hovering, forward flight, 3D etc.

and saxo, the tank still has 2/3 remaining mate,.. there is a tube with a clunk inside the tank which finds the lowest point in the tank no matter which orientation it has....

Neal

LG John

So if I can master the electric heli is it likely I'd be able to fly a petrol one if I was to upgrade thereafter? If so.......