Australian RC Forums banner

New to heli's. Quad or heli next?

3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  towie964 
#1 ·
Ok, so I bought a little 25cm coaxial heli from K-mart yesterday and it's a lot tougher and agile the you'd think! I'm pretty much as good as I'm going to get with it (I'm surprised how quickly I picked up how to fly, I have run it about 15 times though...) so I want to move up the ladder. I'm planning on eventually having a quad rotor filming platform (600mm chassis) and a 450 heli, most likely the an align trex. My question is, which one should I get first? Or are they about the same difficulty to fly?
Cheers,


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#2 ·
any CP heli smaller than a 500 size is not easy to learn on ; most quads , once set up properly , are so easy its booooooring......
 
#4 ·
The proper non coax heli's do more than go up, down, forward , back and turn.

They roll or pich like a plane can, making them more tricky to fly.

Forums are full of beginners like us stepping up from the cheapies.

Try not to damage the tail motor on the Kmart unit, I haven't found a replacement suitable yet.

The higher end units like the trex come in fly bar and fly bar less FBL, from advise from members here I'm looking for a fbl unit in a 450 or above size.

Many recommend going larger for beginners. Less twitchy.

The 500 trex is considerably larger than the 450, I've not compared prices yet though.

Many also recommend getting a heli flight sim. This I'm also looking into these.
 
#5 ·
Definitely look into getting a Flight Sim, they are a very cheap way to practice and to work on getting things smooth, it is never going to be an exact feel, but very close, and you can do things just to see what happens...ever wondered what will happen if....on a flight sim, it costs nothing to find out, other than a quick reset.

Most flight sims these days have the ability to install the model heli/quad that you own, so you can get reference from that as well, and you can (in most cases) use your current radio as the controller, so you get to feel exactly how your radio will work when you go out to fly in the open
 
#8 ·
A flight sim is like a video game on your computer, most will come with a controller (TX) and a cable to connect it to your computer via USB.

You install the program and then once complete, hook in the radio (TX) and calibrate the system, you then load the model closest to what you have or intend to buy and fly that model to get practice using the controls that you will normally be using.
You can select alternative surroundings, wind and weather conditions to make your flight harder or easier, and save a pile of cash when you crash into a virtual tree or what ever.

You can also select numerous other models to test fly, and again set up different weather and surroundings...many guys that I know, use the flight sims to practice on while building a model, giving them the chance to see how their model is likely to behave in real world conditions, but before they launch into the unknown...me personally, I think they are a great concept, and I know I have saved thousands of dollars, flying expensive jets, helis and other planes, and deliberately doing silly things to see what would happen if I did that in real life.

It is still not the real thing, but it is as close as you can get and as you are able to use your own controller to begin with, it allows you to become extremely familiar with the location and feel of your controller well in advance of using the unit outdoors and having to search for buttons and switches that you will at some point rely on to save your own plane or heli in the field.
 
#7 · (Edited)
A flight sim is a computer program that can be controlled by some hand controllers. If that makes sense.

You run the flight sim on a pc, you control the heli on the screen via the controller that is used for your heli.

I can't think of the brand many on here recommend right now.
Phoenix is one brand recommended.

Skyartec brand of helis have one.

Some sims I've briefly looked at seem to come with a controller that plug into the pc via a USB cable. Someone with better knowledge can fill in what the others use. as I've not looked further into it as yet, but I will be.

Many recommend buying a radio unit that can be used on multiple models / air craft. Saves on having radios for each bird.

Many recommend 7 or 9 channel radios as you can fly something that only needs 6 ch then you can either add something to an existing set up or if you go to something that has the need for a 7 to 9 ch radio you don't have to buy a new unit to suit.

Hope that helps if it's not as clear as mud. :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top