Great! New heli forum!!!!

[Smokecover]

I like it already so start posting. I'm interested in heli's but it will take me till Xmas to get setup. In the meantime I will be learning on a sim so I will be getting lotsa practice in, but I will be visiting this forum regularly.

[gixxer]

I was thinking about trying helicopers too! I'm currently learning on the realflight g2? Does anybody know if it's close to the real thing? And another work if i can hover on the sim can i hover as well on the real heli?

I was thinking about starting with a nexus 32 or something cheap. Is it a good begineer heli and does different manufacture of gyro matter? does the sim uses a gyro?

[doorman]

Well it doesn't look like anyone was getting back to your questions, so I'll try to help out. Yes the G2 is an excellent sim. It is very realistic and it will be of great help to you. Set the parameters so that it is pretty hard to control and then when you get to the real thing it will be easier.
As far as a 1st heli, you are very wise to start with a 30 sized machine. It seems that the Raptor is one of the less expensive ones available and it will take you from the first hover through your first aerobatics and then some and the set up is very easy to accomplish if you follow the directions.:)

[gixxer]

thanks,

I think the raptor 30 is about $299 and the nexus 32 is $199 for heli only. Have you've heard any feedback from nexus owners?

[cnk]

I second the recommendation on G2. I used it for 4 months before my first flight. I had about 6-7 flights before my first crash. Gotta watch out for those big gusts of wind. . hehe. Luckily just broke my blade grip, main blades and tail spindle. Only about $40 in parts. By the way. . .I have a Voyager E electric heli with a Hacker 8L brushless motor running a Kontronik Smile 40-6-12 ESC.

To be honest, I thought that hovering in real life was a lot easier than hovering on the SIM. As for the gyro. . .I'm using a Futaba GY240 with a Hitec HS-81MG on the tail. For a gas heli, the most popular gyro seems to be the Futaba GY401 with 9253 digital servo. I just bought one off someone so I'll let you know how it works.

As for which heli to start out with. . .for nitro I would say definitely stick with a .30 sized machine. If you want to do electrics, I'd look at the Voyager E, Mikado Logo 10, Eco 8, LMH Corona. I know people say that nitro is much better, but I think there are pros and cons to each. You get more run time and more realistic sounds with the nitro, but it's also more difficult to set up the carb and it's obviously louder. I could go on and on, but with the newer electric heli's like the Logo 10. . .it's getting closer. Some of the top 3D flyers are now getting ready to fly Mikado Logo 10's and Logo 20's. . .there are videos of them flying if you look around. :)

[gixxer]

Wow 6-7 flights till the first crash ever sounds' pretty good expecially with electric. I've flown the electric on the G2 and the stupid think always wants to go backward makeing it awkward to fly. It bobs around b/c of it. Yesterday trying to get better on the heli sim so i can purchase a real one i was able to land on the picnic table for the first time at the fun fly in between the tents. I've finally learnd to hover. I didn't know there was an easy mode vs realistic on the sim. It's default is on realistic and it's the way to go. However is there a way to get ramdom winds on the G2 program.

[cnk]

You can set the wind in the Aircraft menu under Weather Conditions. You can set wind with gusts up to a certain mph. I practiced on the Impala .30 heli for most of the 4 months. The electric on G2 is pretty bad. It's fixed pitch and not powerful enough. Just keep practicing and you should do fine. I didn't even use training gear on any of my flights. . just lifted off and kept it in a hover. :)

[gixxer]

Wow! the Futaba GY401 gyro is really expensive. Is it worth the money? In another words if i spend 300 or 170 will i see a huge difference between the gyros? How about the Mini Piezo Gyro w/Remote Adj? It's under $100. OR is Gyros very noticable between the brands?

[cnk]

The Futaba GY401 is has the same internals as the GY240. Some of the differences are that you can make adjustments from the transmitter with the 401 and the 401 transmits at a higher frequency than the 240 which means that it sends signals out to the tail servo at a higher rate(this is what gives it such a fast response). You can actually get the 401 with 9253 for about $217 from helihut.com. The only catch is that they get their stock from Japan so there is no US warranty. If you needed service, you would have to go through helihut. Many people have bought through helihut without problems though. . so I'm not too concerned.

I've never used a mini piezo gyro so I can't answer how it works. . .I do know that the Futaba's use a newer design that's supposed to be better than the older piezo technology.

You may want to check out runryder.com. That's where most of the heli fliers go. It's a really good site dedicated to heli's only. You can also check out ezonemag.com. It's dedicated to electric flight and there's a heli forum there as well if you're interested in electric heli's. There are also some forums on yahoo groups if you're interested. Let me know and I'll post the links for those as well.

[gixxer]

Thanks for the links. I think your setup is cheaper but if you can do it all over again would you advise to get the 401 with the servos. Will i notice a hughe difference between your setup and the 401/ digital servo setup? Or just a waste of money?

[cnk]

I think that if I were to do it again. . .I would get everything exactly the same except for the gyro. I would get the GY401 instead. You can get just the GY401 by itself for about $170. . .that's with the US warranty. You could probably get it cheaper from other places. Or. . you could do what I did. . which is look around online for people that are selling their equipment. I'm only paying $190 for the GY401 + 9253 servo. . .which is a pretty good deal. You can also check out Ebay in addition to the sites I gave you. :)

[gixxer]

after some research it looks like the Hirobo Shuttle Sceadu 30/50 and the raptor 30 is favored. Maybe i should ask how much it cost at my LHS. Is servos important in a heli or the std. servos that came with the remote good enough?

[cnk]

Hey Gixxer,

Noticed you signed on and posted on runryder.com. Good decision. . you'll like the people there. . they're really nice. :)

For the servos. . .I believe that as long as you get servos that match the torque requirements of the heli, you should be fine. I would think that standard servos would be fine for just hovering around and learning flight. You would probably want to go with the GY401 and 9253 for the tail though. I've read numerous reviews on the Sceadu and Raptors. They are both good heli's to start with. I would say get whichever one is supported by your lhs. You may also want to see what other heli fliers in your area are flying. That way, you can get help if you need it.

[Smokecover]

Yep there are alot of people who are very knowledgable about heli's at runryder. I've been browsing that board for a while, and just registered the other day myself.

[Micro Rotors]

Well looks like one more to add to my list. :)

Bill