RC nerds

[Desmo]

Anyone else here into their RC stuff?
Specifically helos? I just got one of these, already done a set of blades this morning
Damn good fun and rewarding when you do get it to hover for a few seconds!
They are "real" choppers, albeit fixed pitch (no collective).
So any info would be great, especially where to get cheap li-po's from

[=Stevo=]

Was in to RC yachts for a while, brother and I both had one - was good fun match racing...

All of us kids in the cul-de-sac street used to have electric RC cars and used to race them in the street, was awesome fun

[Sprint]

Ive got an insane nitro boat - anyone else?

Son has an electric helicopter - he's far better at controlling it than i am - these things have to be the hardest models to learn/master. Must be a heap of busted up heli's around!

S.

[Desmo]

Yeah, they aren't easy to learn, but I have
gone from not having a clue to some semi controlled hovering in a morning, so hopefully shouldn't be too long before I can fly the thing.
Like everything there is a lot to figure out, the standard components are weak and you can get ally rotor heads and swashplates, different pitch blades, brushless
motors, mods etc etc.
Can be a bit overwhelming to begin with, but I'll look at upgrade parts and mods if/when I crash it and break shit.

[Harro]

High performance 370SH motor powered by 7.4V 800mAh Lipo offers 10- to 12-minute flight time, depending on your flight mode.

Doesnt seem a long time flying though....

You carry spare batteries?

[Desmo]

Just ordered one along with 3 sets of blades

[Mungus]

I got the Heli bug a couple of years ago, sort of lost interest a bit now. Can still hover, fly around the backyard a bit and so on, but not much further. The first one i got was a Esky model similar to your one, although it wasn't fixed pitch.

Firstly, the blades are a consumable, get a few sets. Fixed pitch is handy, but I reckon that the helis with the second motor controlling the tail are far too touchy. I bought another one with a belt to the tail and it was far more stable. This one is the later model of the one I bought. I'd never buy a brushed motor again, it'll wear out before you know it. The advantages of the model I've linked to compared to mine is that it is a head lock gyro (while I've never used one, apparently it keeps the tail steady, and it has a brushless motor, although I did convert mine to brushless soon after I bought it).

Here's a video I put on youtube shortly after I learned to hover:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy6-CF9hrDo"]YouTube - Honey Bee King 2[/ame]

Any questions, just ask. I'm sure I've been through everything you're going through now.

[Desmo]

The old man has a Honey bee FP and CP, the reason I went for FP is it's just one less thing to worry about for now.
I just bought a 3 pack of these,
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECnHMz9lBpg]YouTube - AIRY Harden Blade II[/ame]
hopefully they will last a lot longer than the shatter prone standard blades, mine are held together with superglue and electrical tape at the moment.
I am getting some hover time, but then it starts to get out of shape and I ditch it into the ground, or a chair/wall/table.
I'm sure I'll end up with lower pitch blades, 11V lipo, metal head etc etc in the future, but as I say, I'll do these things as I break the current stuff.

[BERT]

Try this mob for LiPo's Jim
I have used them quite a few times they are pretty good
HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store :

Bert

[McGoo]

YouTube - Honey Bee King 2

Congrats on getting it to hover, but wouldn't you have been a tad safer further away from the high speed blades? Outside possibly?

[Desmo]

These are indoor helos.

[Bealz]

I bought 1 of these small electric ones only a week ago. They are an inside flyer very touchy, great for when the comercials come on, a quick flight around the lounge room and back to the table. The heli charges off the transmitter in about 10 - 15 min and the flight time is about 10 min. $50. Its taken me a week to fly around the room and land again.......after many, many crashes
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBeLfMwvLYQ"]YouTube - Heli Flight[/ame]

[ddmoore]

haha I remember the malaysian motogp trip in 08 a couple of people bought the heli's, busted them up fairly quickly too in the hotel rooms if I remember correctly

looks like good fun, just not sure I have the time and patience to be able to get to the level of just hovering

[Ferris]

I have 2 Twister Bell Medevacs and an Esky Belt-CP with carbon fibre blades and all the trick anodised bits. I still can't fly it upside down though.

[Bealz]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmKdA6L_MWk&NR=1&feature=fvwp]YouTube - Worlds Largest Model RC Plane[/ame]

[rc_sam]

Once you get past the basics and want to progress I highly sugggest you offload your Walkera and get something else or you'll just end up throwing money at something that is never going to handle properly.
All the fun is learning and there is oh so much to learn.

[ddmoore]

YouTube - Worlds Largest Model RC Plane

sick!

how smooth was the landing! was expecting it to plummet into the ground with 2 people operating.

[Desmo]

Once you get past the basics and want to progress I highly sugggest you offload your Walkera and get something else or you'll just end up throwing money at something that is never going to handle properly.
All the fun is learning and there is oh so much to learn.

I know Walkera have a bad name, but if I can get this thing hovering for a few seconds after only about 5 batteries worth of practice, they can't be all that bad.

[rc_sam]

Here's something for you to aim for

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3nNiUStTE0"]YouTube - Alan Szabo "crack" stick movements[/ame]

[mcmurray]

Desmo, for the cheap batteries/charger etc try hobby city in Hong Kong.

Have you tried a simulator? They're an excellent and cheap way to learn 3D flying. I have Realflight but there are a few others.