Anyone Into RC Helicopters?

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by jostafew

On a somewhat related note, I'd highly recomend looking into an innexpensive flight sim program like Clearview for example. It'll use your existing Tx with a USB adapter (purchased seperatly, about $20) as the input device and will help you to practice the basic orientation skills, and take a crack at the more advanced models to see if you're ready. Real Flight is well known and comes with it's own Tx input device but it's spendy.

Have you ever seen or tried Phoenix? I've tried all the above (heck I started on a Dave Brown sim running on an Apple 2e back in the day). The Phoenix sim is second to none and very cost effective. The only perceived drawback is radio because you need your own radio. Some think that's a drawback I think it's an advantage because you get to practice with exactly what you'll fly with. Another huge bonus for Phoenix is that all upgrades (new planes, helis, etc) are FREE! You don't have to buy "Add-On" packs like you do with Real Flight.

Three things I can't stress enough...

• 1) Get a flight sim! It will save you a TON of money and pay for itself in the first 2 hours of flying.
• 2) Get the help of someone who knows how to fly. Instructors are free (at least here) and it will probably save you a TON of money!!
• 3) Be INSURED! I don't know if it's viable in Canada but AMA is a life saver in an accident.

[jostafew]

Hey BigAl07, yes MAAC insurance is available here for about $75/ year, but it's only valid when flying with a club at an approved field. So unless you're a club member and fly there regularly (they usually require insurance to fly with them) it's pretty pointless. Just find a quiet place away from pedestrians, traffic, and windows hahaha. It's bad news when a model goes down and takes something or even worse, someone with it.

What's the cost for Phoenix? Clearview is $40 and I have no real complaints with it, graphics are decent and model dynamics are good. New models are free as they're developed. I chose it after trialing the popular ones (including Phoenix).

[BigAl07]

I don't remember the price (I've had mine several years just keep upgrading it for free) but I know it was something around $100. It's probably a tad more now. Well worth it because almost as soon as a new heli/plane is release it goes onto the sim or at least when the bird gets popular.


Bummer about the MAAC insurance. AMA offers (or they used to) a Park Flyer version that would cover you flying at other places not just a sanctioned AMA flying field. Normally I'd say it's not worth the $$ but I had to "use" it one time. I "might have" ran into a parked car a few years back with a fairly large plane. I'm just saying LOL! I used to fly only at the club (Was flying some fairly large planes) but once I got into the smaller helis I drifted away from the club and like you said away from people etc is all I need now. I routinely fly at parks, in Gyms, and almost anywhere I can get a spin in. I've been known to take one (or more) of my heli on vacation. I took my Blade 400-3D camping last year in the Smoky Mountains. Was awesome for a few days then I lost a gear at about 100' and the whole campground got to see what a sloppy nasty auto-rotation looks like LOL!

[Aqua-Digital]

I used to fly electric heli's in the UK, and brought my Align T-REX SE over with me. Sadly work left me with no time to fly, but I keep my fingers twitching with some indoor heli's.

If more than a few of you are looking for helicopters, let me know what you want and I can source from various agents in China and work out a group buy for you. It would be easier if you all wanted the same thing of course

[BigAl07]

Michael I didn't know you flew R/C heli? That's pretty cool to know

[Aqua-Digital]

I came into it by accident.

My Dad was bored so I bought him something to slowly learn with. After 2 hours I got a call telling me it was faulty! HUH? So I took it off him and after several rebuilds to the point that only the screws were still original I got air borne.

I then switched up to something real naff that used to have a fit at 50ft and cost me a new rotor assembly everytime, so had a Trex XL built for me, which I slowly transformed into an SE each time it would crash "itself"

I never mastered forward flying, very much still a novice but keep my hand in with these cheapies you can now buy.

Moving to Canada saw two favourite hobbies fall by the way side

weekend clay shoots with my Berretta 686E over and under and flying heli's

[BigAl07]

I feel like the smaller "Blade" series are excellent for teaching hand/eye coordination but sadly they don't do much for teaching you how a "Real" R/C heli flies. The only way to really get good is replacing a LOT of parts or getting a good flight sim and "stick banging". In 2010 I was getting pretty good because there for a while I was flying one of my birds every single day. Then "Life" got in the way and I've not flow more than about 10 hours in the whole year of 2011. When I lived in town my yard was an awesome flying site but when I moved to the country I don't have that luxury any more. It sounds backwards doesn't it? LOL

You may want to look into Phoenix or the other flight sim mentioned above just to keep your fingers active especially if you're going to have any significant "down time" over the next several weeks. Sim flying really does help a lot. It doesn't replace REAL flying but it does keep your fingers "fresh" and you can practice maneuvers you'd never practice with your real bird.