Electric R/C Helicopters.

[neo]

I know this is a bit off Tamiya Club Topic, but has anyone got, or knows anyone who has one of these small electric R/C helicopters that are just big enough to fly indoors. If so what are they like to fly, as if i got one of these it would be my first time at 3 dimensional control. [xx(]

[gecko no more]

Hi, I've got a piccolo fun r/c copter(see my showroom)and it is great for a bit of fun, although very "twitchy" and difficult to control indoors. in the garden, on a calm summers day it gets better, but is still difficult to control.

If you want to learn to fly a chopper I would suggest you spend the money on a decent sim', as they are just like flying the real thing, but without the risk of expensive crashes, or damaging anything.

I learnt to fly with a 30 size Century Hawk, and found switching to a micro was very awkward as they are so light the slightest draft affects them, and then I was overcompensating and would lose it.

They are a great deal of fun tho, and a good way of getting into r/c rotary flight, with spares readily available and not too expensive, and with the battery technology now as it is flights of ~20 min's are not unheard of with these little fellas.

there are several on the market at the moment, all are pretty much of a muchness as far as quality/cost goes,so which one you get is down to personal preferance(ie;looks, price), and recommendations from friends/LHS/forums.

hope this helps.

p.s. I might be putting mine up for sale/trade if you're interested[]

[Revival]

Perhaps you may consider the new indoor EP Heli from Kyosho......its a RTR with most of Kyosho's technology taken from the bigger Concept 30....Perhaps you may want to check out their website.

[RETRO R/C]

I personally had a dragon fly (HOPELESS PICCOLO COPY), and also still have a Robbe EOLO and the huge MIKADO LOGO 20.....I love electric helis.[]

I would recommend something with collective pitch on the head - as mentioned above - the small heli's are very twitchy - and require all the control you can get !

If you can bare it - get something slightly larger than the micro stuff to learn on - I can highly recommend the EOLO.

Cheers

Darryn

[Jimmy_GT-R]

Kyosho did 3 different RTR helicopters back in 1997. Not sure if they still make them though. They were around 60-70cm in length and used a 2 channel control system. Came with a standard helicopter body, Apache body or a Camanche body. Looked very very smart, I tried to get one 2 year ago but couldn't find anywhere that had them. Think they retailed at around £130 for the full kit, heli, radio gear, kyosho ESC, motor, battery and trickle charger.

Thanks

James

[Virus]

neo i have flown a raptor v2 heli for about a year an will honestly say it was the hardest thing i learnt but the most fun too.. fly sims are the best way to go an using a training aid too allow larger skids is a must. it is bet too join a flying club too as some have pilots that can help u. there are some good books and video's on the market and would advise anyone taking up flying too buy one as these are wrote by experienced pilots too. would advise u too become a member of the BMFA too Brithish Model Flying Assosiasion the can help u with finding a club thats local. have fun flying.

Virus

[Virus]

Jimmy i wanted one too but found out they have stopped making them all i can say is Gutted [V]

[CarterTG]

I can't overemphasize Virus' statement. In the RC world, Helis are the most difficult to get "proficient" at. Back in the late eighties I had a Hirobo Shuttle and tried to go it alone. Between waiting for perfectly windless days and finding the time after school, getting to a simple nose-out hover took quite a while. They didn't have the fancy flight sims (RealFlight) back then.

Heli flying (more specifically HOVERING) requires simultaneously minding at least three things: Cyclic, throttle, and yaw (tail).

Cyclic control is best described as trying to balance the end of a broomstick with one finger on a windy day.

While concentrating on that, you'll also need to control engine throttle (usually tied to collective pitch) to maintain desired height.

And as if all that weren't enough, you gotta watch the tail from yawing away. Gyroscopes help somewhat, but still requires attention.

In forward flight, a Heli acts somewhat like a fixed-wing airplane, but most Heli sessions start and end with your basic hover.

I've long since sold the Shuttle without learning much more beyond a "nose-out hover".

When I recently returned to the hobby, I bought RealFlight. I only WISH I had this back then. Video and books on theory are OK, but nothing short of the real thing provided the immediate experience that a flight sim did. Within a couple days, I was able to re-learn the nose-out, side, and nose-in hovers. It provided the "mental experience" to react correctly if I found myself flying a model in real-life... without the expen$ive cra$hes of course.

The full version of RealFlight G2 provided various Heli profiles including an electric heli that indeed felt more twitchy than the larger nitro/gas versions.

With the flight sim at hand, I'll probably get back into Heli flight in the future... just too many upcoming Tamiya models to save for at the moment! []

[Virus]

NEO all i can say is take great care an have the most enjoyable time learning to fly a heli. gyro's help alot with control but its just that fine balance between man and machine

Virus