08-12-2006, 02:00 PM
So you are here to find out about RC helicopter? You are in the right place. Just keep on reading and if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the thread below. There is no question is a stupid question here in this forum.
The one question that an RC helicopter beginner always asks is what the good RC helicopter should you buy. This is a very simple but difficult question. If you ask three people, I am sure you will get three different answers. People will tell you what they did – not necessary what is the best way to get into the hobby. So what can you do? Just listen to what they say, gather information as much as possible and then make your own decision. Don’t just buy an RC helicopter because Mr. Cool Pilot told you so. This article is to provide you with some basic information you need to read so that you don’t make a mistake a lot of us did when we got into the hobby.
To answer the question, here are a few things you want to consider when deciding which RC helicopter you want to begin the hobby with.
1. Money
2. Your hobby goal
3. Your existing skills and knowledge
4. Who you will get the support or help from?
5. Your local hobby store
Money:
Yes, first thing you need is money. You need money to buy an RC helicopter. It is very simple. But some people are surprised when their credit card statement arrives the month after they got into the hobby and have to hide it from their significant other. If you are 13 and has no income, you need to get a sponsor who is most likely your parent or uncle unless you can get your Local Hobby Store (LHS) owner agree to let you work in exchange of an RC helicopter you want.
I would say it will take at least a couple of hundreds of U.S. dollars to get your first Ready To Fly (RTF) micro (small) RC helicopter such as Blade CX, Blade CP or Esky Honeybee CP2 and then some other hundreds for parts and upgrades later on. If your budget is not limited and you want to start with an Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) medium size (mini) helicopter like a Trex450, MX400 or a Shogun 400, it will take any where between $700 to $1,200 depending on what options and Transmitter (TX) your want.
Then, about another $500 for spare parts and upgrades. I am not recommending this for a beginner, but if you insist you can go as high as $2,000 or more to start building your own electric big size RC helicopter like Hirobo Lepton EX or Trex 600. So as you can see for the money alone, I would recommend that you start with either a RTF micro or an ARF mini depending on your budget.
Hobby Goal:
This is probably better to be rephrased to how you are serious about this hobby. If you know that you will give up easily and your goal is just to try out how a RC helicopter works, don’t spend $700 to buy an ARF helicopter and then crash it into the ground then walk away from it. Your best bet is probably a coaxial RTF helicopter like Blade CX or Esky Lama. If you are serious and want to invest some time in this hobby, check out a RTF micro that can fly inverted, 3D, etc. like Blade CP or E-sky Honeybee CP2. If you are really really serious, want to learn about the dynamics and physics of the RC helicopter and want to take it another step beyond the beginner step, consider an ART mini or kit. Take time to build it yourself, such as Trex450 XL or SE or MX400. Again I would not recommend a big electric RC helicopter like Hirobo Lepton EX or Trex600, but hey if you have the enough gut and money, why not. Life is short! Here you probably get some ideas as to what RC helicopter you want to get in by now based on these two factors alone.
Your existing RC skill and knowledge:
This is another factor you need to consider. Why is this important? If you like most of us, we human tend to get bored if we outgrow what we are playing and get frustrated when we fail. When you get bored, the chance is you will buy a new bigger one or give up for something else completely. Also, when you get frustrated, some people just can’t take it any more and give up as well. So to be sucessfull in this hobby based on this assumption, you need to buy an RC helicopter that will not be too difficult for you and have some potentials for you later. So depending on how much you know and do right now you can decide which RC helicopter you want to get into the hobby with. My rule of thump is if you know nothing at all - not even only about RC helicopter but RC hobby (like me when I first got into the hobby), start with a coaxial RTF helicopter. Again, Blade CX, Esky Lama or Dynam Vortex are good caoxial helicopters. Or you can start with a Fixed Pitch miro helicopter such as Esky Honeybee FP. If you know some RC helicopter and has a little skill (used to fly friend’s or dady’s RC helicopter a couple of times) or used some simulation before, start with a RTF collective pitch (CP) helicopter such as Blade CP or Esky Honeybee CP2. Lite Machin Corona is considered to be a good beginner RC helicopter to start too though it is big. Last, if you are a returned pilot who deserted the hobby before and want to restart, go for it - get a bigger helicopter. I hope by now you are kind of know what you want to get based on these three factors.
Who you will get the support and help from?
If you are planning to get your friends to help you when you start, you need to buy an RC helicopter that you friends know. If you know that you will rely on people at your RC club to help you, you need to buy the helicopter they are familiar with. The same thing, if you plan to get help from people in your RC forum, again you need to get an RC helicopter, equipment or electrics that most people in your forum know. Whatever you decide, my two cents are buy an RC helicopter that is popular that most people own. Don’t buy anything because it is cheap. Good RC helicopter like E-sky Honeybee CP2 or Blade CP hold up their value really good. You can sell them if you outgrow them later.
Your Local Hobby Store:
It used to be very important factor but since now we can buy anything from the Internet stores, it is not critical any more. Good Internet hobby stores provide reliable customer services, quick shipping and handling, free shipping, etc. However, if your LHS carries parts of our RC helicopter, that will help you a great deal when you are indeed of a small part to get your helicopter fly again. You can just run to it, get the part and get your RC helicopter fly again rather than have it grounded for a couple of weeks if you order parts from the Internet store. Remeber that people tend to impatient when it comes to getting their crashed helicopter fixed and get it fly again. A few days can be a long time. Another thing about your LHS is you should buy from them as much as possible to support them. Good LHS does help their customers when they have questions or set up problems and it is more expensive to run a local store than an Internet store. There are some LHS in my city who would help set up and build RC helicopters from scratch for free if you buy the kit and electronics from them. Most of these LHS owners are also fly RC helicopters. The important thing about LHS is your convenience and relationship with them.
Now you get some ideas as to what you should buy by now. Are you ready to buy now? I think yes - but here are a few more hints:
1. Don’t buy an RC helicopter from Ebay if you are not sure about the vendor's reputation though it is cheaper than your LHS or a reputable Internet Store. I hear a lot of sad stories.
2. Don’t buy crashed or damaged RC helicopter to say a couple of bucks. You don’t want to learn to fix and set up the helicopter while you are still struggling with your first flying lesson.
3. Don’t buy an RC helicopter that is way beyond your level. Start with something easy. After all this is your hobby – not your job!
I hope that this article helps at least a little bit to open up the way for you to get into this hobby. If you still have any question, feel free to ask in the thread. Good luck to you!
Next article to read is What can I do while waiting for my RC helicopter to arrive (http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44)
For those who have experience, feel free to chime in by posting your thoughts and ideas in the thread below.
The one question that an RC helicopter beginner always asks is what the good RC helicopter should you buy. This is a very simple but difficult question. If you ask three people, I am sure you will get three different answers. People will tell you what they did – not necessary what is the best way to get into the hobby. So what can you do? Just listen to what they say, gather information as much as possible and then make your own decision. Don’t just buy an RC helicopter because Mr. Cool Pilot told you so. This article is to provide you with some basic information you need to read so that you don’t make a mistake a lot of us did when we got into the hobby.
To answer the question, here are a few things you want to consider when deciding which RC helicopter you want to begin the hobby with.
1. Money
2. Your hobby goal
3. Your existing skills and knowledge
4. Who you will get the support or help from?
5. Your local hobby store
Money:
Yes, first thing you need is money. You need money to buy an RC helicopter. It is very simple. But some people are surprised when their credit card statement arrives the month after they got into the hobby and have to hide it from their significant other. If you are 13 and has no income, you need to get a sponsor who is most likely your parent or uncle unless you can get your Local Hobby Store (LHS) owner agree to let you work in exchange of an RC helicopter you want.
I would say it will take at least a couple of hundreds of U.S. dollars to get your first Ready To Fly (RTF) micro (small) RC helicopter such as Blade CX, Blade CP or Esky Honeybee CP2 and then some other hundreds for parts and upgrades later on. If your budget is not limited and you want to start with an Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) medium size (mini) helicopter like a Trex450, MX400 or a Shogun 400, it will take any where between $700 to $1,200 depending on what options and Transmitter (TX) your want.
Then, about another $500 for spare parts and upgrades. I am not recommending this for a beginner, but if you insist you can go as high as $2,000 or more to start building your own electric big size RC helicopter like Hirobo Lepton EX or Trex 600. So as you can see for the money alone, I would recommend that you start with either a RTF micro or an ARF mini depending on your budget.
Hobby Goal:
This is probably better to be rephrased to how you are serious about this hobby. If you know that you will give up easily and your goal is just to try out how a RC helicopter works, don’t spend $700 to buy an ARF helicopter and then crash it into the ground then walk away from it. Your best bet is probably a coaxial RTF helicopter like Blade CX or Esky Lama. If you are serious and want to invest some time in this hobby, check out a RTF micro that can fly inverted, 3D, etc. like Blade CP or E-sky Honeybee CP2. If you are really really serious, want to learn about the dynamics and physics of the RC helicopter and want to take it another step beyond the beginner step, consider an ART mini or kit. Take time to build it yourself, such as Trex450 XL or SE or MX400. Again I would not recommend a big electric RC helicopter like Hirobo Lepton EX or Trex600, but hey if you have the enough gut and money, why not. Life is short! Here you probably get some ideas as to what RC helicopter you want to get in by now based on these two factors alone.
Your existing RC skill and knowledge:
This is another factor you need to consider. Why is this important? If you like most of us, we human tend to get bored if we outgrow what we are playing and get frustrated when we fail. When you get bored, the chance is you will buy a new bigger one or give up for something else completely. Also, when you get frustrated, some people just can’t take it any more and give up as well. So to be sucessfull in this hobby based on this assumption, you need to buy an RC helicopter that will not be too difficult for you and have some potentials for you later. So depending on how much you know and do right now you can decide which RC helicopter you want to get into the hobby with. My rule of thump is if you know nothing at all - not even only about RC helicopter but RC hobby (like me when I first got into the hobby), start with a coaxial RTF helicopter. Again, Blade CX, Esky Lama or Dynam Vortex are good caoxial helicopters. Or you can start with a Fixed Pitch miro helicopter such as Esky Honeybee FP. If you know some RC helicopter and has a little skill (used to fly friend’s or dady’s RC helicopter a couple of times) or used some simulation before, start with a RTF collective pitch (CP) helicopter such as Blade CP or Esky Honeybee CP2. Lite Machin Corona is considered to be a good beginner RC helicopter to start too though it is big. Last, if you are a returned pilot who deserted the hobby before and want to restart, go for it - get a bigger helicopter. I hope by now you are kind of know what you want to get based on these three factors.
Who you will get the support and help from?
If you are planning to get your friends to help you when you start, you need to buy an RC helicopter that you friends know. If you know that you will rely on people at your RC club to help you, you need to buy the helicopter they are familiar with. The same thing, if you plan to get help from people in your RC forum, again you need to get an RC helicopter, equipment or electrics that most people in your forum know. Whatever you decide, my two cents are buy an RC helicopter that is popular that most people own. Don’t buy anything because it is cheap. Good RC helicopter like E-sky Honeybee CP2 or Blade CP hold up their value really good. You can sell them if you outgrow them later.
Your Local Hobby Store:
It used to be very important factor but since now we can buy anything from the Internet stores, it is not critical any more. Good Internet hobby stores provide reliable customer services, quick shipping and handling, free shipping, etc. However, if your LHS carries parts of our RC helicopter, that will help you a great deal when you are indeed of a small part to get your helicopter fly again. You can just run to it, get the part and get your RC helicopter fly again rather than have it grounded for a couple of weeks if you order parts from the Internet store. Remeber that people tend to impatient when it comes to getting their crashed helicopter fixed and get it fly again. A few days can be a long time. Another thing about your LHS is you should buy from them as much as possible to support them. Good LHS does help their customers when they have questions or set up problems and it is more expensive to run a local store than an Internet store. There are some LHS in my city who would help set up and build RC helicopters from scratch for free if you buy the kit and electronics from them. Most of these LHS owners are also fly RC helicopters. The important thing about LHS is your convenience and relationship with them.
Now you get some ideas as to what you should buy by now. Are you ready to buy now? I think yes - but here are a few more hints:
1. Don’t buy an RC helicopter from Ebay if you are not sure about the vendor's reputation though it is cheaper than your LHS or a reputable Internet Store. I hear a lot of sad stories.
2. Don’t buy crashed or damaged RC helicopter to say a couple of bucks. You don’t want to learn to fix and set up the helicopter while you are still struggling with your first flying lesson.
3. Don’t buy an RC helicopter that is way beyond your level. Start with something easy. After all this is your hobby – not your job!
I hope that this article helps at least a little bit to open up the way for you to get into this hobby. If you still have any question, feel free to ask in the thread. Good luck to you!
Next article to read is What can I do while waiting for my RC helicopter to arrive (http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44)
For those who have experience, feel free to chime in by posting your thoughts and ideas in the thread below.