New to the Hobby

[Riley Jack]

Hey guys. My name is Riley Jack. I am new to the Hobby (about a year) and only fly helis. I have a definite passion for it and want to continue to develop my piloting skills and knowledge. Since there are no clubs near where I live I have had to teach myself how to fly. This has been the school of hard knocks (crashes) for sure. I started out with a co-axial and quickly went to the FP single rotor. I have been flying the Blade MSR and the 120 SR. I recently got a DX6I tx and believe I am ready for my first CP bird. I will definitely be seeking some advice on what I should get (thinking about the 300x), along with some help on repairing the helis when I crash (I have sent my helis to Horizon in the past for service when I couldn't fix them, which I don't want to do anymore)... I recently purchased a Blade 400 3d off of ebay and have had no luck with it. Very disappointing!... Anyway, looking forward to participating in the forum. Peace out..

 

[pvolcko]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're off to a good start. The 300x is. A good next step. However you may want to wait a bit. They're coming out with a new 300CFX to replace it so you may want that one instead, or maybe pick up a used 300X for cheap as people upgrade.

 

[Admiral]

Welcome to the forum Riley, sorry to here that you have had a bad experience with a Blade 400, although I admit the stock Servos & Gyro are not the best.

 

[Tony]

Hey Riley, welcome to teh forum. Most people buy the 300x just to get the AR7200BX off of it then trash the helicopter. I would not suggest anything under a 450 size helicopter. The 300x has issues, the 130x has issues, the Align 150 has issues, but something like a Compass Warp 360 with teh right electronics has NO issues. We have all tried to cheap out on the hobby, and it's bit us. No matter what you decide though, we are here to help.

 

[Barge]

Welcome Riley, never look back, the Team here will help you out at every turn, there advice is gold.

 

[Riley Jack]

Thanks for the welcome guys, and the advice... Still contemplating over my first CP purchase. One of the first persons I talked to told me only to buy Blade because of reliability and parts availability. Thats what Ive been doing. Don't know much about the other brands.

 

[cml001]

welcome!

 

[Lee]

Welcome to the forum.
Blade are popular, but Align are just as easy to find parts for.
Most helis are easy to find parts for online, and if you are ordering from the states, the postage shouldn't be more than a couple of days.
I go along with what Tony says.
Get a 450 or bigger. The stability and handling is far superior to the 300X.
Choices you have that i would recommend.
Align 450L
Compass Warp 360
Gaui X3
At least one or more people have these models on the forum, and will be able to help you out.

 

[Riley Jack]

Welcome to the forum.
Blade are popular, but Align are just as easy to find parts for.
Most helis are easy to find parts for online, and if you are ordering from the states, the postage shouldn't be more than a couple of days.
I go along with what Tony says.
Get a 450 or bigger. The stability and handling is far superior to the 300X.
Choices you have that i would recommend.
Align 450L
Compass Warp 360
Gaui X3
At least one or more people have these models on the forum, and will be able to help you out.

thanks Lee. I will definitely be checking out these helicopters before I buy

 

[HeliDinoRC]

Welcome to the forum, Riley! The advice and help here is second to none!

Keep the dream alive....you will learn to fly! May I suggest getting a simulator, if you haven't already. It's amazing how much the sim has helped me progress........crashes are cheaper too!

 

[pvolcko]

I'm going to humbly disagree on the 300X vs 450 advice. 300X is a great "next step" heli. It is very stable in my experience. It is a great size for backyard learning and flying (1 acre is ideal, but as little as a half is workable). It is well powered for everything up to advanced sport and beginner 3D flying. It has a belt driven tail (great while learning, saves on torque tube tail parts on ground scrapes). The parts are cheap. And most of all, it comes with the great 7200BX FBL controller, contributing much to its stability compared to many other small helis (130-300 size). The only upgrade I think is a must have, for a beginner or advanced alike, is the lynx frame brace, otherwise the plastic frame has a tendency to break in a crash. As you get better you can upgrade to carbon fiber blades, maybe invest in some metal parts (blade grips, tail assembly, etc.). Or decide to sell it off (keeping the 7200BX) and step up to a 450 or 500 size heli, or larger.