The Cheapest Rc Electric Helicopter Build Guide

Tony

Staff member
Tony submitted a new Article:

The Cheapest Rc Electric Helicopter Build Guide

Hey everyone. I thought that I would make up a list of everything that someone would need to get into the great hobby of flying R/C Helicopters. Electric, or Battery powered is far easier than nitro. With a nitro helicopter, the ambient temperature has very little effect on how it runs. But, Humidity will cause it to run way rich, or way lean. I have seen a motor go from running in a race lean condition, a front blows through, and it's running pig rich. It's a headache to learn how to do the tuning on them. And, you will more than likely burn up the first piston and sleeve you get trying to figure it out.

So, Here we are only going to talk about electric. We are also only going to talk about cheap. This is a guide that is purely to get you into the hobby as cheap as we can. I know that you can get everything you need, for less than $200. From the heli, to the Tx, to the charger and battery. Is any of this stuff top of the line? Nope. But, it will get you into the air and get you learning.

Okay, so I know that you are asking yourself, "what all will I need". Well, that is exactly what this is all about. Below is the link to every part that you will need. I am trying to keep this list within the USA, so that shipping will not kill you. But, some things will have to come from the Hong Kong warehouse. The Helicopter kit, battery, and Tx will come from Hobbyking USA, the servos, motor, ESC, and training gear will come from Hobbypartz.com. There are some parts however that will need to come from Hobbyking HK Warehouse. Like the gyro, battery charger, Battery plugs, Tx Cable, and maybe even the Tx if the USA is out of stock. I have included two links to some parts just in case the USA is out of stock.

Everything centered below is a link. Click on it to see the item in a new page.

Parts List From Hobbyking USA
HK450 CCPM 3D Helicopter Kit (Align T-rex Compat.) Ver. 2 (USA Warehouse)


ZIPPY Flightmax 2200mAh 3S1P 20C (USA Warehouse)

XT60 Connectors Male/Female (5 pairs)

Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx V2 - Mode 2 (USA Warehouse)
Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx V2 (Mode 2) (HK Warehouse)

Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx USB Cable for Win2000/XP (HK Warehouse)

Turnigy balancer & Charger 2S-3S

HobbyKing GA-250 MINI-MEMS Gyro

Parts List From Hobbypartz.com
9G EXI Digital Metal Gear Servo D213F (x1 For Tail)

Alpha 400 (3500kv) Brushless Motor for 400/450 RC Helicopter

30A Brushless ESC Speed Controller [Volcano Series]

Exceed-RC Brushless ESC Programmer Device for Volcano Series & HobbyWing Aircraft ESC

T-Pro MG90S 9G Metal Gear Servo 1.8kg / 13.4g / 0.10sec (x3 For Cyclic)

Training gear sets

Okay, so you have decided what you want to order from the USA, and what you want to order from HK. When you order from HK, be sure to use EMS shipping. You will get your items much faster. That is all I use myself.

Now, I"m sure you are asking, why are we ordering things from 3 different warehouses? The answer is simple, cost. You will pay a little more for shipping, but the overall cost is outstanding. I have made hundreds of dollars worth of purchases from Hobbyking, and everyone of them were perfect. Now, do they have bad orders, sure. Sometimes they take a little longer than they should. But, it will always get to you, and if it's wrong, they will make it right.

Okay, with the parts I listed above, you are under $200. By rounding up, I came up with $158 (that was rounding each price up to the nearest dollar). So, that leaves you with over $42 for shipping. Well, Hobbypartz is free shipping if you order over $25. Hobbyking USA is free shipping, but only if you order over $100, so you will have to pay shipping there, but it's local so it shouldn't' be more than $10. Shipping will hurt from HK. Expect to pay about $10 for the little items that you will have to order there.

By now, I"m sure you have looked at that charger, and are wondering why I would say to get one like that. Well, it's simple. Because that is the kind of charger you get with a RTF Kit. Sometimes they have an AC adapter, but most of them are DC only. Simple fix, use your car battery. It won't take much to charge these batteries.

Another thing that you may be wondering is why I'm putting in those XT60 plugs for the batteries. You are saying "I thought you liked Deans Plugs". Well, I love Deans Plugs, I suggest Deans Plugs, and if you have a local hobby store, GET DEANS PLUGS! The only reason I put those in there is cause that is what the battery comes with. If you have ever shorted out a lipo, you know that it's not fun. So, I take that hassle out of it, and just do it so that you have to replace the ESC plug. Yes, simple soldering skills are needed, but you get 5 pairs of plugs for that price. Yes, 5 pairs, 5 female and 5 male. So, if you can get Deans, get them. Otherwise, the XT60 plugs are the next best in my book.

Okay. So now you have all of these parts sitting in front of you, and you are going nuts cause you don't know where to start. Well, over time, I will be doing detailed videos directing you on how to put all of this together and how to make it work up until your first flight. You have all the parts you need, now we just need to make them work together.

Please stay tuned as there will be a lot of updates to this post. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will answer any question, no matter how simple. I pride myself in helping others, and I'm on here EVERY DAY to do just that.

Thank you everyone!

Read more about this article here...
 
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coolgabsi

Super Mod & DEAL KING!
yup!! thumbs up to this article!! except for the HK450 GT, tail servo, and the gyro, I have this same config. I have the EXI 450 and GV48V gyro and the T-pro mg90s all the way.

EXI 450 is same as HK 450. I just couldnt wait for them to get back in stock at the time.. lol.. But Tony guided me to get the config! and believe me its awesome! and cheap! :)

Thans tony!
 

Tony

Staff member
anytime man. and there is nothing wrong with the GY48V, or using the MG90S on the tail, it will work. And, we know that I love the HK450GT.
 

Keith

Member
The list looks good, but I would disagree with one thing... The transmitter...
I know the idea is to go as cheap as possible but I would spend the extra $$ and go for the Turnigy 9x...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8992

Don't be put off by the negative comments, the new firmware works great...
I have both Tx's and the advantages of the 9x easily justifies the extra cost...
You get 10 model memory whereas with the T6 you have to program via computer every time...
You get expo' and other features plus you got two extra channels...(three in PCM).
I've added a lipo transmitter pack and the backlight kit...
The 9x can also use the T6 six channel Rx's as well which are a lot smaller than the 9x ones...
 

Tony

Staff member
Keith, I agree 100% that if they have the extra coin, shoot for the 9X, or even the DX6i if they can. But, I wanted to make this so that anyone with a couple bills in their pocket could get into this hobby and start flying. Because it's only $22 (from the HK warehouse), it's not much of a loss to replace down the road. Again, this was just the cheapest way to get into it. If I did a writeup on what I "think" people should start with, it would be MG90S servos, Good Align gyro and tail servo, HK450GT or Pro, and the DX6i. But, now we are close to $400-$500 just to put a 450 in the air.

But yes, your comment was great and I agree with it fully.
 

Keith

Member
Tony, your reasoning is spot on... That is exactly why I got the T6 with the 450SEV2 in the first place... And the $$ soon add up.... I have to stay off HK site cos I know it will cost me if I go on.. I say. oh I need one of them, only a couple of dollars, and thats a bargain, then you go to check out and you have 87 grams left. So you get screws, horns etc... You check out and 20 30 40 bucks is gone.... So I am banning myself....right after I finish this Tricopter..
 

Whirlybird

Member
Good show ol' chap!!!! Hey . . . I was looking for the 8000 word one :yikes:

Personally, I stay away from the cheap radios for a heli :)

XT-60s Forever!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tony

Staff member
I agree, but if you are broke and looking for a hobby, it's the easiest way to get into it. Like I said above, I would highly suggest the DX6i, but for those that don't have the coin to drop, then the $22 one from HK will work just fine.
 

zapster

Member
Did you know"money cant buy happiness but it can buy a helicopter nice enough to fly right up beside it"
 

Tony

Staff member
Did you know"money cant buy happiness but it can buy a helicopter nice enough to fly right up beside it"

hahaha, Nothing is better than flying a heli. Of course if you crash, you will be mad the rest of the day and it wasn't worth it hahahaha.
 

murankar

Staff member
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Tony

Staff member
If you are dead set on going with a 250, then go with the Align 250. There are a number of us, including me, that have had major issues with the 250's from HK and Xheli. YOu will spend more on those, than you would just getting it from Align.

Get the align motor and esc as well. They are more expensive, but well worth it. I would suggest align servos as well. The servo you listed above is for a 600 sized helicopter and will not fit on a 250. I would pass up on the 401 gyro as well. YOu will need all the help you can get on this twitchy bird. I would suggest at least the GA-250 MEMS gyro from HK if not an align gyro. The 30a esc is a little big, you can get away with an 18a. I believe that is what the align 250 esc is rated at.

If I was to do it over again, I would get the Align super combo. Expensive? Yes. But you will be getting all of the parts you need for the heli, and you know it will fly correctly. Just my 0.02...
 

murankar

Staff member
No now it's the 450 class. I am so excited about starting this build. I hope to learn a ton during my build process. In return I will post many pics of my progress as I get the parts in. This will take a few months, but I hope to have it completed around march if things go well for me. I really want the carbon fiber edition EXI 450 pro. It looks so sweet. here is the link click here
 
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Tony

Staff member
Now that one I have never seen before and know nothing about it. I posted a link to the one that I have in the other thread and because I know it, it's the one that I suggest. But the final decision is yours. If you get this one, post lots of pics, and step by step guides when you build it.
 

murankar

Staff member
I will do the best I can, I am short on video equipment for the time being. So all my stuff will be in stills. I will attempt to highlight the important stuff in photoshop.
 

Edlang

New Member
Hi Tony i know its been a long time since you posted this but i read it and i cant find the videos you said you were going to put. Can you help me?
Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Tony i know its been a long time since you posted this but i read it and i cant find the videos you said you were going to put. Can you help me?
Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Tony i know its been a long time since you posted this but i read it and i cant find the videos you said you were going to put. Can you help me?
Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Tony i know its been a long time since you posted this but i read it and i cant find the videos you said you were going to put. Can you help me?
Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Tony i know its been a long time since you posted this but i read it and i cant find the videos you said you were going to put. Can you help me?
Thanks
 

Tony

Staff member
I don't think I have ever made a video for this build. And now I don't even support building something this cheap. I keep it up for those that want to get into the hobby but don't have teh $450 or so to get an align heli. But I HIGHLY suggest getting an align. A little more money now, a LOT more happiness later.
 

murankar

Staff member
I can attest to what tony said. I started cheap and now upgrading for the quality. I can't wait to see the difference in performance of the new air frame.
 

Edlang

New Member
I don't think I have ever made a video for this build. And now I don't even support building something this cheap. I keep it up for those that want to get into the hobby but don't have teh $450 or so to get an align heli. But I HIGHLY suggest getting an align. A little more money now, a LOT more happiness later.

thanks tony, i will take your suggestion into account
 
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