Avoid anything made by Venom..... I bought a Night Ranger 3D back in about May '06.
Turns out it was a subtlely restyled Walkera 22E/D, parts availability was a nightmare, prices insane.

All in all I wish I would have spent all the cash I WASTED... on my truck instead.

The process of learning with helis almost never ends, which means it takes many people a long time and hundreds in repairs to even get to the point where it's more fun than stress and intense concentration. and I'm not a believer in simulators either, I don't think they offer any real-world applicability when getting a feel for controls and orientation. Just when you think you're getting good, you have to face the beast, nose in. Everything gets 10X harder when you graduate from tail-in flying.

The most fun I have had in the air so far is with my HobbyZone Super Cub.
I built mine from parts instead of buying the kit with the radio I'd just throw out. and mine has 3-4 times the power of a stocker, I started with a 3790 kv Ammo, on 3S 16,000 rpm prop speed proved to be way too much, dropped down to a 2500 kv, waiting on weather to try that one. If anyone would like to see how I did the gearbox conversion, I'll post up. BTW that mod uses a 12T Emaxx gear, there is one actual MT part on my plane lol.

I started with the Blade CP PRo. BAD IDEA. The Separate tail rotor motor can not react in time and dies rather quickly. Not as strong. Never really got it to REALLY hover. about 300 RTR

My current heli is the Trex 600. THIS BAD BOY GOT IT ALL. The belt drive makes it much more stable. I can bring this sucker up and put the controller on the floor. THE HELICOPTER will stay IN HOVER (with proper trim and setup) Startup cost is about 2k ARF for a GOOD setup

I found the larger the helicopter, the easier it is to fly. The added weight gives a huge advantage.

For a budget RTR that performs, i recommend the Blade 400. It is a belt drive, 2.4 spektrum, Brushless, 1800mah 20c 3s lipo battery and MORE for about 450. Best bang for the buck. This heli is small, but beffy enough to be stable

my $0.02

Andrew thats what I wanted to see/hear, bigger the better LOL Im getting the biggest bastard I can find come late spring

So I have done some research on the net, gotten some input here, and joined Helifreak.com, and from this I think I will invest in a Phoenix sim, and look for a used 500 or 600 coptor. I have seen them go for under $1k RTF except for a radio

lol, I had to read that a few times before I got it. I was wondering what kind of trim/setup was needed to keep the controller on the floor once you set it down (I thought gravity handled it all). Heck, I can do that to any controller. :wink:

Anyway, I know what you mean now. I feel stupid for not catching it sooner, but it IS early for me (anytime I'm up before 11AM is early).

HAHA read my edit...and the reason hehe:lol:

so I found a LHS in my area that specializes in heli's and I went in and I had lots of questions.....I walked out with a MCX to get my oreintation with a new style TX....looks like I "ll be spending some money there.....LOL...and I had ordered the Phoenix sim the night before...who knows how long it will take to get here from England

Helifreak is a great site for sure, I have gotten lots of info on there. Have fun with the MCX!

I have 4 heli's right now and have sold 1. So here is some solid advice for you.

Download FMS it is free and does do heli sim. It will teach you the basics but the physics are not perfect so be carefull as you convert to the real thing. A coaxal heli is a OK start but again the physics will not match a real heli. If you want to fart around indoors the MCX or Coco lama is not a bad start. It will teach you alot of stuff like the SIM's do. They also survive most crashes and are cheap to repair. You however will likely outgrow your heli in a few weeks. Then you will find yourself wanting a 450 sized bird.

Next if you grow into a 450 sized heli, don't get one with a plastic head, it will cost you more in the long run. If you can not afford a machined aluminium model then you can not afford heli's.

With proper learning steps you can avoid most crashes, but take note you will crash and you will have to repair it.

My best flying heli is a trex 450 SE V2. However I like the looks and hear great things about the skyshark and HDX heli's

Helil's are harder then airplanes so if you want to fly consider a airplane first, I have a blast with my combat planes. Nothing is more fun that smashing into another airplane and seeing who can fly away. These planes don't break and are cheap to build.


Last but not least be carefull, The indoor heli's are OK, but when you get into a 450 Trex or the like you want to be carefull they can do serious damage to a person like hospital to death type stuff.

Heli's are a lot of fun and a constant challenge to master. 3D flight is almost unbelievable, I myself can not do any inverted flight yet.

Highflier