Karaoke Forums

Awhile back I recall being told that flying an RC copter is pretty difficult. Today I see mini-kits that have helicopters with rechargeable NiMH batteries, that are supposedly for novices.   Anyone ever fly one of the electric RC planes as opposed to the older gasoline planes that were generally larger scale ?  Do the helicopters require a smaller field ?

Are these difficult ?   How much clear circumference would you need around you roughly for these helicopter mini-kits ?

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Just don't get any that say Channel ? News......

I own several rc helicopters. Three are small enough to fly inside (and are fun as heck!)

(here's a link to one that I love (the havoc) http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/91d2/    they have a video of it flying here too.   You could NOT fly one of those little guys outside! Any wind at all, and it's GONE!  I paid a LOT for my first one, and the company was purchased by air hogs, and the price went WAY down. You can get them at walmart for 19.00- 30.00!  Very easy to fly, but takes a little while to get used to:)

I also have two of these ones (http://www.hobbytron.com/HughesElectric ... opter.html)... which, even though it SAYS you can fly inside--- it's BIG... , not so good!)  These ones are much harder to fly than the little micro ones, imo.

Does this help at all?

Yes Gilly,  Thanks Much !

 I was looking at the very small "micro" (2 channel ??) RC Helicopters that retail for around that price area (as a starter fun little toy that wouldn't end up decapitating a neighbors dog, or causing extensive property damage while I'm trying to figure out how to use the thing).  While the traditional "RC" flyers around here use those 4-5 foot gasoline models that are supposedly VERY difficult to learn to fly, that's not what I wished to get into.  I recently did see the under $50 smaller rechargeable electronic copters, and these are what I'm eyeing.  Thanks again !

Seeing how affordable those little things are made it irresistible to seriously ponder buying one.  Something to do between posts in here  LOL


This is good,  I might not even get hurt !

(I also have this eccentric neighbor that loves watching her hummingbird feeder)
I can't wait til she brings a photo of this "new species of bird" to her ornithology meeting group !

.

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Another consideration if flying something that tiny outdoors too is that we have loads of hawk around here.  I can imagine finally getting the thing to balance, and a hawk dives down and steals it  :(


WOW,  this looks cool !
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/7397/

"The Microblimp itself (constructed of a metallic nylon) is surpisingly quiet during operation and so sneaking up on your fellow co-workers is quite easy."


This is a fun site,  thank you for it !   I've never seen it before.  I'm also looking at that gravitator.   Great humor on this site too !

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

COol to help out Steven:)

I love my  little havoc heli, a blast to play with, and to chase the cat with:)  We have a few, all dif. freq. so my husband and I fly together.... (wow, we are huge geeks, aren't we!) They come with a couple replacement parts, but, I have only had to fix one of them, after my daughter flew it:) My big dragonfly one has been mangled, and had to have parts ordered to replace, which was a pain (we let a drunk friend fly it... not good!).  If you get the micro ones, you have to add just the tiniest bit of weight to the nose, to maintain a forward motion, so it doesn't SIMPLY hover... funny, I only had to do that to my first two. The last one, which I got on sale a couple months ago at walmart for under $20 didn't require the extra weight.

Anyways, have a great time, and get one! They are a blast:) When Justin's mother came to visit, she loved them so much, she bought 2 and brought them home for her and Justin's dad to play with!

I think I'll get one at Walmart instead of online Gilly, at least initially.  I think for something small such as this (assuming initially any generic model that hovers will suffice) a local dept store seems more practical.

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Oh, I MEANT to get the one at walmart! It IS the same one I have. (I just got the walmart one!) Plus, for 19.99 you wouldn't freak out if your cat ate it.... (or your ceiling fan!):) I bought my first ones ALL online... and then was TICKED when Air hogs took over, and made them SOooo much cheaper!

Well,  Not too many things that would harm the helicopter around here.   Seems as though it'd be perfect for tinkering around with in the living room.  Air hogs ?   I need to look them up !  This would be fun for my dad to get one too.  He loves this type of toy !

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

(I also have this eccentric neighbor that loves watching her hummingbird feeder)


Just watch the video; your neighbor may mistaken it for a bird IF you repaint it.

_________________
I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

  I know Jian !     It'd be hilarious to get it on Cam.  Especially since Hummingbirds hover, and can fly backwards in a similar way.


I think this is what you're talking about Gilly.  This is what I'll likely purchase within the next few days.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=5584931

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Yupper, that's the one. They go on sale alot though.... Like I said, my last one was 10 dollars less:) I bought it as a replacement, it's STILL in the package, waiting for one of my others to bite the big one:)

Thank you Gilly.  I have my local Wal-Mart saved in favorite places, and I'll grab one of the copters for $19 when they go on sale.  I'm in no hurry, but they look like a blast, something that can likely hold my attention besides Karaoke Scene BBOards, and porn !  I'd imagine this month (at least by labor day sale) those will go on sale.

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

OMG I checked into this years ago and the guy at the hobby shop told me well if you have an extra $1000 then another $1000 to learn how to fly it.... Im goin to Wallies!!!!!!

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

They can be extremely costly hobbies,  my recollections where similar,  you needed a huge field for these very large gasoline fueled models, and they were extremely difficult to learn to maneuver.   Now they are making the battery models and micro-mini affordables which is a good think IMHO..

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

disclaimer: I am NOT a R/C heli pilot..I am a R/C fixed wing pilot. I have been in the R/C hobby for many years, and have owned a couple of heli's. My input here is to point you to informaton resources. The heli's I refer to below, are considered by most to be more of a "hobby grade" product versus a "toy grade" product. They can be repaired if damaged, and are not a "throw away" item.

Go to rcgroups.com and research the threads. So much info you be overwhelmed. Towerhobbies.com is a reliable vendor for all things R/C. Of course, there are many more, but Tower is almost a household word in the R/C industry.
http://www.towerhobbies.com/
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php?
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/
http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V815101

CX (coaxial rotor) heli's are much easier to fly than CP (collective pitch), whether it be electric or glo powered. For instance, an Eflite Blade CX will suffice for a passing fancy type interest in R/C heli's. I think most will migrate to a CP heli if they stay interested in the hobby. It can get costly even on the CX heli level. Replacement blades, tail rotors, main shafts, ect... from all those learning mishaps!

You might take a look at the CoCo Lama coaxial heli also. It's comprable to the Eflite Blade, and a little less expensive to. If memory serves me, be sure you get the latest version "3 & 1" unit...I think Version 3 or 4 is the latest. There were some problems with the earlier units.

Whatever you buy: I'd highly recommend educating yourself on proper use, charging and care of a Lithium Polymer battery. They can be a might nasty if abused! I'm probably overly cautious with mine, but better safe than sorry.  

Jim

Thanks Jim.

My next thread will be electric trains for a smaller condo

N or Z gages ?

I've never seen the Z gage trains,  might be too small.  Dunno

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

We have a New England RC fixed wing flyers club that meets up here 1/2 mile from my condo quite often.  Those look like fun.  Huge field that they fly in..  For obvious reasons.  It might be Ct regional,  not sure,  they have a website, but I never checked it out.   That'd be a relaxing hobby for me.   The fied they fly in is about 1 mile x .5 mile which is as close to open area is it gets here in central CT.  They also ocassionally land the hot air baloons in that field too.

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

This would be a blast Jim
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LNHU92&P=G

I always had this dream as a kid reading "flying" mag to get a Bonanza or Cessna 320

This Century Preditor Max 90 is a monster.
SPECS:    Length: 55.7" (141.5cm)
         Height: 18.2"  (462.3mm)
         Main Blades: 28.3" (720mm)
         Main Rotor Diameter: 62.9" (159.8cm)
         Tail Rotor Diameter: 11.2" (284mm)
         Fuel Tank Capacity: 22oz (650cc)
         Bearings: 55
         Gear Ratio: 8.18:1

As I kid reading boyslife,  I always wanted one of these backpack copters that were being talked about in the 1960's.  They seemed even cooler than the actually jeeps you could get for 25 bucks, and the adorable trained sea-monkeys..  Not to mention the minibike kit frame that just needed the 2.5  Briggs and Stratton engine from your fathers lawnmower.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:VTOL_aircraft

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I just went next door to CVS, and the kids behind the counter yell, "Kappy those helicopters you've been bugging us about came in this morning".   So,  The weapon is charging So,  if I'm not here for about 10 minutes it's because I'm breaking something later on.

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".