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e-Electric General Discussion > First helicopter...

Dustin
Heliman
Location: Beaverton, Oregon

Hello, I want to get into this hobby and I'm wanting to get an electric helicopter. I don't however know which helicopter will best suite a beginner. I am considering the lite machines corona as my first helicopter. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

02-12-2002 Over year old.

Greg Takacs
Veteran
Location: Fort Worth, TX

Typically electric helis are not the way to get started in this hobby, but that does not mean it's not doable.
If you're thinking about an electric heli because of money factors, you might be better off with a nitro powered one. While electric might sound cheaper, it ends up costing about the same once you take the batteries, charger, pseed control and the motor into the equation. Then you'll be charging your batteries a lot more than flying, while with the nitro power you just fill up and go! If your decision to get an electric heli is based on the asumption that they are easier to assemble/maintain, then I'd recommend a nitro heli again. They take about the same time to assemble and maintenance is similar on them as well. If you're getting an electric for another reason, then so be it

I am not familiar with the Litemachine electric heli, but if it is similar to the nitro powered one, then it is probably a fixed pitch heli with a gyroscopic tail. They are not considered good trainers because of the fixed pitch main rotor design. I am not saying you can't learn with them, but forward flight and altitude control will be a lot harder with them. Sonce to get them down you'll have to lower the rpm, but by lowering the rpm the cyclic control dereades as well.... They are good to learn hovering on and to get a feel for R/C helicopters, but IMHO they're not "real" R/C helis.

If you're still set on electric you might want to consider the Ikarus Logo line, they are 30-46-60 size electric helis, and are fully 3d capable. We have one at our field and it seems like a very nice flier. The Logo 10 is the smallest and newest of the birds, it should be a good starting point, but you might want to ask someone else's opinion about it who knows more about them than I do. JR also makes an electric heli, however it is much smaller than the Logo and to me the Logo seemed more solid (the guy at our field owns both). Again, not my cup of tea

.

If I convinced you to start with a nitro powered heli instead of the electric, then you might want to look at the Hirobo Sceadu and the TT Raptor line. Both are 30/50 class helis. I have owned both, I currently am a Sceadu 50 owner.

Good luck with your decision!

02-12-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Dustin
Heliman
Location: Beaverton, Oregon

Thanks

Hey thanks for the info, does anyone else have an opinion as to which helicopter I should get?

02-13-2002 Over year old.

gliderdude
Heliman
Location: lake elsinore.ca

1st heli

the lite machines corona is a perfect choice ,very durable,very stable and cost effective.........check out e-zone everyone there loves that heli

02-15-2002 Over year old.

Mopzilla
Veteran
Location: Cupertino, CA USA

you totally sure you don't wanna go with nitro power? (liquid fuel)

with nitro (lets refer to it as gas) you get longer runtimes - ahem, closer to 10+ more minutes of runtime. Electric helis may seem like low maintenance requiring helis, but they are still helis that need oil. When you use oil, EVERYTHING gets all nice and greasy, so for a gas one maintenance isn't that much more. With electric, the motor and batteries are heavy, which forces the frame to be light and fragile, which in turn is not a good combination for a beginner - fragile structure, low power, little runtime.

Gas helis get a guaranteed amount of power - they do not die in terms of power until the fuel runs out. They are also very fun. for example, I personally love the smell of burning nitromethane, which is what the fuel here is, mixed with some type of synthetic oil, etc. They also have good power, and the realism - sound! Plus, no charging is required. Lets say i fill the tank up 4 times at the field. This means that approx 15 min runtimes, with electrics going for max 4 or 5. you would need 12 batt packs for all that time. would you rather charge all those and wait? plus batteries do have a price on them, starting at 20 bux each.

But hey, your choice. my muffler is rated at around 80 dbs if noise for you is a problem. I have a gas heli, right at http://www.geocities.com/mopzilla/helis.html and i'm only 15 yrs old.... compared to all the "oldies" here.... and i can handle it. If you want to go with electric, http://www.ezone.com has forums, like e-heli forum. specifically at http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php?topic=ezone

Good luck!

02-15-2002 Over year old.

gliderdude
Heliman
Location: lake elsinore.ca

e-helis

litemachine heli's get about 10 minutes flight time........I would love to have a gas copter but there is no where to fly gas here in orange county ca. anymore.it seems they need too many golf courses so we are out ..we have an electric field that has been here a while but i figure it will be gone in the next couple years too.....

02-16-2002 Over year old.

bjpaul
Heliman
Location: Longwood, FL USA

You want a lot of noise, vibration and mess, go ahead get a nitro heli...

I fly both electric and 30 and 60 sized nitro helis. I changed my mind on electrics after I bought one of the new LOGO 10's. Let me put this as clearly as I can, anybody that has never flown an electric heli of the new generation like the Logo models just DOES NOT know what they are talking about trying to compare nitro to electric.

ADVANTAGES:

no engine vibration
no noise
the new esc's provide constant head speed with a GOV function
8 to 10 minutes flight time on a 2400 mah battery pack (12 cell Nicad)
very stable in the hover
full +12 to -12 pitch and full 3D capability
rugged and crash resistant
no fuel cost

DISADVANTAGE

cost, a raptor 30 and OS32 runs about $370
a LOGO 10 with a Kontronik brushless motor and esc run about $580

servo, RX, gyro etc are a wash on price

now the brushless ESC has a GOV feature that would be another $190 for a Futaba SV-1 for a nitro heli and that wipes out the price difference....

As for battery packs and a good charger (3) 12 cell CP-2400 SCR packs if you build them yourself will cost $150 and a good charger like a FMA Supernova will cost $125. or about the same as 11 gallons of CoolPower.

So if you like vibration, mess and noise go ahead get a nitro heli. When somebody shows up at the field with a LOGO you might regret it.

Brad

02-17-2002 Over year old.

oldfart
Elite Veteran
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Beginner heli

Dustin,

Read again Greg T's post. He has saved me a lot of typing as IMHO he is correct in his advice about the disadvantages of the electric heli for training. (I have experience in both). Unless you have an insurmountable noise issue to contend with or some other extra ordinary concern go with an IC trainer, such as the Century Hawk/Falcon series or the Hirobo Sceado or TT Raptor. They will all serve the purpose better - my preference here as all know is the Century units.

I have not seen any of the fellows locally who have tried electrics for training (including a Logo 20 which is relatively expensive to equip properly) progress as quickly as even the slowest fellow on the IC units. Nothing helps training progression more then "flight time" and the IC fellows seem to get a lot more flight time logged per session then do the e-flyers. And the e-flyes seem to have a lot more sessions because they do not always have to go out to the field but can have numerous sessions at their local school yard or park. I can only attribute this to the limitations of the e-units. Mind you the vets here with them do take theirs out occasionally just for a change of pace.

As Greg said. If you must remain with electrics, then I too would sugest you go with the units from Logo.

02-22-2002 Over year old.

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