[AJCoholic]

What are you guys flying these days?

And where are you buying kits & parts in Canada?

I used to fly helis... back in the early 90's to about 2003 or so. Been out of the loop for a while. I see Kyosho is pretty much unsupported, and JR has dropped what I was flying when I quit helis (an Ergo 60). Actually when I quit, the Raptors were just coming about.

So what are the "good" glow heli's out today - that have good support and are well established?

WHat about the century gasser that uses the Zenoah G20ei? Any good?

Or are electrics taking over?

I am still undecided whether or not to get back into the world of heli's.. but I am thinking about it at least.

I guess I should say, my type of flying is more "airplane" like, ie, sport aerobatics and flying around, loops/rolls/stal turns, etc with some mild 3D. I have no desire or intent to do crazy stuff.

AJC

[Max]

Andrew. Like you I was a nitro flier, but in the last year, I have been moving more and more to electric. 450 size is where I am with electrics these days, but this winter I got a 250 Trex Clone- it is a blast to fly in a gymnasium but its not very good for outdoor flyuing (at least in wind)

450's are economical and surprisingly stable. In that category I have a Trex450 all blinged out, as well as several clones that fly just as well.

The bexst part of electrics is there is no muss and no fuss. Just plug in and fly. I keep one in my car now all the time and fly whenever I have some free time at lunch. Of course, electrics are also really quiet so you can fly in a field, schoolyard or (empty)parking lot.

If you are not against ordering from Hong Kong, Hobby King is a good source for an inexpensive heli. I have built quite a few lately, and the cost for a complete heli minus Reciever comes in at about 120 bucks delivered. If you are interested, let me know and I can send you all the parts lists you will ned to get one together.

For nitro's there are quite a few out there. Raptors were most popular at one time but align nitros have really come on-stream as one of the top heli's now.

[NTM]

I'm a fan of the mikado logo heli's. Very high quality and lightweight.
They'll take a ton of power easily, a typical logo 600 (600mm blades) setup has double to triple the horsepower of a .90 nitro, and three pounds less weight.

www.rcflightstore.com

[Norm]

If you would like a quality electric helicopter. The Align Trex line are some of the best supported. These include the Trex 250, 450, 500, 600e. These helicopters are top notch. I have a trex 450 with hs-65hb servos, gy401 gyro and align esc. It flies solid!

There are also some great clones available from hobby city now. They are pretty much identical to the Align models (250,450,500,600). It's ridiculous how cheap they are. If you decide to go with a clone heli. Read the reviews first. Most fly just fine. But some have issues. Most guys just replace the few crummy parts with Align. I have one of the hk-450's ($27) in an Align scale fuselage. It has hxt-900 servos ($3 each), turnigy esc ($20) and hk 401 gyro ($13). It flies smooth. I am very happy with it.

Then there is the nitro side. The raptor was king of this mountain for a long time. It still is a good heli. I am flying a raptor 50 titan and 30 v2. Although I would like to switch to Align. There are two reasons for this. The first being Great Hobbies has jacked the price of all thunder tiger kits, parts and engines to insane levels ($749 30v2 pro & engine)! The second is the fact that an Align kit comes standard with carbon frames, metal head, carbon tail blades etc... Parts are also readily available and affordable. Align has two nitro kits on the market. They include Trex 600 sport or pro and Trex 700.
Century and JR helicopters have never been very popular around my area. Parts are expensive for the JR and hard to find for the both.

I hope this information helps you out.

[Guest]

Well i'll disagree Norm Century heli's ar esold by Greathobbies as well as most mainline hobbyshops, nitro my friend is getting retarded and if you fly lots well go gas,my Radikal flys awesome burns a litre a day with over 70 minutes of actual flying,if I wanna go bang sticks and do some 3D then I pull out my NX 50 Century heli.These are excellent helicopter kits and they have tons of scale bodies etc if interested,if you need to speak to the distributor he is at Leisure tech industries name Phil Noel,excellent with setup help or any part of a heli,contact him if you want any info on Century Products or ask me,Jim Parnell.

[davidz58]

Rotorquest has some of the best prices in Canada + free shipping over $100.

www.rotorquest.com

[AJCoholic]

Originally Posted by flyswatter40

Well i'll disagree Norm Century heli's ar esold by Greathobbies as well as most mainline hobbyshops, nitro my friend is getting retarded and if you fly lots well go gas,my Radikal flys awesome burns a litre a day with over 70 minutes of actual flying,if I wanna go bang sticks and do some 3D then I pull out my NX 50 Century heli.These are excellent helicopter kits and they have tons of scale bodies etc if interested,if you need to speak to the distributor he is at Leisure tech industries name Phil Noel,excellent with setup help or any part of a heli,contact him if you want any info on Century Products or ask me,Jim Parnell.

The radikal looks cool - and I would rather stick with glow or gas right now.. electrics just, well, dont do it for me.

How long has your radical been flying, and how is the maintenance, wear and tear, etc?

AJC

[MarkToo]

Andrew, I'm a JR fan and fly 2 Vibe 90's. JR also has the Vibe 50 heli out now, and although I've not got any time on one, by all accounts they're a great flying heli. JR parts are widely available, and you just can't beat Horizon's service and quality.

I've also got a Airstar Mongoose gasser 26cc heli, but have only 2 tanks through it and have not yet got it broken in. I can't speak to it's ultimate qualities in the air, first hand but, what a nice piece of engineering.

I've got a TRex 450 pro that is kind of fun, but doesn't get much air time - it's ok I guess. The only reason I'm holding on to it is to take on vacation (if I ever get one).

Having had quite a few different helis over the past year and change, the one's I've listed are my keepers.

There's no right or wrong answer here, but I do (and I know you do), believe you get what you pay for. Spend the money up front and enjoy the season flying - not rebuilding, tweaking, and swapping parts - then buying what you should have in the first place after getting frustrated.

Mark

[AJCoholic]

Originally Posted by MarkToo

Andrew, I'm a JR fan and fly 2 Vibe 90's. JR also has the Vibe 50 heli out now, and although I've not got any time on one, by all accounts they're a great flying heli. JR parts are widely available, and you just can't beat Horizon's service and quality.

I've also got a Airstar Mongoose gasser 26cc heli, but have only 2 tanks through it and have not yet got it broken in. I can't speak to it's ultimate qualities in the air, first hand but, what a nice piece of engineering.

I've got a TRex 450 pro that is kind of fun, but doesn't get much air time - it's ok I guess. The only reason I'm holding on to it is to take on vacation (if I ever get one).

Having had quite a few different helis over the past year and change, the one's I've listed are my keepers.

There's no right or wrong answer here, but I do (and I know you do), believe you get what you pay for. Spend the money up front and enjoy the season flying - not rebuilding, tweaking, and swapping parts - then buying what you should have in the first place after getting frustrated.

Mark

Who are you buying JR heli stuff from? (I assume Flitecraft - but is there anywhere else?)

AJC

[MarkToo]

Yeah, Flitecraft is the local JR supplier. I don't wander too far from home except for Hobby Hobby (they don't stock JR - but do promptly order), so I don't know who else sells it close by.

In all honesty, I started flying what I'm flying because that's what Bill and Scott are using, and it's great for the odd hand-me-down and sharing parts around etc. I wouldn't have known the difference on the outset, but have begun to see and experience the differences - some subtle and others obvious - between brands. Technically speaking, at my skill level, I wouldn't be able to see or make use of many of the small differences in flight, but what I have come to appreciate is the pure durability and overall quality. I've been able to spend almost all my time flying and learning and virtually no time doing repair or maintenance.

I'm not into brand wars, and do concede there are many truly quality manufacturers out there. I know I'd love flying helicopters no matter what was stuffed in the basement. That said, objectively I do believe that the JR lineup is one of the best bangs for your dollar when it comes to mainstream production helicopters.