[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

Originally Posted by dashpuppy

The helicommand does more, but the sk's work well.

What does it do that the SK720 doesn't?

The SK has a built in governor, self levels (inverted and upright), and will soon have a hard deck and GPS position hold with the addition of the new GPS module that's being released soon.

[dashpuppy]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Canuck

What does it do that the SK720 doesn't?

The SK has a built in governor, self levels (inverted and upright), and will soon have a hard deck and GPS position hold with the addition of the new GPS module that's being released soon.

does it have bail out ?

[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

YES!

Inverted and upright! The governor is also active and manages collective.

[b0r3d]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Canuck

YES!

Inverted and upright! The governor is also active and manages collective.

Interesting. Is there any real differences in the two at all? I've heard of heli command but not the SK. What about programmable differences?

Thanks for bringing it up. I do enjoy comparing 1 product to another, but as you mentioned it, it sounds like you know it well.

[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

To be fair to the HC unit, I would need to do more research to be confident that I am giving you accurate information. I'll double check my facts and get back to you in a bit.

To the best of my knowledge, they are about the same in features.

I have been using the SK units for years now, and also helped beta test the firmware for the SK540 unit. I run the 720 in all of my models, I own 7 units now.

Setup is done via a pc and a gui with wizards... very easy.

[b0r3d]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Canuck

To be fair to the HC unit, I would need to do more research to be confident that I am giving you accurate information. I'll double check my facts and get back to you in a bit.

To the best of my knowledge, they are about the same in features.

I have been using the SK units for years now, and also helped beta test the firmware for the SK540 unit. I run the 720 in all of my models, I own 7 units now.

Setup is done via a pc and a gui with wizards... very easy.

Well i await hearing back from you

I like as i said hearing both sides. HC unit is a sweet setup but when someone comes in and says 7 units in all of their heli's.. i tend to listen

[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

I'm just at the car dealership getting an oil change. As soon as I get back, I'll post some info you'll want to seesee.

[snemi00]

Hi b0r3d,

I haven't been on RCC for a little while and missed your post here.

Yes, there are very very many Goblins around the Toronto area and since you are in Mississauga you're in for a treat!
The Mississauga Flying club is the home to the Canadian SAB team, so you're sure to get the best support.
Rotorquest is also the official Goblin dealer/distributor in Canada and a great place to buy all your stuff from, SAB or not. Very convenient to those local people that can drive to the store to pickup their order.

Something to consider about the FBL unit especially if you're new. The absolute best thing you could possibly do is belong to a club. You will get loads of help from people and gain knowledge and experience much faster than trying to do it on your own.
The internet is a great thing, but you need to be careful with much of the advice you sometimes get unless you know the source to be trustworthy.

Personally, I would recommend a vbar or Beastx/Spektrum7200 unit.
Why? Because once you do the basic setup you can get help from dozens of people locally to get your machine flying right immediately.
Nothing against the Skookums or Helicommands. Just none locally.
A few Skookums actually...unfortunately they happen to be on the machines of people that are expert hoverers. They'll tell you they fly great with whatever settings they have on. And they do! If you like hovering.
There's just no high level pilots here that use them, not to say they can't work.

If you're just learning and still working on orientation practise, then get a nanocpx. Excellent machine for you to spend the winter honing your skills on. I love it.

The Goblin is a great machine and is doing fantastically. They have some great new products like the 500 coming very soon. I just got my 770 in the air over the Holidays and it is quite frankly....Awesome.

Hope to see you at the field and feel free to take a drive over to Rotorquest anytime to see what a great machine it is!

[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

I took a look, and it seems the HC and the SK are just about on par on everything except the governor. I haven't flown the HC personally, so I can't give you any positive or negative feedback on it.

Regarding the Skookum units, I can personally tell you they work very well for much more than hovering. There are a number of professional pilots who fly Skookum Robotics like Eitan Golstin who placed 5th at the 3D Masters (Masters Class) flying an SK720. Marco Rebelo placed 1st in the Experts Class at the 3D Masters, and Asaf Aloush placed 5th in the same class at 3DM.

Best of all? Skookum Robotics is a CANADIAN company based out of Vancouver, BC.

I do agree with Santino's sentiments of joining a club, but fly what YOU want to fly and fits your budget / wants / needs. All helicopters use the same principals for flight and general design ... if you have a quality model, whether it be Goblin, MSH, Mikado, Compass, Synergy or whatever, anyone who is experienced with flying and setting up helicopters can help you.

I know several pilots in your neck of the woods flying Skookum.

All that said ... you can't go wrong with BeastX, Skookum or VBar. They've all been around a while (VBar and Skookum longer) and make a great product.

As I mentioned previously, you won't find a Skookum SK-720 unit new right now as they are working on the newest version for release, but you can find a used one for cheap in the online communities for about $200-250. The new version will only feature a new black anodized aluminum case, new sensors, and a few other small tweaks. The old SK-720 will work just fine with the GPS units when they are released.

Also, firmware updates from Skookum are FREE, and no special cables are required as it uses a standard mini USB cable.

I agree with Santino, if you're just starting out, I would suggest a simulator like Phoenix or RealFlight and a small micro CP model like the nCPX, mCPX, Walkera Mini CP, or Walkera Genius CP.

[b0r3d]

Originally Posted by snemi00

Hi b0r3d,

I haven't been on RCC for a little while and missed your post here.

Yes, there are very very many Goblins around the Toronto area and since you are in Mississauga you're in for a treat!
The Mississauga Flying club is the home to the Canadian SAB team, so you're sure to get the best support.
Rotorquest is also the official Goblin dealer/distributor in Canada and a great place to buy all your stuff from, SAB or not. Very convenient to those local people that can drive to the store to pickup their order.

Something to consider about the FBL unit especially if you're new. The absolute best thing you could possibly do is belong to a club. You will get loads of help from people and gain knowledge and experience much faster than trying to do it on your own.
The internet is a great thing, but you need to be careful with much of the advice you sometimes get unless you know the source to be trustworthy.

Personally, I would recommend a vbar or Beastx/Spektrum7200 unit.
Why? Because once you do the basic setup you can get help from dozens of people locally to get your machine flying right immediately.
Nothing against the Skookums or Helicommands. Just none locally.
A few Skookums actually...unfortunately they happen to be on the machines of people that are expert hoverers. They'll tell you they fly great with whatever settings they have on. And they do! If you like hovering.
There's just no high level pilots here that use them, not to say they can't work.

If you're just learning and still working on orientation practise, then get a nanocpx. Excellent machine for you to spend the winter honing your skills on. I love it.

The Goblin is a great machine and is doing fantastically. They have some great new products like the 500 coming very soon. I just got my 770 in the air over the Holidays and it is quite frankly....Awesome.

Hope to see you at the field and feel free to take a drive over to Rotorquest anytime to see what a great machine it is!

I think dashpuppy mentioned rotorquest in a previous post and i didn't give it a second thought to look but now that i know their in Canada, it's where i'm buying my Goblin 700. Was originally going to from helidirect and i so badly wanted something more local.

As for clubs, i'm no beginner but i'm far from pro. I've been out of the hobby for so many years i'm just trying to jump right back where i left off. Any recommended clubs in the mississauga area? I have zero plans to push my goblin hard until i feel far more confident and as such something like the HC or SK come to mind.