hi guys

i want to buy a electric heli for outdoor flying and wanted to know which one to go for, i was eying the HK450 V2
but i'm completely new to heli and need some help in selecting electronics which one works good etc.

hi,

i have been using HK TX and RX on my HK 450 without any issue.

If you check our Hobbyking site, you can find gyros (not tried), servo (cheap).

All can focused on one website for the complete build up.

Wow, how did we all miss this question from Sahil

Please see the results of this search, you can see the common setups used : http://www.rcindia.org/search2?search=plush%2040a

actually i don't mind buying a heli from LHS but the prices seem to be bit high and i'm more interested in buying a kit! who stocks electric kits in India ?

what about this heli from BRC but in any case it would be great if i can use my existing radio !

http://bombayrc.com/product_info.php?cPath=45_93_94&products_id=143

help please

sahil

Get a miniTitan kit from TT dealer in Bangalore. I think it costs 7500 for just the kit and
9,500 for the kit+motor+esc+gyro ( a deal in my opinion )
Stay away from chinese helis if you are a beginner. You will learn faster with miniTitan and plus the parts are available through Rotor and TT dealer.

Looks like it is too small, and not at all in the 450 class.  I would be surprised if they have spares for the same either.  

The real advantage with the Trex 450 (and its clones/derivatives) is availability of parts. Being the most popular (ie, sold) heli design in the world helps !

There are heli kits, but limited choices.  Like this one from Rotor.

http://rotor.co.in/show-detail.asp?prodid={6536ED93-D265-4D15-AB6C-AE8DBC09B0D5}&pn=1

May be available with Rotorzone too at better prices

thanks anwar will checkout rotor-zone, gauravag can the TT dealer provide receiver ready combo? including the battery

b/w i have one HXT900 and E-sky 9 gram servo can i use these on the heli ?

sahil

Sahil,
TT dealer can provide you the combo with batter/servo/Rx. However you can save some money buy buying a battery from HK . The TT battery is for 3,000 and the Turnigy one will cost around 750 and give you better power for a slightly smaller size and weight also !
In the case of servos too, TT provides Ace C0916 on the cyclic, which are all plastic and you will break the gears very easily get the MG-14 etc from HK and you will be better off and save some money too.
In my view the 9,500 deal from TT dealer that includes the heli, motor, esc and gyro is very nice. With the cost of added battery and servos, you should be ready in about 12K . Of course assuming you have the Tx/Rx radio.

Lets compare this with HK450. If you get the GT version , you will spend at least:
$50 heli + $25 ESC + $12 Motor + $15 gyro + $50 servos + $10 battery + shipping  . which comes to around 9-10K
So for just 2-3K , you will be much, much better off with miniTitan, plus will not need stock parts as Rotor has a great stock of mini Titan parts.

HK helis would be good too, but for somebody just getting into Helis, the mini Titan is a great deal.

yes i already have an Airtronics SD-10G radio!, i was thinking of doing exactly that but backed off because of payment problems !

guys this is a bit off topic but will my paypal account work if i pay via credit card/paypal, i did try to use it once but could not!

hi guys,
the hk or hkh450's are good, the better quality kits are alu head the cheaper kits are all plastic, but all fly well, the early 'plastic' kits were v1 align copies and had a 3mm feathering shaft, the alu ones I believe are v2 align copies and have the 4mm feathering shaft............. much stronger.............. they will fly very comparable to align trex depending on the electrics chosen, better quality better performance.......
for learing I would be inclined to get the cheaper version and then when repares are required get the better quality spares.these were usualy compatable .
I have been using the 'hkh 450' for a year or so now and find it very good :-)
regards
don

Never had heard of an HK"H" 450   Who sells this ? (got even more confused after a quick web search )

The part on the plastic versions I hated most were the clamps that hold the tail servo. If you crash and have to change the booms a few times, the plastic cannot handle the screws any more !

hi anwar,
HKH came out of Hong Kong about the same time as the HK, very similar, just different alu parts offered with base kit,they are all direct clones of the t-rex 450, mine went on to be the flybar less trainer/experimentle frame as it was so cheap. I thinK the color was the biggest difference, some were green alu frame [HKH] and others offered gold red blue and silver I believe, but basicly the same craft................... all had the same types of faults.......rubbish soft heads on screws, bad tail gears, main gears like butter etc, but the frame was reasonable at around £30 for kit compared to £80 for alu frame for 'named' brands and all t-rex  spares fitted ok, so you could fly cheap and slowly build a t-rex in the meantime :-)
It got me off the 'all' plastic belt-cp by esky which was my origional 6ch trainer.  :-)
regards
don

hi anwar,
they are copying the 500 now:-)
here
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_kw=HKH&_kw=rc
£53 free post (uk)
SpecificationLength: 850mm
Height: 310mm
Main Blade Length: 425mm
Main Rotor Diameter: 970mm
Tail Rotor Diameter: 200mm
Motor Pinion Gear: 12T/13T (both included)
Main Drive Gear: 162T
Autorotation Tail Drive Gear: 145T
Tail Drive Gear: 31T
Drive Gear Ratio: 1:13.5:4.68/1:12.46:4.68
Weight (w/o power system): 935g
Flying Weight: Approx 1700g
ok if you want a cheap way up...............
just changed destination country to 'india' and ...................free post
note the color of the frame? :-) same as the 450's :-)
this is just the air frame, no electrics so import should be ok :-)
this looks like the 450 did so 'all' t-rex parts should fit. as they did on the 450 :-)
regards
don

So was the HKH being mainly marketed by one online store, or was it all eBay ?

About the 500, I get really worried about the quality of parts at that size and higher.  I am not sure I would go for the HK versions of the 500 or 600, for example. Certainly not for the style of flying that I am interested in.

hi mate,
one ebay.co.uk store
go to
http://www.heliguy.com/Forum/viewforum,f,163.html
its a uk heli shop forum same as here need to reg but thats it there are plenty of hk450
and a few 500 there you get some idea how they are performing.
see also the your flight today, may be some vids of 500
this one is suposed to be better quality.....at a better price of coarse than the hk's

http://www.skyshore.host22.com/2_13_Skya-kit-ARF-JY500-ESC-Brushless-1680-kV.html

here is a '500 hk' build log with good close pics for quality, and a couple flight vids, the build flight is on page 6.

http://www.heliguy.com/Forum/hk-t500-build-t44121.html regards

dfon

Hi People,

1. I am a newbie in every sense. I have taken a fancy to RC Helicopters and want to pursue it. I have been literally gobbling up info from this forum, various links here, and from another similar forum 

2. I bought a RC toy Heli for about Rs 1500/-  Must say it was fascinating to watch such a small machine lift off and hover.  Of course, the random yaw was most annoying.

3. To cut a long story short, the attributes I really  want are a. Stable and capable of fairly precise control  b. Does not buck like a wild stallion c. Can be used in relatively small indoor spaces d. Accidents are not (certain to be) catastrophic. d. don't need aerobatics but  I still want that nose to keep looking where I want it to.

4. Having said this, I see that most hobbyists are using models of the order of a half-meter size; they seem to have thunderous power  and are of course meant for 3D flying.

5. I thought I could spend around USD 20-30 on my model but my research here shows that this  is probably too small a budget. However I guess people here would have more information on this.

6. My main criteria are precise control and small size. What are my choices? I can add another USD 20 to my  budget if absolutely necessary.

7.  What are the current hassles in ordering overseas online
8. Are there any Indian sources? like malls or off the shelf.

9. I like putting together stuff, so a kit would also be a good idea.

Thanks for your time.

hi mate,
if looking for 'indoor' .ie in your house?
most 'indoor' helis are for use in school halls etc.
try looking at coaxials very stable and easy to fly .only 1ft long etc. or a 250 size cp or fp heli ....harder to fly but can be flown in large living room or garage space.
if buying complete with transmitter then look only in india as there are problems with bringing transmitters into the country.
regards
don

Earlier I used to always recommend the LAMA series of co-axial helis to everyone (LAMA 4 or above), and they come from various brands.  But these days, some of the cheaper ones available in malls are approaching the same level of stability and durability (or lack thereof), so they have become affordable and accessible.

Thanks Don and Anwar. Your replies were useful to me.

I have at least a zillion more questions, but out of respect for the valuable time and contributions of the members, I will put them up in careful instalments and try to read up meanwhile to fill-in. Thanks in advance!!

1. "Indoor" for me  is a small hall or indoor badminton court with high ceiling.
2. How do I identify a true coaxial? (The toy I own now has two counter rotors too. But it also has an upward looking tail rotor) 
3. Do they usually come with their own radio TX?
4. Now the big question! I can use 1-foot length models and so if I am buying them off the shelf in a retail store, can you please lead me to brand names/models/stores (Chennai or Bangalore)
5. If the brand names are numerous/unknown, How can I identify right models?  for example, Do all of them come with swashplates? How many control levers do I look for in the swashplates?
Regards
DG

I think the simplest for you would be to start with something like the Model Art one.  The investment is minimal, and unless you crash like crazy, they should last for some time until you are ready to graduate into mode serious models.  With the budget posted, that may be your best option. 

If you walk into any mall and pick the first one you see, you really do not know about the performance etc, unless someone is actively demonstrating the same there.

If your budget is in the 4K range, you should have access to something like the Lamas.  Others, please pitch in with local product suggestions

Thanks Anwar. Things are slowly falling in place. I guess I have a lot of homework to do on the various sections of this forum. I saw a video of the Model Art thingie.  Though it looks quite fascinating in the hands of the pro in the video, I think I will have to consider a more stable one as my next model.

So then 4k+ shall be my budget.  Thanks to the forum for the eye-opener.  Otherwise it would have been a long physical tour of malls, toy-shops, travel agencies and so on!!! 

I'll do some more reading here and get back soon with more questions about my options and micro-details of purchasing the bird and its spares.
Thank you.

It takes half an hour to learn to fly that heli like a pro. The hardest part is learning to control the tail. There was a new version (bit costlier too) that was supposed to come with built in gyro for the tail. It'll take only minutes to become a pro on that. My opinion is contrary to yours, this model is so stable that it doesn't prepare you much for the real RC stuff.

I do agree with you, Rotorzone! I assure you it is not about the performance of the model in absolute terms.  It could very well be the best in its class and with your experience, I am sure you are a better judge than me.
However, my personal requirement is, I need to keep that tail steady, with minimal intervention from the pilot. So if you have more information about the gyro model you mentioned, I would be happy to pursue it. Thanks for tuning in! 

It is all perspective   Doing backwards figure 8 on the Model Art one can be fun   Throw in some obstacle courses, and you are in F3C league !