Anyone here got an electric RC chopper? What sort do you have, etc?
Ive found a couple of different ones on ebay, mainly the Dragonfly ones, that I'm keen on getting.

those dragonflies are funny. piss weak but. my cousin bought one and spent hours upgrading it because it was so flimsy, and after a couple of crashes (not hard to do!) retired it. Any amount of wind will put it off, so either indoors or no wind at all is required.

actually, after reading the item description, (just looked it up on ebay!) my cuz may have had the earlier model.

Yeah I've seen one in action and they are extremely light, so not useful in windy conditions, but it was still impressive!!

Hey bob^ - I'm thinking of buying one too - there is a bloke on Ebay that sells them for 165 bucks, and will give you a demo before hand if you go to pick it up (at keilor). Depending on what my pay is like this fortnight, I'm going to buy one, and I'll let you know how it is

You have a nitro car but want an electric chopper ? Dude Seriously.. get a nitro chopper

It's cheaper to crash an electric chopper haha.
I'm using it as a learning step. First start off small, dw mate, I'll have a nitro chopper one day, maybe even a turbine one

I played with afew different types of elec heli but i only like one call Twister Bell 47 in hobby shop around $299 (ready to fly). Nice little flying heli, cheap part to replace, saw on ebay other day @ $249 + postage $30.

Fun to play with

I prefer RC planes myself.

Actual Meth/Nitro RC choppers takes months of weekend instruction to probably even hold a hover, electric probably 5mins. Thats why you get the toy electric one. Plus cheap to crash. I flew model A/C for 7 yrs still have them all, also held an Instructors rating.

go find some video's of rc chopper feats. The most insane, inverted loops, inverted flight...

the most insane one i saw was one where the chopper was facing downwards dead vertically, and moving in a tight circle laterally about an inch above ground.

I'll agree a R/C chopper flown by a pro 3D pilot is absolutely amazing to watch (used to have one at my club), Unfortunately an electric one will never be capable of any of this. Well maybe a loop.

p.s. even better to watch when they smash into the ground its um inpressive to say the least. There goes a grand.

Gota start small boys

I agree, good to have a bit of fun with! And if you root it eh big deal.

I too am interested in purchasing an RC chopper.

What is the difference between RTF and ARF?

What should I look for in an RC Chopper?

Is it possible to get one with a camera and connect it to your PC so you can use a joystick to fly it and control it by looking at the screen?

Thanks.

RTF - Ready to Fly
no idea what ARF means.

Camera yes, joystick well you use your radio gear to control it. Just remember that the range isn't huge on em. I'd expect 100m at the most

I dont know exactly what the letters mean but with planes ARF kits are like 90% done and just require you to do some very basic work on the model, like putting in servos, recievers and batteries.

almost ready to fly?
Apparently ready to fly?
Absolutely ready to fly?
Atrocious, but ready to fly?

Do you mean just a little electric one or a proper meth/nitro, if your talking about the latter go to your local model shop not just a toy store that sells them, and if they dont scare you of the idea, be ready to part with at least $800 more likely close to $1500. They will tell you exactly what you should be getting, most model shops are very helpful, unlike a lot of car audio stores. As far as little elec ones go, go to your local model or toy store see what they sell then check them all out on the net see waht ppl think of certain brands etc....

Get a decent electric one though if your going to get one. Theres a lot of crap out there.
The dragonfly ones seem to be the go.

Thats what i was thinking of.

hrmm i was actually thinking about getting a chopper / plane too

but instead i bought another RC car... brings the tally up to 3... (of mine) and about 6 in total for the house... of course they are all petrol (4 are in a retired state for now / didnt work - whipper snipper engine on a car )

problem i could see is that there wouldnt be too many places to fly em.. chopper would be ok cos i could still do that at my house, but have heard the petrol ones are extremely hard to fly...

ahaha maybe in a few years when ive killed my new car

It means almost ready to fly. Means that you have to do a few small things before its ready to fly. With my RC Truck, it mean attaching the body, putting tyres in the rims, that kinda stuff.

The electric ones CAN do this, as long as it's a 6 channel 3D heli.. Yes?


I just bought myself a Dragonfly, with a 6Channel cheapo transmitter and an extra lipo battery for $265 (includes postage) from ebay.. I've been practicing on the simulator with the transmitter for the moment, ive only lifted it about 2 inchs off the ground soo far.. Scary crap.

I think this was the one.. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Brand-New-3D-CCPM-D...1QQcmdZViewItem

Yeah the 6 chan ones can do all that. I don't think they're a bad rig. Alloy parts, and can be used when the air isn't exactly still.

i was wanting to buy a little cesna plane with petrol motor, its the full kit! looks cool and fun, i think il buy that first then a cheap chopper!

how hard to fly the planes?

I think helicopters are the hardest to master out of all the RC gear. But its easier to fly a helicopter in your back yard, than a plane

Planes aren't that hard at all to fly, i have trained 12 year old kids and they can handle it all right. Helicopters i hear are another matter, having never flown i cannot comment but everyone normally says that are a lot harder to fly than planes.

Hmm maybe cant see one being anywhere near as capable as a fuel one though. Basic stuff but that would be about it id think.

Not as easy as you think is it....people get these illusions i'll just go buy a model plane then take it down the local park and fly it, and then they wonder why they destroy it before theyve gotten a metre of the ground. Ive flown with guys who flew full size A/C as well as models and most will say the model is harder to learn, Ive also done a bit of gliding (bout 15hrs) and I will agree with them, took longer to feel confident with the model then it did in the glider.

Well Ive had the chopper since Monday. So far I've had 2 decent crashes where Ive had to replace one of the skids, and a couple of other pieces need to be replaced, but theres no rush coz it still flies.
My Dragonfly is getting rebuilt with most of the flimsy pieces getting tossed in the bin, and new ones fabricated from aluminium and stainless steel. This should make it a lot more durable in small crashes.