I can remember the when I fell in love with RC aircraft. My dad took me with him when he purchased a Schluter MiniBoy. I wrote a rant on RC helicopters a while back. I was upset at the time because I really wanted to take my involvement with the hobby to a higher level.
The fact that I failed at the beginning was wearing on me. I got my 450 clone and started looking at what I needed to do in order to make it flight ready. My first pass found that the gear drive for the belt system to the tail rotor came apart. Using some red lock compound I pressed it back together. I thought I was ready for a flight.
After getting fed up with the hobby I sold and gave most of my stuff to my dad. He is enjoying flying RC airplanes and gliders. While at his house for Memorial Day Weekend we went out to where the local guys fly their monster sized Compass 7HV’s. I brought some charged batteries and my Dad’s transmitter.
After some frustrated hovering the pilots immediately noticed that there was some sort of issue beyond my flying skills. Thankfully that crew is a very helpful sort, much unlike most others I have found at other flying fields. They quickly started looking over the head and noticed that there was some severe problems. A collar was missing two set screws causing the lower part of the head to be able to move. This caused lots of problems. After putting in some set screws and tightening up I decided to wait till the next day to put a flight on it.
The next day my Dad, two of my uncles, and I again headed up to the field to watch some heli flights. At the end of the day I decided to take a chance, even with a little more wind than I liked, to fly up and down the field. My flight started off pretty nicely. However, the wind proved to be too much for the little 450. While a 700 sized Compass 7HV hardly moves in the wind it was pushing my clone pretty hard. At one point the wind pushed the heli pretty far down the field. I ended up loosing orientation and putting the heli into the ground.
While I was sad that I walked away from another day with a broken helicopter I at least felt that my skill level isn’t the only limiting factor. I had a couple of the guys call the heli I had a complete piece of junk. I’ve known for a while that flying a second hand clone would be problematic. To me I like to think that my skills as a pilot are that much better since I’ve been fighting a heap of junk.
Recently I purchased a new transmitter from an awesome dealer on eBay, powerhobby. I bought a DX18 and was able to get a Blade 450 3D thrown in the deal. I’ve ordered from this “store” on eBay before and have received great service and have always got great deals. I highly suggest you check them out before you make your next purchase.
I hope that with a new heli and a nice transmitter that I can make some leaps in my abilities. I’ve read many comments on how well the 450 handles. I may even go to a flybarless setup as many really like how it flies. I’ve decided to keep pursuing the hobby albeit with some trepidation. I can still fly no problem on the simulator hopefully I can finally see some improvement at the field.
