Radio controlled helicopters.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Has anyone bought or flown one of those neat looking radio controlled helicopters that are advertised here on Avcanada?

I am really thinking of getting one to play with.

[cgzro]

Yeah, we have one (my son and I). They are pretty difficult to fly. I'd recommend more the electric R/C planes. We have also got gas and electric R/C planes and the little foamie electric planes (park flyers) are a riot. My son even put a tiny little camera he got from radio shack and made some pretty cool movies.

Just to give you an idea what you can do for a few hundred bucks ... :

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Gulv_bvZS94
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=nx70-Gw4_ ... re=related

And about 1000hrs of practice

[sky's the limit]

Hey .,

I had one last year, and a couple of Engineers have them. Once you get over the initial learning curve, they are a blast. VERY hard at first though, just about killed myself when the damn thing was coming back at me, all controls opposite....

Once I got good, I could toe-in on the oil stove in my tent, but I got it tangled in the string that hung from the light bulb and broke everything....

stl

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I think I want one.

Did you repair it?

[sky's the limit]

I did, a couple times, but I ended up switching camps in a really hurry and didn't have room to bring it with me... One drawback of the 500.... Can't pack much!

stl

[really green]

Hey .,

My best advise for you is to find a local R/C club in your area, and get a proper machine, and a good instructor, and your success rate will dramatically increase.

I'v been flying R/C airplanes and helis for ~18yrs. My old man owns a hobby shop where I live, so I have pretty good knowledge of whats crap and whats good. So stay away from the crap that is advertised on this stie. It's just generic chinese garbage. Pumped out in mass quantities to keep them cheap, and thats what they are...cheap.

I'm not to sure where you live, so here's a link where you can find the closest club to you.

http://www.maac.ca/

It's a really rewarding hobby if done properly. If you need some more advice or input let me know. I'd be more than happy to help.

Cheers

[really green]

Oh, and here's a video of a buddy I fly with ripping up his Raptor .90.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LH2JIbKPslQ

[pianodude]

i don't fly full size anymore(atpl and 3000 hrs), but still get my fix flying r/c. i have one that does 160knots straight and level(that really gets the adrenaline flowing!)

[Inverted2]

I have one of those little air Hogs ones that I fly around the living room just enough to annoy my girlfriend or other guests.... I tell them Im learning to fly helicopters by starting with a small one

[sky's the limit]

Oh, and here's a video of a buddy I fly with ripping up his Raptor .90.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LH2JIbKPslQ

WOW.

That is very cool. Takes some skills to be sure.

stl

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Thanks for the info, when I was really young I used to build models and spent a lot of time watching the guys fly them in Windsor Ont....but haven't been around them since.....time I got back to doing some of it again.

A couple of years ago I saw some model jets flying at North Weald airport north of London England.

The jet engines were powerful enough to fly my Cri Cri and I did a fuel burn calculation and I can fly the Cri Cri for twenty minutes with the half hour VFR reserve allowance.

But they are very expensive and I sort of put that idea aside for now.....

....but......I am involved in a new project that just might make me enough money to keep my habits going. so maybe I can have another look at it....then there is my Cub sitting in the garage not finished on and on it goes.

And I have to assemble the amphib floats for the Husky as soon as I get back from Corner Brook .....where am I going to get the time for all this stuff?

Anyone here know anything about those big model airplane jet engines?

[really green]

I do know a bit about those too. A friend of mine has 2 of them. Basically, they're just a miniature gas turbine. Single flow axial compressor, single flow centrifical turbine. (or maybe the other way around, I don't remember just now) They run off a mix of kerosene/2 stroke oil mix, or you can run them off Jet A/BP 2380 Oil. Either way is fine.They have an engine computer that moniters all engine perameters during start-up, flight, and shutdown. (basically a FADEC)
Anywho, they come in tons of different classes, 20lb thrust and up. My buddy bigger one for his 8ft F-18 is a 38lb+ thrust class. But they're really friggin expensive. Usually to set up a jet, you'de be looking at ~$10,000. Thats assuming you have no equipment.

Here's a link to one of the bigger manufacturers of them. Wren turbines. Really good quality. And they even have a turboprop now too.

http://wrenturbines.co.uk/

[really green]

Oh, and here's a video of us running up his newest Falcon turbine. Idle speed, 28,000rpm, max throttle 125,000rpm. 3 sec spool-up time. Kinda shitty video quality, butyou get the idea.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=DdyYi2UD8ns

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Looking at the fuel burn for those jet engines the Cri Cri wouldn't fly for long because I couldn't carry enough fuel to make it even worth thinking about.

It only holds eight US gallons in the tank that it has.

HOWEVER:::

Man would it be a crowd pleaser in air shows..

[Carrier]

., it’s already been done. Take a look at the thread “Cheapest Twin Turbine” in PPRuNe Forums > Wannabes Forums > Professional Pilot Training (includes ground studies). The first post was on 16 April 2002. Then take a look at http://www.amtjets.com/gallery_real_plain.html Happy flying!

[Driving Rain]

French pilot Nicolas Charmont has installed 2 AMT Olympus turbines in his Cri Cri. The Cri Cri weighs 170 Kg and has made his maiden flight in the weekeind of 7-8 March. Top speed at this flight was 240 km/hour (150 mph). Flying with only one engine the speed is still 160 km/hour (100mph).

The biggest engine they make is the Titan at 88lbs thrust. It produces this thrust on 38.8 ounces of fuel PER MINUTE. That's over 12 gallons per hour. Now put two of these things on a Cri Cri and you're sucking back 24 gallons per hour at max thrust. Wow, that's thirsty for such a small engine!



Course theres this 8 horse turbo prop just waiting to be put on a Cri Cri

[Strega]

The biggest engine they make is the Titan at 88lbs thrust. It produces this thrust on 38.8 ounces of fuel PER MINUTE. That's over 12 gallons per hour. Now put two of these things on a Cri Cri and you're sucking back 24 gallons per hour at max thrust. Wow, that's thirsty for such a small engine!

I bet the TSFC is similar to early full size turbojets

[sheephunter]

., about 2 yrs ago now I heard my buddy next door playing with his for a while and then the noise stopped.... then my phone wrang and he was asking for help to get him to the hospital. Darn near took his hand off at the wrist, but that was better than his head as that was where it was going. Lucky I was home and that the outcome was not worse. All I can say is to be careful. This one was about 3' across the blades. Don't know much more about them other than there wasn't much left of his.

[husky]

The full size ones can be dangerous for sure. I used to have a couple gas powered ones when I was younger. DAMN expensive hobby. Nowadays, there are literally DOZENS and DOZENS of companies that make smaller electric powered helis that have all the same bells and whistles and will stay in the air for just as long as a gas powered heli, and are generally much cheaper.

I bought one of the cheap ones off ebay, the hummingbird. It has fixed pitch blades so it won't hover upside down but I can still loop it and roll it (although it drops like a rock upside down, obviously). Best part about this one is that 9 times out of 10 when you crash it, nothing is broken because everything is very lightweight and relatively slow moving.

[Ballsssssss]

I don't even want to talk about the electric one I bought in Turkey and tried to learn to fly on the roof of a 5 story hotel, in the dark......

[DonJuan]

Been flying RC heli for 2 years now, great fun....although the hobby is actually rebuilding the heli, and u get to fly them once and a while...just like the real deal Other than the cost I enjoy rippin it apart and tweaking things on the rebuild. Lots of fun and addicting



Stay away from the Chinese crap on this site.

Try a coaxial helimax or similar first

Invest in a sim

[DonJuan]

P.S. I may be getting out of the hobby as I am planning a project car and need some funds. I have everything from the 30 dollar airhog indoor, Helimax coaxial blinged with the alloy parts, 3d electric helimax, and a Raptor 30 (nitro). Let me know if your interested. I would like to get rid of the Raptor last