Cleveland Model Helicopter Club Getting Started Page

Getting Started

There are a bewildering number of kits available so which do you buy? Well first of all visit a local club. It is very important to visit a club before buying, as you will then leave armed with knowledge on what others use and perhaps more importantly how much success they are having with it. Next arm yourself with a model helicopter magazine such as `Model Helicopter World' this will give you all the prices, hints and tips and details of new products available.

Where to get it

This is really a matter of personal choice and there are three main retail options:

Your local model shop:

Stockton Modeller

10 Silver Street

Stockton

01642 616680

The Model Shop
88 Crossgates Road
Leeds
01132 646117

A large specialist helicopter shop/online Internet store, these often advertise in the magazines and all have large online ordering facilities. The main online shops are:

Motors and Rotors

Others which should not be overlooked are: Real Raptors, Fast Lad Performance, Ultimate Helicopters, Inwood Models & Sussex Model Centre. This is by no means an exhaustive list so check out or Resources Page for more.

Abroad? Yes, the Internet makes it possible to order from abroad. There are many pros and cons to this, but the bottom line is you often make a substantial saving if you can avoid the import duty and VAT. Just remember that you won’t usually get a warranty that is of any use in this country. Two of the most popular overseas sites are:

Cyberheli Hong Kong

RC-Mushroom Singapore

You won't need to worry about spare parts. We usually go online and place an order with one of the specialist heli shops and get them delivered to the door the next day. This makes life much simpler, and saves you having to travel miles to find that the shop doesn’t have all the parts you require!!

Don't rule out buying second hand. E-bay and the BMFA free-ads often have good heli's going at prices as low as 2/3rds of new. But you MUST be aware and be careful with what you are purchasing. Please read the note below:

WARNING

There are many machines out there that have seen better days and many going for much more than they are worth, so it's always best to seek the advice of an experienced pilot before committing yourself. We see FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE who come along with models they have purchased on e-bay without seeking any kind of advice from us. Models sold as complete often have parts missing, models often have poor radio equipment which may look OK but electronically may be damaged. It is a sad fact that e-bay is commonly used as a place for inconsiderate modellers to get rid of old junk and equipment that is damaged or is in too poor a condition to be SAFE to fly anymore. If you do bring a model along that you have purchased on e-bay be prepared for some harsh advise and we will NOT attempt to set up and fly a model that is deemed to UNSAFE.
Just try to remember this: by the time you get a poor model and equipment that has been purchased on e-bay to be safe to fly you may as well have bought a brand new kit and radio that is guaranteed for as little as £550.

Recommendations

The following equipment is what we would encourage you to buy in order to have as much success as possible. This means more flying and less fiddling. It must be stressed though that in no way are our recommendations based upon quality, price or rumour. We simply chose these as we are familiar with them, and so will be able to easily help you with any problems you may encounter.

Raptor 30 Version 2 Helicopter - Made by `Thunder Tiger', it's a great little helicopter that practically leaps into the air straight from the box. A model helicopter is not particularly difficult to put together, just time consuming. If you would prefer not to build then get the ARTF version (Almost Ready To Fly). This comes 90% assembled and includes a Thunder Tiger 39H pro engine. Don't forget to check every nut and bolt on it first, as during transit some of them may have loosened.
If you prefer to assemble it then get the kit version. Take your time constructing it as it's very easy to rush - they go together very easily. The advantages of building from a kit are that you will have a little more insight into how it goes back together after a crash. You will also get to pick your own engine.

If you can afford something a little larger it is definitely worth considering the Raptor 50. It is essentially the same as the 30 but using a slightly longer boom, belt and blades with a 50 size engine. This will give you more power and will see you right through to advanced aerobatic manouvers. Other models in this class include the Knight 50, Skeadu 50 and Align T-Rex 600N.

Tips - Applying the stickers is a tricky business! This method works best: Cut out the decal using a sharp knife and scissors, then very gently peel a corner of the backing paper away and cut it off. You will be left with a small ‘overhang’ of sticker material. Positions the decal over the canopy in the correct location, once happy press that corner overhang down. The tab will hold the decal in place whilst you gently remove the backing paper, pressing the sticker down to remove air bubbles as you go.

Engines - If you have the kit Raptor then we recommend either the OS 32SX H (ringed version), which is around £110, or the Irvine 39H (ABC) at £120. Both these engines will slot straight into the Raptor and will provide reliable power for years. The Japanese OS is not as powerful but being ringed has a lower compression ratio so will be easier to start. It’s more expensive, but OS make very reliable and long-lived engines and the price reflects this. If you want a little more power there is now the new OS 37 SZ H (ringed), which is around £125 or for a cheaper but still reliable engine there is Thunder Tigers own 39H Pro (ringed) at around £85.

Irvine is a British manufacturer with a very good reputation. They are also one of the first manufacturers to take the 30 sized engine to its limits with the 39, and in doing so have produced one very powerful engine!

There are increasingly more 40 size motors out there that are designed around 30 size crankcases. If you want to get as much power out of your 30 as possible there are a couple of alternatives. There is the Toki 40 and also the JR AS40 engine which also comes complete with an attractive muffler. This can however be a tricky engine to tune so beware of that...

A new engine will require 'running in' prior to giving peak power. This process allows the moving parts of the engine to bed in and if not done an engine will not last very long. Ignore the engines instructions on initially running the engine by fitting a propeller. It is much easier and less stressful for a helicopter engine to initially run in the heli. After all this is what it was designed to do and sticking a large propeller on the front will subject its crankshaft to forces it was not designed to take. So for now install it in the helicopter and then leave it alone until you find a competent heli pilot to help you start it up. DON’T try to start the heli up on your own until it's been checked over and especially not in the garden - model helicopters engines have a lot of power and can inflict severe injuries.

You can find much cheaper engines such as the MDS 38H and SC32HR / SC36HR but we would not recommend engines such as these if you want a reasonable life expectance and a reliable engine.

Exhausts - You will need an exhaust whether you have the kit or ARTF. The kit version doesn't come with one, and the ARTF's muffler will not last long.

A popular aftermarket exhaust at our club is the ‘Yusa’ muffler, which at only around £15 is extremely good for the money.
The ‘Zimmerman’ muffler is also very popular. Its a German made stainless steel muffler and is very good on keeping noise levels down. It retails though for around £70.
Alternatively the Thunder Tiger Delux (PV0102) one piece muffler or equivalent aftermarket part would be suitable. These can range in price from £25 to £35 if you shop around.

Tips - Seal the exhaust to the engine with a gasket formed from a smear of epoxy or silicon glue across both surfaces. This prevents gas and oil escaping and keeps the engine clean. Stay clear for now from high performance tuned pipe systems.

Radio Gear – This really is a matter of personal preference but there are really only 4 manufactures to consider - JR, Futaba, Sanwa and Hitec. All produce a range of radios and all are very reliable sets. What set you buy depends upon how much you want to spend! However make sure it is a ‘computer set’ and is mode 2 (Throttle stick is on the left).

It is cheaper to buy your radio as a complete set which includes transmitter, all servos, NiCd batteries and charger as shown in the picture opposite. You may need to have the onboard NiCd battery exchanged, especially if the set you are buying is Futaba or Sanwa as they tend to be of insufficient capacity for helicopter use. Most sets are supplied with 4 servos, if this is the case, you will need to purchase another separately as you will need 5 in total.

Sets that are very popular with beginners at the club at the moment are:

Futaba Field Force 9 radio set

JR 2610 X
JR 378
JR 3810 ADT
JR PCM 9X
Futaba FF7 (Field Force 7)
Futaba FF9 (Field Force 9) - shown right
Sanwa RD6000 Super

Sanwa RD8000

Hitec Eclipse 7

We would not recommend the Futaba FF6 (Field Force 6). This radio offers little in the way of helicopter features and will leave you with a radio that will be of very limited use once you can hover and fly basic circuits.

2.4Ghz Radio Systems

In 2007 spread spectrum 2.4Ghz radio equipment became legal to use in the modelling world and we are now seeing an explosion of this type of radio equipment on the market. This type of radio equipment is only going to become more and more popular at flying clubs and so it is worth considering this when purchasing new equipment. This technology means that there are no channel assignments to worry about. You simply switch on and the transmitter will find an available channel and transmit on that frequency - no worry about clashing with other users frequency and potentially crashing models!

More information about radio systems is available on our Frequencies Page.

Tips - Try your best with the radio set-up following all instructions and then bring the model along to the club for an experienced pilot to check over. We will go through it with you and this way you will have more of an understanding of the corrections we perform so you will hopefully be more confident in setting up further models later on. It must be stressed that you WILL get the radio set-up wrong initially and trying to fly your model on your own before an expert has seen it will result in instant failure and/or serious injury.

Gyros – A gyro is a device fitted to a model helicopter to help stabilise the tail which is high unstable on a model helicopter. They work by damping the tails movement, so if the gyro senses a sudden swing to the right it will quickly apply a left command to correct for this. All this happens so fast the pilot won’t even have realised its happened!

There are two types of Gyro available: 'rate' gyros and 'heading hold' gyros. The latter gyros are able to distinguish between outside influences (such as wind) and pilot applied inputs. This enables the gyro to recognise and position the tail where the pilot wants it, and not were the model wants it.

The gyros we would recommend are the following. They will all work fine for learning, the higher the price the better the performance. Just be aware that as a beginner you won’t notice any difference between them until you get more experienced. So if you are thinking of buying a more expensive gyro remember that you are buying its better holding power for later on when you try aerobatics, then in the hope that it will help you learn faster.

Another thing to consider when buying a gyro is the speed of the tail servo you are going to use. Basically the quicker the servo the better a tail hold you will get. There is no point paying a lot of money for a high quality gyro if you are going to use a slow Futaba 3001 for example, and equally there is very little point paying for an expensive tail servo and running it on a GWS PG01 gyro.

GWS PG01 - An ultra simple ‘rate’ gyro. A bit dated now, but when well set-up is ideal for a beginner pilot and costs around £54.	CSM HLG 200 - a nice simple heading hold gyro that does its job well and only costs about £60.	CSM SL310 – The latest gyro from CSM offers all the features of the 420 below but without super servo support.	FUTABA GY401 - A great heading hold gyro from Futaba that will suit beginners right up to aerobatic 3D flying.

Batteries - A 1200mAh NiCd receiver pack (or around this capacity) - the one that comes with your radio set will usually be of to small a capacity and will only give you a single flight before it will need recharging. Today's modern gyros work the tail servo even harder and drain more power from your 'flight pack' hence the requirement for a bigger battery capacity.

If you intend putting a very high spec gyro/servo combination such as the CSM SL560 gyro with the JR 8700G servo, then perhaps consider a larger capacity pack of at least 1700mAh.

See our Battery page for further information.

Fuel - There are many other brands of fuels out there, and it would be fair to say that you will probably end up using the fuel that the rest of the pilots in your local club use.

A lot of manufactures use about 2% castor as a part of oil content of the fuel, the other 16-18% being synthetic fuels. Castor can be troublesome in that the excess castor in the exhaust plume burns onto the engine and muffler surfaces and leaves unsightly brown staining. It also covers the mechanics in a sticky mess that can be hard to clean off.

As a result most experienced pilots choose to use a specialist synthetic only fuel such as ‘Wildcat’, ‘Coolpower’ or 'Magnum'.. Most are from the USA and as such are sold in US gallons (3.74 Litres). However for a beginner, unless you are getting help from someone experienced or are in a club environment we would recommend that you stay clear of these types of fuels. They have no tolerance for a lean mixture and if left like this will quickly cause your engine to overheat and cause damage.

If flying on your own outside of a club we would usually recommend beginners just get ‘Model Technics - Duraglow 10%’. This UK made fuel is a mix of 9% E.D.L. synthetic oil and 6% castor oil with 10% added Nitromethane and is fairly inexpensive. It is fairly mixture tolerant and will give a clear warning (from smoke levels and engine sound) if the mixture is set incorrectly.

Model Technics Duraglow 10%

See our Fuel page for further information.

Glowplugs - The glow plug is what our engines use instead of a spark plug. They operate in a similar way to the coils in a car diesel engine. Glow plugs come in a variety of grades ranging from hot to cold or anywhere in between. A helicopter engine runs in a very hot environment so needs a hot plug, which is what the Enya No.3, OS No.8 or Firepower F7 is. A plug is classed as hot because it will run at a hot temperature in a rich mixture environment. If you have a twin plug head then run a hot plug in the centre and medium/cold plug on the outside, this will help the engine run even more smoothly.

Tip - Use a short length of fuel tube over the plug to screw it into the engine to avoid cross-threading the plug and damaging the engine cylinder head.

Enya No.3

OS No. 8

Starting Equipment - This covers all the equipment you will need to start your helicopters engine and get it in the air.

12Volt starter. There are lots of `standard' starters available and any one of them will do. They are usually around £25. 12Volt battery and charger. Or if you have a spare car battery lying around then this would be ideal. Glowstarter and charger. Usually bought as a set for around £15, and is used to initially heat up the Glowplug to start the engine. It is then removed once the engine is running. 6mm hex starter shaft. This slots into your starter motor and the other end engages into the helicopter to turn the engine over. Some kind of flight box to carry all this and your tools in!! Plastic toolboxes work fine.

Training undercarriage - Last but definitely not least you will require a training undercarriage. This basically makes it harder for your model to tip over and allows a bit of sliding around on landing. Trying to fly without it whilst learning will end up in you going home early with a damaged model. It is best to make your own as those commercially available are too weak and can vibrate in the air – models can literally shake themselves to bits because of this.

Tip - Rather than purchasing a training undercarriage visit your local DIY store and purchase two lm lengths of wooden dowel around ½" to ¾" in diameter. Attach foam soft balls onto each end and then arrange the sticks in a cross using a wooden block drilled in the centre and attach to the undercarriage with strong rubber bands or tie wraps. If you use rubber bands they must be checked regularly as the fuel causes the rubber to deteriorate.

Typical aftermarket training undercarriage

Rotor Blades

Most '30' size kits come with a set of wooden blades in the box. These blades are more than suitable for the beginner and can be used right up to mild aerobatic flight with no ill effects. We would recommend that you use wood blades until you are at least flying circuits and in the event of them being destroyed in a crash they can be relatively cheaply replaced with similar wooden blades. The Thunder Tiger blades supplied with Raptor 30 and 50 kits are exceptional wooden blades but unfortunately have a poor covering which will come off at the first sign of damage. Wooden blades usually retail for around £15 to £20 and are available from nearly all model shops stocking helicopter spares. The Thunder Tiger wooden blades cost much more than this at around £30 to £35 and for around the same price you can buy Glass blades.

Tip - It is often worth while checking the balance of a set of wooden blades as they can quite often be slightly out. This will become evident once the helicopter is in the hover. The blades can be balanced by bolting the two blades together through the mounting hole. You can then use the bolt as a pivot point to determine which blade is lighter. All that is required then is the addition of a small piece of insulating tape to balance the pair out.

Tip - Once the covering has been damaged on Thunder Tiger blades the covering will need to be removed on BOTH blades. You can then either re-cover with white heat shrink blade covering (available from QuickUK) or they can be varnished to stop any fuel and oil contamination from entering the blades. The set of blades will then need to be correctly balanced as noted above.