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[JGSenior]

I bought a small model helicopter and almost wish I hadn't.

One slip and its a crash, probably an expensive one !

Boats are far more forgiving, and the worst that could happen is that they could sink ( Not so far thank goodness )

Be warned, stick to boats! I will in future.

I hoped that one day it would be possible to fly it off one of my boats...now I know why you don't see much of that.

Again...be warned !

Regards to all boat enthusiasts,

John Richardson

[jumpin_jack]

Im glad to see that I am not the only one that fell for the helicopter bug, got it running on the deck in the back garden but never had the balls to get it in the air.
Everytime I felt I was ready to take off, I had my concience and wallet giving me grief.... So I Sold It on ebay....Oh thank crunchey for ebay.
now back to model boats

[chromedome]

Have a look at....extreme RC videos....!!!

   chromedome

[J.beazley]

i had the same idea about flying a copter onto and off a model boat........... big mistake ::)

got a walkera 22ez off trusty old ebay 30 minutes learning the controls i thought i would give it a bash at getting airborn.........

2 seconds later up, up, backwards, BANG THUD crashed it!!!!!!! oh well only 80 something squid down the pan.
still it will only cost £20 to fix so thats a bonus.

stick to boats there easier to control and less hassle.

[grasshopper]

Flying a helicopter - piece of cake ! bought a 'hummingbird' great result, round the garden at head height, circuits the lot, all within an hour!

Hovering at low level, landings ?......alright they weren't so good - the wife went absolutely dippy - the roses never looked so sad, all those stalks,petals everywhere.
More like the Texas chainsaw massacre.

I won't sell mine (I don't sell anything) you never know when you might need it.....

[Powered Boat Mouldings]

Hi All
       I 've done helicopters too, great fun . Just wish I had more hours in the day to do everything.
   Perhaps I should take up insomnia 

[cbr900]

So far you have all said they are hard to fly and crash easily, try taking off or landing on something thats moving, then you will really get to do some serious damage...

Remember Helicopters don't fly the EARTH REPELLS them...


Roy

[sinjon]

Perhaps I have a solution to all those expensive crashes, I won a R/C flight simulator in a raffle, in fact its a Great Planes Real Flight R/C Simulator. It has fixed wing & helicopters, trainers, sport, fighter, even jets, different airfields. You can fly it from the ground,you can fly it from behind, you can even fly it from the cockpit, best of all you can fly it when it raining outside, children love it.
I have crashed on landing, flown into trees, forgoten to put the U/C down when landing, seconds later there it is, brand new, sitting at the end of the runway, waiting for you to try again. I love it!

[cbr900]

With a rotor blade through the windscreen of your model boat, it will take a bit more than a few seconds to repair both....



Roy

[JGSenior]

JGSenr here

Ok, so I started the thread with a statement that I had taken up flying a model helicopter and how difficult I was finding it. Things have changed, after about 20 flights and a number of new parts for the infernal machine I can carry out the elementary moves.

Trouble is that none of my boats have sufficient deck space to land even my small Bell helicopter
 ( See 'Your Models' on Martins excellent site , go to the  illustration of model boats magazine ...or go to www.johnsmodelmadness.co.uk. my web site)  Martin gave me great encouragement in my sites early stages and has kindly included my models on his site.

Has any one landed a helicopter on a model boat, is it possible ? and is it worthwhile building a model boat for the purpose?

Anyone who has done  it please come back with their comments.


John

[J.beazley]

have a look at one of my threads about a floating helipad.

i have built a barge type floating thing to take my copter but havent had the courage nor the skill to try and fly onto it.
i can just about fly my copter above one of my 1/10 scale cars when its moving in a straight line, think i need more flying tie to be able to land on a oving target.

let me know if you can do it as im interested.

Jay

[JGSenior]

Hi Jay

Thanks for your post.

I am in about the stage where I can hover and keep control of the infernal machine.

A landing on a small target is the next aim, I find control on the three sixty axis difficult...it's Ok when it is coming straight at me but rubbish otherwise.

I believe a lot of hours ( and a strong nerve ) will be necessary to risk the landing on a floating target.

Iwill post back in due course

John

[J.beazley]

talking to a copter pilot buddy, he says most people need at least 60 hours on a sim before flying.

not having a sim its cost me around £130 to repair my copter after all the crashing i kept doing before i learnt the basic controls.

i would suggest towing a platform behind a rc car that way you dont have to go diving to find your chopper in the drink.

keep us posted,

Jay

[JGSenior]

Thanks for the suggestion Jay.

I haven't tried model cars, except for my grandson's toy car !

I think traction engines and locos are more my mark....Oh and model boats !

I will keep trying, I went to a helicpter page and it said that one should set simple targets to achieve in the process of learning. My current target is ' Avoid crashing ' and I have difficulty meeting that !

By the way, I am 78 years young so there is still time to learn ( A little time anyway !)

Regards

John

P.S. If you have a minute to spare have a look at my website mentioned earlier

[Andy M]

When I was learning to fly my Morley Jetranger,I bought a few Heli magazines and read about a guy that had been practicing in his back garden,gust of wind,blade caught frame of open back door, it dragged itself into kitchen and wrecked the place! Explain that to the wife! Andy M.

[grasshopper]

Having read this article again an idea came to me....you might like this.

I got given as a Xmas pressie, one of those Picooz two channel helicopters - great fun to fly / hover around the house - not a lot of accurate control though. Now comes the clever bit......

They are small and lightweight ( and cheap) - why not tether it to the stern of the ship you're flying off by a winch - you can still take off at will and sort of fly behind/ round  the ship, then when you want to land you winch in the very fine tether line and that will help guide it back to the pad whilst still keeping the lift motor going...clever eh? would look fantastic on the water - and the helicopters do float - I crashed mine in the washing up bowl - flew alright the next day after a night in the airing cupboard.

Must go now the nurse is calling me for cocoa and tablets.....

[J.beazley]

thats not such a bad idea, could work well on the smaller scale boats.
could be worth a try with my 6 channel 3D copter

might make me fly it more often along side the boat until i can pilot it without a cord now that would be smart to watch.

Jay