First time 3D flier here....First 3D build, Work in Progress w/Pics

[thedood]

Im sure it obvious but im new here to the forums and also with the 3D heli's. I've have been flying some micro helicopters, the basic two channel ones and felt it necessary to leap ahead to the next level. I landed on the GAUI Hurricane 200 but misread everything. I though it was 90% ready to fly meaning it contained all the necessary parts to fly however, big surprise to me, Nope.

Anyway, im here on the forums hoping everyone can share their knowledge with me as i attempted buy parts and build this heli. Its a little over my head and i was hesitant to send it back to the company but im not one to give up on something so easily so i figured i would keep it and make a project out of it.

Im sure im breaking a few forums rules by now reading something an i apologize but please bare with me.

A list of the parts i already have are the battery and 4 servos ( i know i only need 3).

As for the rest i need:

1) 6 channel ( or more) CCPM Capable Transmitter

2) Micro Receiver 6 channel or more

3) Gyro (GAUI recommends GU210)



For my first question for now is can i buy any old 6 channel transmitter (CCPM capable) and any kind of receiver? Whats the delio?

[thedood]

for example would this transmitter for the Gaui Hurricane 200? http://www.xheli.com/exceed-rc-6-ch-2-4ghz-transmitter-receiver.html

[RC Dbutz]

Wow, so much to comment on here.

So this is your first heli, aside from the cheap 2 channel ones that fall apart in a week?  If so, I'd recommend you purchase a nice transmitter (I have a spectrum Dx7 and it works great for me) and a simulator (also prefer Phoenix, which works with the Dx7 transmitter).  If you are dedicated to learning how to fly RC helicopters, be ready to invest some serious time and money.  If you don't have it, this may become frustrating to you.  Warning: these things are very fun and addictive, and if you get hooked, you'll be spending a lot of $$ on parts because even the best ones crash.

The cheapest way to start out for someone who wants to be a good pilot is to just spend lots and lots of time on the simulator, at least 30 minutes a day, or more if you are dedicated.  Next, read around the boards and learn as much as you can.  Most questions you'll have were probably addressed at some point, but it also never hurts to ask.  Better yet, find someone locally who can help you out and get you through a few flying lessons (not an option that everyone has).  Never get ahead of yourself and your skills, or you will pay for it one way or another.

If you have a bunch of $$ to burn, go buy a 4 channel coaxial heli to get an idea of how the controls work.  Once you are comfortable you can move up to a small and cheap FP or CP heli, which will be a big challenge.  They are difficult to hover and you will do a lot of scooting around, but once you get the hang of that hover, you are hooked.  I hear the new Blade SR will be a great one to start single rotor flying.

Now, there are a few people (like Elkmaster) who prefer to skip all of those steps and just start out on a larger heli.  I would not recommend this, as even though they are more stable and give more indication of their intent, they can cause some serious injury or even death if you're not in control.  I think that putting an inexperienced pilot behind a large heli is one of the stupidest things you can do.  Elk is special, he had nothing but free time and he spent all of it researching helis and how they work, and has even had some real life experience in the aviation field.  (we're also not so sure about the inbreeding, but that's another story - messin' with ya Randy )  He did a great deal of research and put in sim time before he tried to fly any of those big ones.  I think he may have tried a 450 early on and just made him realize how difficult it can be.  Perhaps he can comment on the specifics.

If you are only interested in getting that GAUI 200 heli working, you can get yourself the recommended bare minimum parts and go and try, but that little thing is going to be a handful.  I would recommend getting the Dx7 Transmitter with a AR6110e (search online for them).  This transmitter can hold memory for up to 20 models, for when you get hooked and start buying more RC flying toys.  If you later decide you don't like the hobby, they also have some resale value because they are commonly used.  As for the battery, you'd probably need something with 3-cells, 11.1 Volts, around 800 mAH and any discharge rate (I usually go 25C to 30C).  Don't forget a good charger, and don't go cheap on this, you want a good Li-Po charger balancer that will help prevent your house from burning down (Li-Po batteries can be a huge fire risk if not tended to properly).  You would also be smart to buy some spare parts, because you're going to crash.  Usually a good idea to keep some spare: main gears, main shafts, feathering shafts, skids, linkages and blades.  Of course, after any crash, you're likely to need something you don't have.

For a gyro, you can never go wrong with a GP750.  I've never used the GU210, so maybe someone else here can comment, but I've got the GP750 on my Trex 250 (similar to the Guai 200 in size) and it holds solid.

Finally...PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and LEARN ALL ABOUT SAFETY!!!

[RC Dbutz]

The Tx and Rx package you linked to there would work as the bare minimum.

That one requires you to do all of the programming on the PC, which is a pain in my experience, and you can only use it on 1 model at a time.  If you really got into the hobby, you'd probably upgrade down the road and put this one in the corner (as you're not likely to find someone to buy it at a good price).

Again, if you buy this package and try flying the heli without any kind of practice, you're likely to become very frustrated.

If you look around and check other non-biased heli sites, you can probably find some really nice, barely used, equipment at a really good price.

[thedood]

for example would this transmitter for the Gaui Hurricane 200? http://www.xheli.com/exceed-rc-6-ch-2-4ghz-transmitter-receiver.html

[RC Dbutz]

for example would this transmitter for the Gaui Hurricane 200? http://www.xheli.com/exceed-rc-6-ch-2-4ghz-transmitter-receiver.html

OK, then, short answer...Yes, it would work.

[thedood]

wow lots of info thanks a lot guys. as for RC Dbutz  lol,  i have a couple micro ones from brookstone which was very nice and also has a Chinook one as well. i have them both still, but flying only forward and spinning in circles only gets me so far. i would have gotten a little less advanced but alas i didnt read the fine print so i guess im going from a moped to a aston martin i guess.


im going to post pics of my progress so everyone can see how everything looks and critique me as i go.

for the servos, the instructions were't clear as to how many but i think i need 4 servos for the Gaui Hurricane 200.

These are the servos i ordered >> http://www.xheli.com/bms306bbservo.html

This is the battery i ordered >> https://www.readyheli.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=926080

hopefully this will suffice.

also please keep in mind i dont need anything super expensive or fancy. im going to take this thing slow once i start flying it. probably hover around and what not. then once i get used to it ill order the good stuff.

[mckrackin]

This will be interesting.lol...
It takes weeks just to learn to hover a 6ch heli.
Months to get it to move in forward flight.
Hundreds of dollars in crash repairs.

Also,the smaller the heli,the less stable it is.
The Gaui 200 will be one of the hardest to learn with in the world.

There are three servos for the cyclic and one servo for the rudder.

[RC Dbutz]

You will need all 4 servos, 3 of them for cyclic and 1 for your tail.  Generally, you want a little more torque on the cyclic and more speed on the tail.  You'll find that servos will have trade-offs between cost, speed and torque.  For starting out, those ones should work for you, but I don't have any experience with them.

Any heli under 4 channels is not going to teach you anything about controlling this 6-channel heli, except throttle control maybe.

The battery looks good.  The 7.4 V is probably better for a noob, but I like the 11.1 V setup, much better headspeed.

A tough part for a noob is knowing that you have the setup right.  If your heli is set up wrong, you won't even know.  It's even harder to learn on a heli that isn't even set-up correctly.

There's a nice little site called Helifreak and a guy in there named Finless Bob, who does some amazing build videos.  He even has a build of the Gaui 200, just get in there and search.  I'll try a link here, but I don't think RCdiscuss will let me: http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=109076

or just type "/showthread.php?t=109076" after you get your dubya, dubya, dubya, dot, heli(freak), dot, calm.  Or look in google.  These build videos are SOOOO helpful.

 

[RC Dbutz]

I hear ya Ern, but I didn't listen much when I was told how difficult these things are either.  Sometimes you just gotta learn through experience.  Of course, if thedood can get the Guai 200 in a hover without putting in any sim time, I will be thoroughly amazed. 

[thedood]

i think im in the same boat as Elkmaster. i have a lot of time on my hands and im too stubborn to work my way up to this (keep in mind i had planned working up to a good heli i accidently got this Hurricane 200).

i bought 4 of those same servos. i hope thats ok. if now then i'll hear about form one of you guys....


heres what i got so far, its nothing special just the heli and a little bag of things that you guys are going to help me with   ----->

[RC Dbutz]

Those servos appear to be the recommendation on the site, so I think you'll be good to go with them dood.  It's not like you'll be doing flips any time soon, so they should do just fine for learning.

You're going to have to work your way up to flying one way or another.  If you expect it to happen over night then you'll be disappointed.  If you've got lots of time on your hands and you're dedicated, then work on building that heli and put it on the shelf for a while so you can practice on some sort of simulator and research.

If you build it and throw caution into the wind and go fly it, then it will still end up on the shelf, but broken while you wait for new parts to arrive.  Not being negative, just realistic.  That little heli that you have would probably be one of the toughest ones to start on, but once you can get it flying, you can probably do the same with any other heli.

Also never hurts to search online for Radd's rotary school of flight, a good place to start.

[thedood]

Those servos appear to be the recommendation on the site, so I think you'll be good to go with them dood.  It's not like you'll be doing flips any time soon, so they should do just fine for learning.

You're going to have to work your way up to flying one way or another.  If you expect it to happen over night then you'll be disappointed.  If you've got lots of time on your hands and you're dedicated, then work on building that heli and put it on the shelf for a while so you can practice on some sort of simulator and research.

If you build it and throw caution into the wind and go fly it, then it will still end up on the shelf, but broken while you wait for new parts to arrive.  Not being negative, just realistic.  That little heli that you have would probably be one of the toughest ones to start on, but once you can get it flying, you can probably do the same with any other heli.

Also never hurts to search online for Radd's rotary school of flight, a good place to start.

im sucking in all your info dbutz. and your exactly right, im not planning on doing flips. right now i have the battery, the transmitter i have linked and the 4 servos on their way here. ill post up some pics of my progress when i get them in.

thanks for following along.

[RC Dbutz]

No worries man.  In the mean time, did you get a simulator?

Also, read around and search for some safety information on the Li-Po batteries and setup sequences.  For example, you always want to turn the transmitter on before the receiver and make sure the throttle stick is down and it's not is 3D/Idle-up/stunt mode.  Same thing when turning it off, but in reverse...turn the receiver off, then the transmitter.  The spinning rotors can really hurt when you get whacked with em, take my word for it.

[dditch66]

"first time 3D flier"? or do you mean "first CP Heli"?

200 will be a bit of a squirrel outdoors in any wind.
High headspeed and the largest flybar weights it comes with.
Here is some info on training:
http://www.mycoolheli.com/HeliTraining.html

If the 200 is anything like my EP100, there's a bit of slop in the tail so make sure you have good gyro and fast tail servo.
Other info that may have been helpful before you made the EP200 purchase.
http://www.mycoolheli.com/FAQ/BeginnerHelicopter.html

You may consider NOT learning on the 200 and switching to something else, or just holding onto the 200 till later.
When you add up crash parts, you may spend more than the cost of the 200 just getting to learning the basics.