I got this little Hero RC H911 4 channel fixed pitch heli from my brother in law for Christmas and all I can say is that for less then $40 this is probably the best 3D trainer going. Been flying it like crazy in the house and the similarities to harrier flight are uncanny (sans wing rock). I've never been so comfortable on the rudder before. being fixed pitch you have to use throttle to control altitude, elevator for forward/backward motion and rudder to steer.....sound familiar? It is torture for me to use the sim but this gets my heart beating and I can't wait for the batts to charge. If any of you are like me: in the beginning stages of High Alpha learning, don't like using sims and don't have a lot of free time or cash give a 4 channel fixed pitch heli a try. They are cheap and FUN!!

Meant to include a pic:

If you think that is good, you should try non fixed pitch full collective RC heli. It will really make you work and improve your rudder control. I think learning to fly heli's was the single best tool that helped improve all my plane skills. Flying a heli never gives you any rest on the sticks. The other part is setting up a RC heli will drastically improve your airplane setup as there is no fudge factor in heli's With all that said, I still love my planes.


Brian

I still have nightmares about attempting to learn to fly helis on a .40 glow engined fixed pitch MFA 500.

Originally Posted by bemeson

If you think that is good, you should try non fixed pitch full collective RC heli.
Brian

Baby steps

Brings back memories of my Cricket, fixed pitch, 20 nitro & NO gyro !! Lots of fun trying & tons of crashes !! It was amazing to see Bill Curtis put it between 2 cars with only a couple inches to spare on each side of the blades. That was over in Greenville Pa. at his store, late 70s & early 80s !
Thanks, John !!

I don't know about fixed pitch, as the first thing I EVER flew was a 6ch 450 electric collective pitch heli (not recommended, but kinda doable).
As I can't take my 50 sized nitro heli away with me when I'm out of town on work (hotels not to happy with a big old oily beast in their rooms - let along my heli ), I got one of these ex HobbyKing.
The batteries are like $3/each, and in my opinion, no 50gram micro heli should ever handle a 10 knot cross wind, but this one does! And with parts in the cents to single dollar ranges if you ever manage to actually break the thing, it's a cheep fix too! (seriously, some of the hits and bounces this thing can take while still come back for more, are nothing less than unreal!)
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...de_2_RTF_.html

I also have a Nano CP X collective pitch that I've been learning on but to be honest for 3D fixed wing training, the fixed pitch is more realistic to me. The collective just adds a different feel. I got to fly my profile this past weekend for the first time since playing with the little hero RC heli and the improvement was noticeable right off the bat. The left stick is becoming more and more comfortable. Unfortunately the heli needs a little repair as I strafed just a little too close to my lab mix and she couldn't help herself. Three dogs in the house adds a whole new dimension to flying