Is the ufly-s a good starter?

[CapeCodHeli]

Hey pilots, I am doing prelim research on which heli to buy as my first, but I hear that going from an fixed pitch to a collective pitch is not the best step, 'cause you'll have to unlearn bad habits? Is that true?

The ufly-s is my top choice by far but I wanted to get some input from more experienced pilots...

Thanx in advance for your input.

Deryk

PS. I saw (and loved) the frankenufly and love the ideas - I'm definitely going to do the battery upgrade - but what other upgrades can I do on it and is it even worth it?

DAMN! So many questions I don't even realize yet.

[captrobb]

Welcome CapeCod,
I think you may find that this Ufly thread si pretty dead as far as responses...however there is some great information in these old posts!

I have a highly modified UflyS that I am still learning on as well.

I think, IMHO, that it is a great bird. The upgrades and tweaks I have done, I will share with you and hopefully save you some grief!

First is the blades. Stock blades break CONSTANTLY!! After much trial and error, I wound up at the HoneyBeeFP V2 blades from Extreme with carbon and fiber reinforcement. They are a nice, light blade that take a definate whoopin'! They do need to be ever so slightly reduced at the root to fit properly but that is as simple as 10 seconds each with some emory cloth.

Second was skid gear. I went with the Super skids 400 series for mine as it give a significantly larger footprint and WAY more forgiveness for rough landings. It also raised the tail about 5mm higher which was nice for flying in short grass fields and keeping the tail rotor friend chewing up the tail shaft gear!

The last upgrade was a Turbo Ace 354 motor. A lot more power to help offset the increased weight and a direct plug and play addition without having to mess with the ESC or anything.

Not very expensive for those upgrades. HBFP blades are $10, skids were $14 (with UflyS adapter) motor was $25 and this thing is now a BEAST!

As far as tweaks, once I figured out how to hover (lots of sim time) I figured out what was hindering me in real life. I turned the ele/ail expo to none, turned to gyro to 50% rudder and off for elevator and aileron and turned to bal on/off to off. That final tweak made a world of difference! I went from hovering in my living room and being super cautious because it would still swing a good amount to hovering at a dead stand still with the flip of that balance switch!

As of right now, I am working on my forward flight with the same bird and tweaking my other 3 hover orientations. I have gotten pretty good at using tail-in as my safety net rather than just dropping the throttle which I was told (and am finding to be true) would help me when I'm in forward flight.

I just ordered a 450 pro that should be here on Friday, but I think it will probably sit and only be setup until spring when I am more comfortable with all of the flight aspects needed!

The UflyS is a stout little bird when setup and does really well as far as I am concerned. I have no regrets in picking it up as my first heli and would venture to say, neither will you!

[CapeCodHeli]

Thanks for the response Robb, I just haven't fully figured out how to use this particular forum quite yet, and just found this thread from a long time ago. Anyway, thanks for the great info. I've progressed and am probably going to get the mPCx and learn indoors for now...

Deryk

[brettskermetzger]

Originally Posted by captrobb

First is the blades. Stock blades break CONSTANTLY!! After much trial and error, I wound up at the HoneyBeeFP V2 blades from Extreme with carbon and fiber reinforcement. They are a nice, light blade that take a definate whoopin'! They do need to be ever so slightly reduced at the root to fit properly but that is as simple as 10 seconds each with some emory cloth.

Second was skid gear. I went with the Super skids 400 series for mine as it give a significantly larger footprint and WAY more forgiveness for rough landings. It also raised the tail about 5mm higher which was nice for flying in short grass fields and keeping the tail rotor friend chewing up the tail shaft gear!

The last upgrade was a Turbo Ace 354 motor. A lot more power to help offset the increased weight and a direct plug and play addition without having to mess with the ESC or anything.

Not very expensive for those upgrades. HBFP blades are $10, skids were $14 (with UflyS adapter) motor was $25 and this thing is now a BEAST!

As far as tweaks, once I figured out how to hover (lots of sim time) I figured out what was hindering me in real life. I turned the ele/ail expo to none, turned to gyro to 50% rudder and off for elevator and aileron and turned to bal on/off to off. That final tweak made a world of difference! I went from hovering in my living room and being super cautious because it would still swing a good amount to hovering at a dead stand still with the flip of that balance switch!

As of right now, I am working on my forward flight with the same bird and tweaking my other 3 hover orientations. I have gotten pretty good at using tail-in as my safety net rather than just dropping the throttle which I was told (and am finding to be true) would help me when I'm in forward flight.

I just ordered a 450 pro that should be here on Friday, but I think it will probably sit and only be setup until spring when I am more comfortable with all of the flight aspects needed!

The UflyS is a stout little bird when setup and does really well as far as I am concerned. I have no regrets in picking it up as my first heli and would venture to say, neither will you!

I must say after reading this post it made a world of a difference in my experience with the ufly.

It was my first FP heli and i'm not experience by any means but I know I could fly better than I was...after reading your RX set up it was a totally different heli and i'm thankful for your input...it's given me a new found love in this heli again...I thought it was junk but now i'm in love again...

I just wanted to say thanks and i'm currently ordering those upgrades you have mentioned!!