Is it better to focus on just one heli?

[Harbormaster]

Somewhere recently (maybe here) I read some tips from Bert Kammerer for improving your flying, and one of them was to focus on flying just one heli so you really learn it.

I'm wondering what other people think of that advice. (Bert's tips have been solid for me so far.) I fly five different helis, and enjoy the variety (and the mCPx and 250 are the only ones I can fly in the neighborhood--otherwise I have to drive out of town), but I think I can see Bert's point: If I really focused on just one of them--say my 500--I wouldn't be constantly shifting the flight dynamics and all that in my head and with only one set of variables to deal with maybe I could focus more on technique. Or something... Dunno.

Your thoughts?

[FailureToFly]

I personally agree and have followed the philosophy of flying limited amounts of helis (I read this early on). I couldn't/wouldn't waste my money buying 15 helis and I couldn't honestly be bothered having that many anyway!

Ultimately if your helis fly 'sort of' similarly then that should be fine and you won't be transitioning moves to any huge degree.

But...once you get to a certain level of flying, most moves will work similarly as long as the helis have enough power and performance. You will do double piro flips much more easily on a 700 and you will flip about the sky much more quickly and with more agility on a 450. You will just adjust as you fly them.

Ultimately if you are doing comps, a couple of identical 700's would clearly be best but that is obviously an expensive path to tread to plan to progress using such large helis!

[Russell Harding]

YES!

You will spend a lot more time flying, and less time tinkering if you really understand your machine. You will also learn more when you aren't babying your new machine all the time. You will have more money for crash parts, rather than new helicopters.

Two identical models (or nearly) will help you understand setup (why one flys differently and how to compare setups) and will keep you airborne after crashes or parts failures.

However, Different helis are appropriate for different things:

Micros: Flying in the yard. Can't beat flying a quick 3-5 batteries in the yard in 30 minutes. I used a 130x for this and it taught me a TON.

Park Flyers (250-450): Flying nearby if you have an empty lot or park. They are cheap to crash and charge.

Large helicopters: If you are still dumb thumbing or learning basics (inverted, circuits, funnels, basic piro moves), WAIT on these. They are too big, expensive, intimidating, and dangerous. Get a 550 if you must and you can get servos and batteries you can use on your 700 later if you KNOW you will go that route. Large helis are great, but I waited until I was flying advanced 3D to get one so I fly with confidence and put on a good show with it.

If you are rich or can fly large helis frequently close by, feel free to focus on those, but yes, limiting yourself is helpful.

Folks that aren't big on the sim or aren't improving quickly need something to take up their time instead of flying and improving... so they turn to upgrading, needless tinkering, and buying new helicopters.

[FailureToFly]

Harsh but very true.

If you want to get good quickly (aren't up to the more advanced piro moves) and cheaply, equip yourself with a couple of reliable heli's like a 450 and 550 and hit the sim every day.

Ultimately, the sim is the key in regards to skill progression.

Originally Posted by Code3Medic

Folks that aren't big on the sim or aren't improving quickly need something to take up their time instead of flying and improving... so they turn to upgrading, needless tinkering, and buying new helicopters.

[jmtyndall]

This is an interesting train of though. My old hobby was firearms. The old guys, the guys that would bag elk at long yardages would always tell you, "beware the man with but one gun." Same should apply here. As I've moved beyond basic flight, the big helis are far more capable. I find the micros teaching me bad habits (pop before a flip anyone?) and I would have more money to fix big helis if I didn't have micros. Lately, I'm toying with the idea of selling all my micros except a 130x. It can be my yard flier, then I have a couple 450s (a 325 and a 360mm) and a 600 for the field

[blade450]

Yes, it's better to learn with just one helicopter.
The advantage is that your helicopter always flies the same, so you don't need to adjust to a new machine. It's worth a lot of your rudder speed is always the same, your collective stops always feel the same and your cyclic always feels the same. You can fully focus on learning a new move, because the machine is like an extra part of your body.

Plus, more machines means more maintenance, more setting up, and you have a chance to crash multiple machines. In short, it probably means less focused practice, and more working on helicopters.

Oh, and one of the other tips of Bert Kammerer that really helped me a lot, is dedicating flights to practicing one single move. Preferably multiple flights after each other. It doesn't show effect immediately, but the next time on the field, you'll notice a difference.

[Harbormaster]

Originally Posted by blade450

Oh, and one of the other tips of Bert Kammerer that really helped me a lot, is dedicating flights to practicing one single move.

Yeah, that sounds like a good one too.

[gitbse]

I'm going to play devils advocate and disagree with this one.

On this basis...
If you are practicing for high level competition flying, an are looking to perfect your flying, or a routine, then yes. One machine is predictable, and will yield consistent results. That is what competition flying is all about.


However, here's where I disagree. If you are learning, stick time is stick time, AND... flying different machines will allow you to learn different situations, will train different reactions, and force you to adapt to changing flight performance. It's similar to the flying planks and helis together argument. Adapting to different flying experiences will only make you better.
Are you training for a f3c or f3n competition? If yes, then stick with one machine. If no, different machines will only help.

My .02

[Harbormaster]

Originally Posted by gitbse

If you are practicing for high level competition flying, an are looking to perfect your flying, or a routine, then yes. One machine is predictable, and will yield consistent results. That is what competition flying is all about.

Yeah, that's a good point, and probably the perspective that Bert was speaking from--going for absolutely peak performance on one machine.

[dwelzel]

I'm kind of split on this one. I went through the micros up through 450 quickly because I was so excited to learn about the hobby, not because I could fly them. At each step I was more amazed at what the heli could do and my skills improved. I think you need to work up to a decent size (500ish) if you are going to stick with it. Smaller ones just don't fly well enough, imo.

These days I mainly stick with a G570 and a G770. They have similar flight characteristics so I don't have a problem moving between them. I run the 570 on 7s so i can get more flight time and use it for trying new moves and training smoother moves. The 770 is a 14s power house so that get used for more aggressive stuff.

Whether you settled on one or two, make sure they are high quality. For a while I had a Blade 550x and the 770. I never flew the 550 because it was terrible next to the 770. The 570 is so good I probably put more flight time on it these days.

One more thought.. for a period I kept some micros around to practice simple moves when I couldn't get to the field. For example.. inverted circuits were great to practices on micros.

[Harbormaster]

Originally Posted by dwelzel

One more thought.. for a period I kept some micros around to practice simple moves when I couldn't get to the field. For example.. inverted circuits were great to practices on micros.

Yeah, an mCPx is like an extension of the sim--a no danger, no cost test bed. (Not much good for anything that requires any power though--maybe I should upgrade to the brushless version...)

[Russell Harding]

For some things (like the inverted circuits mentioned), I find them harder to do on a micro.

If you've seen some of these mind blowing expert micro videos on youtube, try to find if the uploader has vids of big helicopters... Usually they are extremely expert flyers that can also fly a micro well. Anything that stresses the tail is tougher on a micro than a bigger heli.

This doesn't mean they aren't good for practice, but the effect is different.

[jmtyndall]

Originally Posted by Code3Medic

For some things (like the inverted circuits mentioned), I find them harder to do on a micro.

If you've seen some of these mind blowing expert micro videos on youtube, try to find if the uploader has vids of big helicopters... Usually they are extremely expert flyers that can also fly a micro well. Anything that stresses the tail is tougher on a micro than a bigger heli.

This doesn't mean they aren't good for practice, but the effect is different.

This is spot on. My perspective is starting to change. I used to think the micros were for learning new tricks, but you have to be so quick and precise, its hard to learn tricks on. Their fast, and they get small quick, so they're easy to lose trying to do big air tricks

But I'll be keeping at least one micro around so I can fly in the yard

[Drivelayer]

Originally Posted by jmtyndall

But I'll be keeping at least one micro around so I can fly in the yard

Or stick with a big heli and get a bigger yard.

[EKron]

Originally Posted by gitbse

I'm going to play devils advocate and disagree with this one... If you are learning, stick time is stick time, AND... flying different machines will allow you to learn different situations, will train different reactions, and force you to adapt to changing flight performance. It's similar to the flying planks and helis together argument. Adapting to different flying experiences will only make you better.
Are you training for a f3c or f3n competition? If yes, then stick with one machine. If no, different machines will only help.

My .02

I tend to agree with this. Until I start flying my X2 again, I have four main helis: two 450's - one with a flybar and one without and two 500's - one flybarred and one not. I really like the unique way each one flys and think overall it broadens my skills.

Unless you have two identical helis to practice on focusing on only one might be hard because inevitably, a crash is gonna happen.

2¢

--Elisabeth

[Harbormaster]

Originally Posted by EKron

2¢

--Elisabeth

Your .02 was what I was askin' for. Thanks!

[Russell Harding]

Just got my twins (6S mini P)flying this week! Been a long time coming. Back to back flights without waiting to cool! 12 flights yesterday at the empty field 5 minutes from my house yesterday in 2 30 minute sessions!