Indulge me one more time

[lrogers]

I have finally finished the Freya. I had hoped to get some in-flight shots today, but it looks like all that weather that went Through Texas yesterday is coming through here today.
The first picture is of the completed Freya, the second gives a bit of a size comparision between the Sceadu and the Freya and the third is of the proud "daddy and his babies".

[gmack5]

Pretty "birds"!

Looks like now you have two expensive hobbies.

As long as "moma" doesn't object, you should be OK.

Just remember "If moma isn't happy, nobody's happy!"

[just4funsies]

That's one big sucker... You'll have to build the next one with a seat for yourself!

[Warren]

Cool! I'll bet you have to be real smooooth on the controls. Looking forward to seeing it airborne.

[Wood_workur]

Looks really nice.

[Scottydont]

Nice looking rig Larry! I hope you have mastered the computer flight sim before you get that beauty out in the wild blue yonder. We have a large county park called Marymoor Park that has a section reserved for RC enthusiasts. I have been wanting to do some RC stuff for a long time.

[bigstick509]

Awesome

[lrogers]

Thanks guys! HOPEFULLY, I will get a test flight in tomorrow after work.
Scott, I hate to say it, but today on the sim, 5 out of 6 flights ended up as lawn darts! Of course, I "fly" the sim a lot harder than I do the real ones!

[Warren]

Well? Is it still aerodynamic? Did we have lift off? Will there be pictures? Huh? Huh? I'm dying to find out how the maiden voyage went. Extremely well, I hope.

[lrogers]

The short story, no flight yet. The long story:
Sunday, finished the rest of the adjustments/programing. Watched it rain!
Monday, took it to work to show off a bit. Everyone was pretty impressed and asked lot's of questions. One was, how do you start it? I tell them, "well, the starter shaft goes into a coupling here". They say, "what coupling?" I point at the top of the canopy and say right here, oh crap!"
When I test fit the canopy, I checked for interference with the control rods (had a problem there with my Sceadu), but never even thought to check for interference with the starter coupling. Came home Monday and did minor surgury and then watched as thunder storms rolled across the area. Today, same thing, storms, rain and wind. Tomorrow????????????
Rest assured, there will be flight report with pictures, or an obituary notice for when LOML kills me for wiping out about $2,000 due to pilot error.

[crokett]

for when LOML kills me for wiping out about $2,000 due to pilot error.

Good Googily Moogily! You found a hobby more expensive than woodworking that uses less stuff! $2000.00? And here I was thinking that looked pretty cool and I might want to try it myself.

Nice looking copter though.

[Warren]

Ditto what David said. I presume that there are less expensive models for those wanting to test the waters. $2,000.00 . . . I was thinking half that, at most. You're a braver man than me.

[lrogers]

Yeah, there are less expensive ways to play. Now, the Freya is a 60-90 class and they are close to the top of the food chain. Also, I have a few up-grades, some "bling" and some of the more expensive servos. Actually, the helicopter is the less expensive part of the equation, it's the electronic that cost the big bucks.
Don't be fooled into trying one of the Micro electrics that sell for $200 complete with radio. These are VERY hard to fly and are are not for beginners DAMHIKT!
A good entry into this hobby can be made for under $1000. As a start, I would suggest this:
Radio - 8-9 channel, this will be the most expensive part. You can get by with a 6 channel, but you will outgrow it real quick. Spend the money here because you will use that radio for a long time. My radio has memory for 18 models and that can be increased!
A .30 class helo. Century's Hawk Pro is about $199 and is a capabile machine. The Raptor 30 and the Sceadu 30 are also good choices, but more expensive. For an engine, I'd recommend an OS .37. These are good engines and make a lot of power. You will need a gyro and the Futaba gy-401 with the 9254 hi-speed servo is a very good choice. You will also need a starter/battery/glow plug ingniter and a fuel pump. You can get this stuff for under $200. Most important, get help from an experienced pilot. A simulator is also a good investment. The money spent here will save a lot money when you start flying.
If any of you would like more detailed information/recommendations/places to shop, just drop me a PM or e-mail. Helo's are one of the more technical parts of the R/C hobby and it is SOOOO much easier if you have someone to guide you along.
I've been having a blast and I'm still rated as a beginner!

[crokett]

Actually, I'd have a lot more fun building them than flying them. I do some kite flying and several years ago found these kits:

http://www.bananajunctiontoys.com/ca...b86352421d0300

I had a lot more fun building the kits than flying. Especially that Ghost Clipper. I probably had 50hrs in building it. Believe it or not it really does fly but I was terrified of it crashing. It saw maybe 20 minutes of air time total when I had it.

[lrogers]

Those are cool David! The park here in Mobile where the USS Alabama is, Battleship Park, has a HUGE area where folks do lot of kite flying.
Lots of folks feel like you do, the build is the fun. Right now, hanging in the local Hobby Town, is a 1/3 scale Piper Cub (140" wingspan) that a guy built and is selling without ever having flown it. He did a beautiful job on the build.