[mr_w]

I am interested in heli frame recommendations, easiest for me would be some sort of kit from china (aliexpress, banggood), but I have 0 experience with heli hardware and would like to avoid ordering something that doesn't have all the hardware and then have to wait another 3wks. Any shopping lists around?

Ideally, I'd like to have something not too big (not too dangerous), but bigger than Super CP from Walkera or WLtoys 911 and be CP type. Not sure about tail setup either.. What to look for, what to watch about.

Oh I did not mention that I already have plenty of flight controllers, escs, receivers, fpv gear and taranis x9d on disposal. So just the heli specific hardware is what I need.

Thanks.

[daveapplemotors]

250 size comes to mind because I have two of them running LP controllers. And my Blade 180cfx flies really well but if I have tail control troubles, like some other people complain about, I might try one.

That being said, what level of danger can you tolerate? My hot rod Mcpx with HP06 main motor could cut me up and it sounds like a blender on puree at 7,000 rpm. My 250s seem HUGE and scary because I fly pretty close-in. I can't let anything get too far away with my 67 year old eyeballs. Fly with respect. 

*my HK250 GT kits have: Chinese weights and double bearings in the tail, Tarot FBL heads, CC25 ESCs, 4200KV motors (3S), Hitek HS5055MG or HS65MG cyclic servos, Turnigy S308G HV or Inolab D202HB on the tail. Everything else is HK. AUW is 320 grams with Lipo.

[TheOtherCliff]

I believe that whatever you get, you should get it flying before adding an FC.  Just a few seconds, to know that it is flyable and that you have the hardware set up fairly well.  Make sure that your main rotor RPM is correct and set to the recommended value.

Get some "stick and wiffle ball X" training gear.

You should be able to get it light on the skids and slide around on a smooth cement floor a little (with a little bit of air) without damaging it.  Getting it to that point will teach you a lot, and make you understand the FC setup better.

If you haven't already:  First training should be on a sim.  Crashes don't cost anything.  Next, get where you can fly a quadcopter.  A good standard quad flies a lot like a heli (other than inverted) and is cheap and easy to fix.

[karla]

Maybe this thread interest you:
https://forum.librepilot.org/index.php?topic=2842.msg19800#msg19800
I think you will find both a 250 and a 450 size build details, using 'odd' parts.
Also
http://www.banggood.com/CopterX-CX-250SE-Flybarless-Kit-CX250SEFBL-KIT-p-938172.html

Personally I would go for the best quality frame I could find since a helicopter is very prone to vibrations and has zero forgiveness if the many rotating parts don't fit precisely and tightly together. I did spend lots of time in the beginning fine tuning but with low quality parts it does not matter.

[TheOtherCliff]

Oh, it's you!

You have flown before. 

[mr_w]

Thanks everyone for suggestions. I think I will go with this CopterX CX250SE, so the shopping list will actually be short one: kit, servos and main motor. The rest I hope I already have.

@cliff, yeah, it's me ;-)

[mr_w]

One thing I did not think about - batteries. What kind of battery is good for 250 heli size?

Smallest ones I've got are 3S 1800mah graphene from HK. That is some 188g of battery.

[TheOtherCliff]

That sounds too big and the first link Google gave me said about 850-900 was good.  I assume the motor/ESC is rated for 3s.  That seems common for that size.

That said, I would fly it with the 1800 and see if you can live with half the flight time of the 1800 before ordering 900's. 

[daveapplemotors]

I use 3S 850mah and 1000mah Nanotechs. You must relocate canopy holes a little to get the 1000mah batteries to fit.

[mr_w]

I have ordered the kit and GARTT 3600KV 210W motor, and went to look for servos, but figured out HS5055MG and HS65MG came out with quite a surprise $35 a pop. Huh. I guess these are really great servos, but wasn't expecting them to cost all that much?

[karla]

I think 35 usd seem a bit high,
compare Align's own servo fitting 250 and 450 size is around 25$.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Align-Trex-250-450-Pro-DFC-Sport-HSD42601-Servo-DS426M-Up-Grade-from-DS425M-/172503869455
For LiPo I only use 3S 1000 mAh at 25C, they will give you around 10 min fly time.

[mr_w]

So I've ordered Align DS426M for tail ($24) and Emax ES09MD for swash ($8.99 each). Well, that fit my budget. Hopefully it wasn't all that bad choice.

Now I put this thread on hold for 2-3 weeks until everything is here

[daveapplemotors]

The beauty of LP is that any tail servo can be tuned to lock the tail in. I hope your whole tail set-up works well for you without having to spend the money on Chinese weights and double bearings in the tail grips. 

[mr_w]

It seems that everything has arrived. Kit, servos, motor.
There is also "Revo Mini" for FC, one frsky battery voltage sensor, littlebee 20A esc, and I'll throw in one 5V regulator too.



The only thing that I thought I have but I do not actually have is frsky receiver. I have other options too - I can use oplink to pair with openlrs tx module or the actual openlrs rx which is bigger than oplm.. or spektrum sat with another TX.. but well, the most important thing now is to allocate some time to build it