This fall, I picked up a HobbyZone ultra-micro Champ to try out at my club's winter indoor flying sessions. It was a ball, so I later purchased the ParkZone ultra-micro T-28. Both are excellent flyers that I think offer tremendous fun for the money.
They both came with unique chargers that could operate using AA batteries, but I purchased an optional A/C adapter to fit them. I saw that Horizon offered another charger that would charge four of the ultra-micros' little
1S LiPos at once, and I decided it would be very handy.But it cost $39.95, and another A/C adapter for it would be an additional $14.95... about $55 total. Hmm.... I thought that was kind of steep. I could just buy a six-place parallel charging adapter for my iCharger 106B for ten or fifteen bucks. While doing some product searching on Horizon's website, I found that the four-port charger and A/C adapter I was interested in were included with the Blade mSR ultra-micro helicopter. The bind-and-fly version of that little heli was $99, and all the stuff was fitted into a nice reusable transport box like the ultra-micro airplanes come in (except more compact!)... that would be a lot more convenient than lugging around my iCharger, the heavy power supply, and charging cables. Hmm....
While I was considering all this, a friend's new neighbor told me he had purchased a top-of-the-line Align T-REX 450SE V2 helicopter a few years back with all the trimmings, including the RealFlight G4.5 flight simulator and a Spektrum DX7 radio, and realized it required more time and commitment than he was willing to put into it. He told me he would GIVE me the whole set-up the next time he visited. (Which he did.) That clinched it; I ordered the Blade mSR.
The thing has its quirks, but I'm thinking that since I bought a Zagi electric flying wing when I first got into R/C, it may be the most fun for the buck I've ever enjoyed in this hobby! I always had a passing interest in R/C helis but never seriously considered one. But during the long Adirondack winters, I was always desperate for some indoor R/C action at home. I even tried a couple of micro indoor R/C cars one winter (Kyosho Mini-Zs). They didn't do much for me, but the little Blade mSR really scratches the itch!
It's challenging enough to keep me interested, while not nearly so difficult to learn as a collective pitch heli. It's a good "live" trainer to use in my progression toward the T-REX. I liked it so much I also picked up the slightly larger Blade 120sr, which is capable of outdoor use in the back yard, while still being plenty small enough to enjoy in the gymnasium during our winter indoor flying sessions (and only cost $20 more than the mSR).
I'll always be a fixed wing guy first, but the helis have captured my interest. I'm intrigued by the fine mechanical workings and technology of the T-REX and have hovered it a few times, but I have a lot of hours to go on the simulator before I can comfortably fly it. In the mean time, the micro helis will keep me smiling!
Good flying, desmobob