ECO 8 -VS- Piccolo for a Beginner

[BDiamond]

Hi Everyone,

I'm debating between a Piccolo or and ECO 8 for my first venture into R/C helicopters. Any thoughts on which one would be better for a complete novice?

Thanks!
Bill

[dwarf]

Eco-8, don't think about the Piccolo !!!!

[W Cole]

The Piccolo is much more durable! Its the heli I learned on!

William Cole
matchpoint@home.com

[Tooly]

i got the ECO8 as my first heli (i am a novice).
i chose it because:

1) i can use the 8cell packs for my other electric planes

2) more heli for the money (the Piccolo kit sells for 450$ bucks here in Sydney! http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubb/images/icons/frown.gif )

3) better training for when i move on to biger machines (autorotations and that stuff)

4) it had a mechanical mixer that allowed a cheapy 4ch radio to be used (tho i ended up getting a computer tx.. i think piccolo flies on cheap tx too?)

The Piccolo is really cute & novel. i can see why everyone would love to have one. You'd get it purely for the novelty of flying indoors. I fly the ECO8 in the backyard almost everyday, but still the weather stops me sometimes. This is when having a piccolo would be really cool!

Guess i will havto get a piccolo too.

[Richard Fry]

I've got both..!

The ECO came first, but took a real long time to get the right combination of cells / motor / pinion (I'm talking months..!).

The Piccolo came in May, haven't had a day gone bye without flying it - it's perfect for learning with. Its pretty indestructable and when it does break, all you have to do is get hold of the Cyano and within a charge of the batteries, its back in the air again.

Both heli's have their advantages / disadvantages. If you haven't got a radio that can handle 90 degrees swash mixing, then go for the piccolo definately. When adding up all the cost, take into account that when you buy the piccolo kit, you get all you need in the box to fly it (excluding the Tx and charger) whereas if you go for the ECO you will need four micro servos, a gyro, an ESC, a receiver, a motor, and at least one set of batteries (people generally have more success with 10 cell combinations).

Hope you are happy with your choice

Richard

[BDiamond]

Thanks everyone! I decided to go with a Robin 280. I'll most likely be buying an ECO 8 as well, but not sure if it's in the budget just now..

I'll keep evryone updated on my impressions with the Robin.

Regards,
Bill