So, an open book of new heli goodness!
Based on your key criteria above I'd recommend a Mikado Logo 700 Xxtreme.
The brand is one of the leaders, the heli is both strong & precise, they fly with a bit more disk loading than others with 713 blades but you sure can smack the heck out of them! Best of all they're durable, so wear & tear isn't an issue for 3D.
The downside is that the parts aren't cheap, especially if you were to crash.
It's a premium heli & it shows in all aspects.


Citizen #186

 

Thank you very much @mr_squiggle. I have checked out the mikado today on a website. But lets see what the others would suggest.

 

Hey this is good news @iggy Hard smak is lots of fun and great for adrenalin! Nothing better than smaking your heli to within an inch of its life. Do you have small and large helis? I normally thrash my smaller heli (highpowered goblin 380) and hone my tricks before using it on a larger heli. At the moment i use a goblin 700. I love the 380 goblin. For a larger heli the Mikado is good as @mr_squiggle recommends.

But sometimes as well it depends on what you want from your heli.
Do you want a all out smak monster where performance is more important than crash cost?
Would you like an economical smak machine that smaks well but comparatively cheap to repair?

So if you could rate a number from 1 to 10 on the following attributes:


How important is performance - power to weight (give a number from 1 .... 10 with 10 being very important)
How important is cost
How important is build complexity (ie some helis are more complicated to set up)
How important is looks
How important is availability
How important is weight
What is your preferred size


So based on the above we could recommend something. Remember you cant have it all (you cant have super smak machine for free) but we can best recommend different helis based on what you like.

 

This list of brands can be helpful to choose from:

 

I agree with Mr Squiggle.

They are super smooth helicopters, vibration free, their distributors have parts.

Mikado provide you with choice, so you can always get a cheaper fantastic plastic Mikado of around 600 mm you can't go wrong.

Here is why I recommend mikado from my own experience.

- I bought a logo 480 xxtreme super combo, first test flight turned into its first normal flight, as it flew out of the box perfect the first time. No tuning was needed. And doing a simple stall turn will give you plenty of blade fart pleasure.
- I had a logo 500 with 550 mm blades, smoothest most vibration free helicopter I ever had. Doing things like elevator and aileron tic toc's where easy for me, infact easier than with a Hirobo SDX 50 nitro.
- Mikado logo's have their geometry designed around the v-bar, and yes you can set your v-bar characteristcs to have a precise feel, I was able to do super smooth inverted circuits maintaining level and speed with a logo 500.
- You crash one of these things, and they will be as good as new when you put them back together.

So Mikado frame, v-bar.

However, I would also consider a SAB goblin. A lot of people fly them, there is generally a good reason why.

 

For me its a drive train and chasis that will take serious punishment without breaking. I have had issues in the past with the goblin 700v1 - - undetermined issue. And my minip was great until i put in a motor that was too much for it ( i sort of outgrew it). So for me I would rate a smak heli based on the following...

Robustness: A high powered motor and strong heli that will withstand torturous flying. Smak is one thing but a high speed piroflip/snapturn/snap out from high speed hurricane is something else. Now you might say - look how duncan boison flies - his heli must be bulletproof. Not necessarily. Its not about handling a hard flight just once or 10 times. Its about being able to handle hard smak flights hundreds of times. This is critical because to fly hard smak you need lots of flights. And having parts wear prematurely will usually lead to mechanical failure. Duncan helis would be serviced regularly - as with every heli in a competition.

Flying characteristics: Some helicopters just dont flip and roll as well as others. I like a heli that flips and rolls symmetrically. The balance of the heli, the weight are really important.

Performance: Yes, lots of it! You want a heli that will do what you want it to do. Its about what you want! For me i like lots of power. You can perform tricks quicker, you can pull out of bad situations quicker. But full on power is usually costly.

Looks: Subjective - its what you like

Ease of repair: Very important for me. I hate spending hours setting things up.. The complexity of helicopters has reduced significantly nowdays.

Cost: If I dont crash much and my heli is reliable then spending a bit more is not an issue for me. I would put reliability and simplicity of build above cost.

Thats my method for selecting a smak heli. So really @iggy what do you want out of your smak machine?

 

Hi man,

Thank you very much for your posts. It is lots of fun thats why living in Switzerland sucks - weather. So if somebody of you guys knows some bank directors near you let them know that I could come over work for them.

I dont care much about repair costs. Simplicity is the most important thing I would say because I hate setting up and looking for "reasons why something doesnt work". Build - Setup - Fly for long time.

Thanks god I never crashed one od my Aligns. I crashed a Blade years ago because I couldnt fly. Never been on the sim then and yeah. Must happen like that. Today it makes me laugh.

A Goblin 380 will be mine soon for trying out some tricks. Thats for sure.

But lets choose a big heli for me with following parameters 1-10:

Power to weight: 8
Cost: 5
Simplicity of construction: 9
Looks: 10
Availability: 11!!

The Size should be around 600-750.

Kind regards,

iggy

 

Oh I forgott to say:

The Mikado seems to be a great heli. But what about the JR Forza 700? Im in love with the look..

Or the Gob Urukay? Can we set up this model for smacking?

What about the Agile 7.2? Looks also very sexy..

Kind regards,

iggy

 

Mmm Switzerland... Beautiful scenery in the background while you fly!

There are so many options out there to try and set up the perfect rig and in all honestly I think it all comes down to personal preference.

My Synergy E7SE is a beautifully engineered heli that is tough as nails and is rock solid throughout the chasis. The Gobli 700 Comp is another great platform and there is lots of support on all of the forums because of its popularity. However, I think for simplicity, looks and possible availability in your area you probably can't go past the Compass Chronos. I think MTTEC in Germany would be your closest dealer.

 

As availability is important for you, here is my opinion.

I fly Hirobo and Mikado for that reason, availability. I live in Perth Western Australia, and the local hobby shop is the distributor of both brands. The shop has wall to wall parts of these brands. So Perth is a bit of a Mikado and Hirobo stronghold.

Your geographical location will make a big difference for spare parts support.

I am unfamiliar with the RC shops in Switzerland. It all depends if you want to buy locally, or are willing to pay for shipping from else where and have a 2 or so week wait for parts.

One thing to do, check around your local shops, and see what stock levels they keep of various brands, or shops your willing to get parts shipped in from. Because ultimately, no matter how well a particular brand is supported, if the shops your willing to buy from dont have stock, then the support is useless.

JR Forza.

I have not flown a JR, but I have seen them at the field and they are quality machines, JR have been around for along time, surely there are local distributors around europe or the U.K. for JR, if your willing to wait for parts shipping from a place like rcjapan.net you should have no problems. So if you like the look of the JR Forza, as its by JR, its worth going for.

Goblin Urukay

I have not flown this one, but a few people at my field fly SAB. They described them as a finely tuned race car. From what I have seen, the Urukay is the do it all machine, F3C, sports, 3D, infact I have really considered saving up for this one. But, if you are going to do smack, maybe its better just to get the Kyle Stacy edition, and it comes with the 3 blades.

Agile 7.2

I have not flown this one, but a few people at my field fly this one, including the 5.5. Impressive. One flies this one all day long smacking it all day long and does some ridiculous amounts of flights on it in one session. Another one crashed it and all he broke was link rods because its so solid.

 

Thank you very much @HungryHungryHippos. Now I will check out some flight and review videos of some models and of course the availability of spare parts in my place. I'll come back with a decision soon and than we could add some high quality electronics if you guys wish. Have a nice Sunday

 

Some good replys @HungryHungryHippos . I have been wracking my brains over this one. You know one heli which i like but have not flown is the chronos. I think it could be a great smak machine. May not have the look you are after but.... I think it will fly well.

So i will recommend

Chronos 700:
Nice head on the Chronos and a unique belt tensioning system

Goblin 570
With 12s these are hard to beat. Smak all day long, hard and fast. Can be expensive in a crash though.

TDR or BANSHEE
If you can afford it, but spare parts a problem. Fly very well however


For a smak machine you need great power to weight ratio. You also need controlled fast and symetrical flip and roll rates. In my opinion good electronics is a must.

I hope this helps. Once you decide on your model you need to consider the electronics...

 

The choices @smakmeharder has bought up are good for @iggy Goblins and TDR or Banshee, they are Italian or German, both next door to Switzerland, therefore parts would be a few days wait.

 

Thank you very much guys.

I have seen that the Mikados have a much bigger support in Switzerland then the Chronos.

Far more I dont want to be part of the Goblin community. I dont know why. Maybe Im just a person who is looking always for something unique that nobody has.

TDR and Banshee are again on a higher level that I could afford but just dont need to. Would you drive a Ferrari without insurance over a TX? Hahaha.. I wouldnt!

Therefore I decided for the 700 Logo XX and I need some setup suggestions in electronics.

I have seen that there is even a xx motor version for this model but Im not a freak in motors anyway. Know what KV means and what ESC I should probably choose but I cant tell the difference between two high end engines.

So please let me know what motor, servos, esc, fbl unit, bec and bec puffer/guard you would recommend to have a longlife smack machine.

And yeah.. that 200 A Kontronik for 800 dollars is probably to much for my budget of 3 grand. Just to let you know in advance!

Have a look at the picture. That one looks perfect.

Kind regards,

iggy

 

Sound decision @iggy & one you won't regret.
As for electronics here's what I recommend to meet your budget.
Motor: Xnova or the kit Scorpion
ESC: the kit YGE, but fitted with a heatsink
FBL unit: VBar of course! VControl if you can afford it so you can run a Neo with the rescue function too.
Servos: Personally I prefer HV Futaba's but any high quality servo such as BK or Savox will be ok.
Back up: Optiguard or the R2 capacitor system would the the go.



Citizen #186

 

Thank you for your suggestion.

 

Hey @iggy . You look familiar..

nice choice btw

 

Mikado make great helicopters. I think you will be very happy with your choice. @3dmick has a logo extreme 800. It has NEVER been crashed and he has really pushed that thing. Very well made helicopter.

 

@Captain ohh my brother.. Why so serious? Muahahahah! Maybe some blades bring that smile back..