Helicopters are still fairly new to me.  I used to be one of those guys that tended to bad-mouth the complexity, bench time and heartache that I had always associated with ‘fling wings’, and I swore I’d never get into that aspect of the hobby.

The mCX was my ‘gateway drug’ into helicopters.  That plucky little thing is one of the few RC experiences you can still enjoy with success, even after having a few beers.  I loved that thing, and flew it every day for a long time.

I bought an mSR a few months later, and immediately had buyer’s remorse.  The mSR was way too ‘fast and agile’ for my skills at the time, and it sat idle for a while.  I finally started using Realflight that year, and started flying some helis in the sim.

This simulator time, plus some real stick time on a friend’s TT ‘Innovator’ set the hook further regarding helis.  I purchased a nice E-flite Blade 400 3D pnp a few months later, and I’ve put about 20 hours on that bird since I purchased it.  Nearly all of my time with the B400 was spent in hover practice, generally with the tail boom pointed firmly towards me. 

I got to the point that I could routinely fly the B400, no crashing or drama, but I was not having much fun, anymore.  Hovering is an intensive mental exercise, but it only goes so far.  I realized that I wanted to ‘fly a helicopter’ around without having to worry about every little thing.

I rediscovered the mSR, and started getting my money’s worth out of it.   I had just started doing some nose-in exercises with it, when the 120 showed up at my LHS.

Dennis allowed me to fly one of the first 120′s that showed up in his shop.  It felt like a much larger helicopter, and I was immediately impressed by how nicely it flew, brushed motors and all.  I just recently gave away an original CP, and I know how bad some inexpensive electric helis can be.

Dennis says that combining a collective pitch main rotor and a fixed pitch tail rotor is not usually a good combination, no matter how you slice it.  However, a fixed/fixed pitch config seems to work out well, as evidenced by the fine handling of the mSR and the 120.  Note that the $200 SR (which looks like a larger version of the mSR) is set up with a collective pitch main rotor and a fixed pitch tail.  The SR is reputed to fly just about as well (or as poorly) as the original CP, albeit with a brushless motor, and of course it depends heavily on who you are talking to.

The best thing about the 120 is its crash resistance.  If you get out of the left stick before a serious crash (or even if you don’t), you can just bounce off an obstacle, and start flying again without even having to re-arm the gyro.  The carbon fiber main shaft means that it never bends, unless you really over-do it in which case it breaks, and you replace it for a few bucks.  The 120 is also amazingly wind-resistant for its size.  Replacement parts are dirt cheap and rarely required.

Brilliant engineering.  Other high points are the 6:30 flight time you get from a pack, and the sub $12 cost of a spare flight battery.  Lots of packs means lots of flying, and lots of practice, which is what the 120 is all about, right?

Since I started writing this article, I’ve started doing some 3D stuff in the simulator and also in real life with my Blade 400.  I would never have had the courage to try some of this or really get into flying heli’s if I had not had a willing, cheap, damage resistant little craft like the 120 around.

In short,  I think the 120SR is a great way for an intermediate pilot transition from indoor coax heli’s to more advanced models without spending a lot of money doing so.

I really appreciate good value in hobby products, and my “grin per dollar” value has stayed very high with the 120.  I feel good recommending it to anybody.

I’m going to keep practicing until I can fly ‘nose in’ _consistently_ without losing the plot at inconvienient times.  This may take a few months!

- Eli