RC Helicopter Experts.... Help Needed!!

Hey guys!

Not sure why, but I have suddenly been overcome with the need to play around with a RC helicopter. I've seen a few videos on YouTube and other sights and it looks like alot of fun.

Considering I have absolutely no experience at all anybody have any recommendations as to where to start?

Not looking for a top of the line unit, but something that's easy to fly, fun and inexpensive.

Thanks for the tips,
MSax

MSaxatilus said:

Hey guys!

Not sure why, but I have suddenly been overcome with the need to play around with a RC helicopter. I've seen a few videos on YouTube and other sights and it looks like alot of fun.

Considering I have absolutely no experience at all anybody have any recommendations as to where to start?

Not looking for a top of the line unit, but something that's easy to fly, fun and inexpensive.

Thanks for the tips,
MSax

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First you need to buy a Real Helicopter, then you move on to the RC version. :nana:

I've seen a couple of these videos, they seem like a deal of fun. Although they look pretty hard to land.

Do yourself a favor (any everyone else near where you will be flying) and purchase the Great Planes RC Flight Simulator. It comes with an RC style controller and you will be able to hone your piloting skills to the point where you will not be damaging a > $300 model each time you crash. You can crash the simulator an infinite number of times at NO COST to you.

Do yourself a favor (any everyone else near where you will be flying) and purchase the Great Planes RC Flight Simulator. It comes with an RC style controller and you will be able to hone your piloting skills to the point where you will not be damaging a > $300 model each time you crash. You can crash the simulator an infinite number of times at NO COST to you.

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...Sounds daunting.

I would recommend the Walkera 5#6.

It is a dual rotor helicopter so it is very stable. Very small so your living room feels huge...I learned on this bird and it was very easy. The heli is also very durable.

Check out this thread for more info about it

If you want to start RC Helicopters, you need to read the Electric Helicopter Beginner's Guide. That's a good overview of how to start learning about electric helicopters.

I started with a Lite Machines Corona. This is a good learner's helicopter and is very tough, and able to survive crashes very well with minimal damage. Size wise, this is also much bigger than the micro helis, which makes it much easier to learn on. The smaller the heli, the more squirrelly and more difficult it is to control, and therefore, more difficult to learn on. However, dual rotors like the Walkera 5#6 are quite stable, despite their small size, but I would still recommend a Corona over the Walkera due to the crashability/survivability.

You should also buy a PC simulator like Real Flight or Reflex XTR for practice when not actually flying the model. This will quickly improve your orientation when flying and reduce crashing. I used to own Real Flight G2, but sold it when I bought Reflex XTR since in my opinion, XTR has a much more realistic physics model when it comes to helicopter flight behaviour. I don't know how current version Real Flight G3 flies since I don't own that version.

Take a look at RC Groups to read all about RC helicopters, aeroplanes, etc... There is a wealth of information there.

-- edit --
Click here for a video of me flying the Corona. This was more than 2 years ago when I first switched over to using Lipo instead of Nimh batteries and before I bought my Mikado Logo 10..

Goto Radio shack and try it out.

I have a esky Lama V3 and have fun flying it. It is supposed to be one of the easiest to fly - but I still have quite a pile of broken blades:mecry:

I should have used the PC flight sim first. It really helps to train your reflexes and get a feel for the controls. Some day I may move up to a collective pitch 'copter.

Hi gregw, very nice video and nice music too.

I've had 2 gas powered helis. They are a challenge unlike any other r/c model. A beginner CAN jump right in, but you're at a big disadvantage not knowing anything about r/c.

I'll second the advice to "get a simulator". Fact is, after using a sim, you might find that you don't want a heli. They are quite difficut to control, although the heading holding gyros have done WONDERS to help this out.

If you can walk down the street, skipping on one foot, rubbing your head with a clockwise motion using your left hand, scratching your stomach with a counterclockwise motion with your right hand, tying a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue, humming the theme song to star wars (in reverse), while blindfolded you should have no problem flying a heli.

To start, get one of these and one of these.

Have some fun with those, and then think about more serious models.

Fallingwater said:

To start, get one of these and one of these.

Have some fun with those, and then think about more serious models.

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As far as I'm concerned, those "helicopters" from DealExtreme are toys, and don't have anything to do with true RC helicopters.. RC helicopters are a real challenge to learn to fly, which is what makes them fun.

gregw said:

As far as I'm concerned, those "helicopters" from DealExtreme are toys, and don't have anything to do with true RC helicopters.. RC helicopters are a real challenge to learn to fly, which is what makes them fun.

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That is very true, but starting on the toys will allow him to see if it's really the hobby for him. And the toys break much less often than the real helis, but they still break, so it'll introduce him in a "light" way to the oh-so-fun experience of waiting two weeks for parts that'll allow him to fly for two hours until the next crash.
If he likes the toys he can go to the next step up: a larger coaxial such as this (or this or this, but they are all much the same thing).
When he feels the moment is right to grow out from the coaxial phase, a Walkera 4 is the ideal beginner tail-rotor, and then he can graduate to more serious models such as a CCPM Esky HoneyBee King2, currently on discount on MiracleMart.

(yes, the DX links are all affiliate ones; you're free to remove the affiliate part from the URL if you think affiliate-linking is lame. The MiracleMart link is normal).

MSax

I have been a RC gas helli pilot for years. Though I do not do it much anymore, I have and use the Realflight 3.5 sim all the time. The impala .30 flies just like my old cobera. For the planes it is really great too. Some of the choppers in it are very advanced so you should pick one of the trainers like the impala to get started.

I have to agree with what everybody else has said the RealFlight is worth its weight in blades and gears many times over! If you pick one of them up and you do not like playing with it (not likely) you can dump it on ebay.

Can you learn to fly a chopper with Realflight? Not completely, you have to be standing in front of a real chopper to appreciate its power and danger. Can you pretty much learn to fly a plane with real flight? Yes, for the most part you can. Either way, the sim is so much fun to play with you may find you do not need a real RC craft at all!

I also have played with some of the small "toy" hellies and they are not remotely the same animal. They do not give you full control over the craft and they pretty much fly themselves. Most of them do not go into forward flight either. Do they help you learn to fly a chopper? Yes, some, but you will out grow one of them in about a week.

I started with choppers and much later moved to planes. Choppers are lots of fun but require more money. The chopper is a real challenge. No body ever flew one without training or crashing. :mecry:


Cheers
Dave

Data said:

Do they help you learn to fly a chopper? Yes, some, but you will out grow one of them in about a week

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I guess it depends on the person. I've debated getting a proper tail-rotor helicopter like the aforementioned Walkera 4 for a while now, with the idea of eventually graduating to a brushless King2, but for the time being I'm having enough fun with my coaxials and Picoo Z.

Great stuff guys. Thanks alot for the advice.

I think maybe my best bet is to drive out to Data's house and cra....try out his helis first!!!:nana:

MSax

With no heli experience at all, I learned with a Hirobo Skyrobo.
But any of the dual counter-rotating models should suffice.
They are really stable and fun to fly in the house
Skyrobos have replacable foam blades, buy yourself a bunch of them.
YOU WILL NEED THEM!:naughty:

But it must be said that I have years of experience with RC planes and boats.
Therefore have some knowledge of how they work.
The hardest thing to learn is orientation.
When going away from you left is left, and right is right.
When coming towards you, or facing you hovering, that is backwards.
Takes some getting used to.

In nose-in flying it helps to remember that to get the heli to hover you have to move the sticks in the direction it's going. If it's drifting right you move the stick right and it stays in place.
At least, I learned this way and it helped me a lot...

Word of advice, get the best radio for a start, Futaba Digital is the best.......the kits may change but the radio will be around, if you add more kits, just add servos, gyro etc.

You know what would be cool? Tie a flashlight to it and wait for darkness to fly it.