Getting Started with Helicopters

Why Helicopters?

I got a helicopter for Christmas last year. I flew it for a few minutes and I was hooked. I have 4 helicopters and a quad copter now. I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can enjoy some outdoor flying time. I can't wait.

Getting Started

There is one absolute truth in RC helicopters. You will crash. Often. It's best to concentrate less on preventing crashes and more on buying helicopters which stand up to the abuse and beg for more. Save the fragile helicopters for when you have the skills to fly them (I don't), and remember: don't fly it if you can't afford to crash it.

With that said, where do we start? First of all, there are several configurations available for helicopters, and there are toy grade and hobby grade birds. The important thing about toy grade birds is that they often don't have adequate controls to really enjoy flying for more than a few sessions. They get boring very quickly because they lack the controls that make helicopters so fun to fly in the first place.

The helicopters you want to avoid at all costs are 2 channels. These are the ones you'll find at big box stores for $15-$30, and they're not even worth $5. They are capable of two controls: Blade speed and Yaw (rotation). They cannot go forward, backward, or to either side. How are you supposed to have fun going straight up, drifting in the air currents until you're too close to an obstacle, then cutting the power so you don't destroy the blades?

The 3 channel improves upon the 2 channel by adding the ability to pitch forward and back. This allows enough motion to actually enjoy flying. So why don't I recommend them to a beginner? Because they teach you the wrong controls, and the way they pitch forward and backward affects lift differently than with more sophisticated birds. Ultimately you don't learn very much that can be carried onto more advanced helicopters with a 3 channel, and can establish bad habits which you would need to unlearn later. My Christmas present was a Syma 107G 3 channel. When I got my 4 channel I made several mistakes because of what I learned on the 3 channel.

Getting the Right First Helicopter

So we know what to avoid, but where do we start? We start with a 4 channel coaxial swash plate controlled bird, like the toy grade Syma 800G or the pricier hobby grade Blade McX2. I haven't actually purchased either one, so read the reviews and make your own decision. I'm certain I will own one of those at some point, but it will probably be a Blade because it uses radio control, where the Syma uses infrared, which sets off my smoke alarm test (not fun when you don't know why it's going off and it's also your CO detector!). If you're feeling adventurous, get a WL Toys v911, but expect to crash it a lot in the beginning. Since it's a single rotor it isn't nearly as stable as a coaxial and is much more responsive to subtle inputs. I do have one of those and it's a great, inexpensive indoor bird.

There are plenty of guides about the lessons you should work on between crash sessions to become a better pilot, but what makes coaxial helicopters so nice is they're remarkably stable. 6 channel collective pitch helicopters (the real deal) don't self-stabilize. When you get your first heli, try this: Get it up in the air where there's room to fly around, then run it fast in any direction. Let off the stick. The helicopter quickly decelerates and goes back into a hover. The throttle may need correction to maintain height, but it's stable. This doesn't happen on higher end birds, and the lessons you work through on your stable heli will save you from several crashes later on.

Feel free to pick up a quad copter if you're interested, they are more stable in some ways, but if you get a tiny one like the Estes ProtoX, it is very susceptible to air currents. They also don't self-correct as quickly as a coax helicopter, so if you get them going fast, don't expect them to stop on a dime. I crashed mine several times thinking I had enough room to slow it down when I didn't. I recommend WL toys for an inexpensive quad copter. Again I don't own one yet, so read reviews and make your own judgments.

My Current Fleet

• Syma 107G
• WL Toys v911
• WL Toys v955
• Estes ProtoX
• Blade CP <- this is a 6 channel collective pitch, which I got used (almost free) and have not flown yet