Copyright ©All Rights Reserved.
So you are interested in flying rc helicopters. Lets make a couple of things very clear from the start. Firstly this is not an easy hobby to master! Secondly it’s not a cheap hobby! Thirdly it’s going to take lots of time and patience!
Ok so you are still interested? Read on..........
Your have a few things to decide before you even decide which heli you are going to purchase. Probably the biggest deciding factor will be budget and how much disposable income you have to spend.
Also the cost of keeping a heli flying, in the event of a crash you don’t want to be waiting three months to save for your crash parts!!!!!!
Ok so you are still interested? Read on..........
Your have a few things to decide before you even decide which heli you are going to purchase. Probably the biggest deciding factor will be budget and how much disposable income you have to spend.
Also the cost of keeping a heli flying, in the event of a crash you don’t want to be waiting three months to save for your crash parts!!!!!!
No matter if you decide to go glow fuel or electric you are still going to need the following:
Helicopter Kit
Engine or Motor
Exhaust (Nitro only)
Radio gear Transmitter, 5 Servos, Receiver, Charger
Gyro
Receiver Battery
Fuel or Batteries
TRAINING UNDERCARRIAGE!!!!!!
Field Equipment (Needed for glow fuel heli’s):
Starter
Glow starter
Gel Battery
Fuel
Fuel Pump
Assortment of tools inc plug spanner/socket
Spare glow plug
For electrics you will require a suitable charger plus lipo batteries.
So what sort of heli are you going to buy???? Electric or Glow? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Electrics are quieter and cleaner for starters as there is no engine to tune and no exhaust mess. With glow heli’s you will get longer flight times and the initial outlay is not as expensive as fuel is cheap compared to the cost of batteries.
Next is size.....Does size matter?????? In this case YES.
A larger heli is a lot more stable than a smaller one. However if you crash a large heli’ then the repairs are going to be a lot more expensive.
We don’t tend to recommend the smaller classes ie the 250 and 450 size heli’s as they are just to twitchy in our opinion. We are not saying it is impossible to learn on one of these but it will be significantly harder.
Confused???? Lets break it down.......
Option 1 Contra rotating heli:
Recently the contra rotating heli has become quite popular. Price is one reason and ease of flying is another. The Blade CX2 is a good example. These are ideal for sports halls and flying outside on a flat calm day. However these heli’s do give you a false sense of security as they are very easy to control unlike their collective pitch counter parts. If you are not sure that heli’s are for you then this might help you decide with minimal outlay. Training gear is still needed with these!
Option 2 (You will have access to a large outdoor space).
Ideally a 30 or 50 size glow fuel model is ideal for a few reasons and the two we would recommend are the Thunder Tiger Raptor and the T-Rex 600. This is because they are both very popular models and parts are well priced.
Engine an OS 37 (Raptor 30) or OS 50/55 for the T-Rex 600 or the Raptor 50
Radio Gear......Radio gear (Transmitter) will need to be the best you can afford as it is an investment that will last you for many years!! JR, Futaba and Spectrum make very good radios. They are also very popular so finding someone who is familiar with your chosen brand/model will be a lot easier should you require help.
Gyro. Start off with a Futaba GY401. They are VERY easy to set up and work well. You will also require a fast tail servo to go with it to get the best from it. A Futaba 9254 or equivalent would be ideal.
Servos. Get the best you can afford. Budget servos are not the way forward! (email us for recommendations)
Exhaust. Hatori or Zimmerman....The last thing you are going to want is a loud exhaust....It attracts the wrong sort of attention.
Blades. When starting just use the blades that came with the kit....There is no point having fancy carbon ones to begin with.
Reciever Battery. Two ways of going here: Lipo and regulator or NIMH (nickel metal hydride).
In the beginning we would recommend using the nimh and a capacity probably in the region of 2000 mah. The little pack that came with your TX (transmitter) IS NOT good enough. You will also need a suitable charger for a NIMH.
Fuel. Synthetic blend.....We use the following: Coolpower, Optifuel and Wildcat. Pick one and stick with it!
Training Undercarriage. THIS IS A MUST!!!!!
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE YOU HELI’ WITHOUT IT!!!!
Field (starting equipment) Equipment(see top of page).
So why not a 60/90 size?
Initial cost is just one reason....cost of spares. Yes they are more stable in the air but they can also be quite intimidating as well. Please contact us if you require more detailed information regarding a 60/90 class.
Option 3 (500/600 size electric.)
The stability of a 30/50 glow heli but without the mess. However you do require the correct batteries (2+) and charger plus a balancer. Be aware the batteries are not cheap and special care must be taken with them.
No engine to tune, plug in and fly but flight duration is not as long as a glow heli.
Option 4 (450 size electric). T-Rex 450
You can learn to fly on one of these however unlike their larger counterparts they are even more unstable. We wouldn’t recommend one to start with as they are relatively fast and will disappear into a dot before you know it. They are suitable for outdoor and sports hall flying.
They are cheap to repair but they are twitchy little blighters. Flight time is usually between 5 and 8 minutes.
Lastly find a club that has members that fly heli’s, see what equipment they are using. Be mindful of the club ‘expert’....Is what they have suitable for you????.....Ask questions about why they need this and that and what they get out of having it. Spending money is one thing wasting it is another!!
If you are still in doubt or confused then feel free to drop us an email (see our contacts page)
PLEASE DO NOT JUST BUY SOMETHING OFF OF EBAY OR FROM A CAR BOOT SALE! 9/10 TIMES YOU WILL END UP DISAPPOINTED OR WASTING LOTS OF MONEY TO MAKE IT RIGHT. WE HAVE SEEN THIS COUNTLESS TIMES!
Helicopter Kit
Engine or Motor
Exhaust (Nitro only)
Radio gear Transmitter, 5 Servos, Receiver, Charger
Gyro
Receiver Battery
Fuel or Batteries
TRAINING UNDERCARRIAGE!!!!!!
Field Equipment (Needed for glow fuel heli’s):
Starter
Glow starter
Gel Battery
Fuel
Fuel Pump
Assortment of tools inc plug spanner/socket
Spare glow plug
For electrics you will require a suitable charger plus lipo batteries.
So what sort of heli are you going to buy???? Electric or Glow? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Electrics are quieter and cleaner for starters as there is no engine to tune and no exhaust mess. With glow heli’s you will get longer flight times and the initial outlay is not as expensive as fuel is cheap compared to the cost of batteries.
Next is size.....Does size matter?????? In this case YES.
A larger heli is a lot more stable than a smaller one. However if you crash a large heli’ then the repairs are going to be a lot more expensive.
We don’t tend to recommend the smaller classes ie the 250 and 450 size heli’s as they are just to twitchy in our opinion. We are not saying it is impossible to learn on one of these but it will be significantly harder.
Confused???? Lets break it down.......
Option 1 Contra rotating heli:
Recently the contra rotating heli has become quite popular. Price is one reason and ease of flying is another. The Blade CX2 is a good example. These are ideal for sports halls and flying outside on a flat calm day. However these heli’s do give you a false sense of security as they are very easy to control unlike their collective pitch counter parts. If you are not sure that heli’s are for you then this might help you decide with minimal outlay. Training gear is still needed with these!
Option 2 (You will have access to a large outdoor space).
Ideally a 30 or 50 size glow fuel model is ideal for a few reasons and the two we would recommend are the Thunder Tiger Raptor and the T-Rex 600. This is because they are both very popular models and parts are well priced.
Engine an OS 37 (Raptor 30) or OS 50/55 for the T-Rex 600 or the Raptor 50
Radio Gear......Radio gear (Transmitter) will need to be the best you can afford as it is an investment that will last you for many years!! JR, Futaba and Spectrum make very good radios. They are also very popular so finding someone who is familiar with your chosen brand/model will be a lot easier should you require help.
Gyro. Start off with a Futaba GY401. They are VERY easy to set up and work well. You will also require a fast tail servo to go with it to get the best from it. A Futaba 9254 or equivalent would be ideal.
Servos. Get the best you can afford. Budget servos are not the way forward! (email us for recommendations)
Exhaust. Hatori or Zimmerman....The last thing you are going to want is a loud exhaust....It attracts the wrong sort of attention.
Blades. When starting just use the blades that came with the kit....There is no point having fancy carbon ones to begin with.
Reciever Battery. Two ways of going here: Lipo and regulator or NIMH (nickel metal hydride).
In the beginning we would recommend using the nimh and a capacity probably in the region of 2000 mah. The little pack that came with your TX (transmitter) IS NOT good enough. You will also need a suitable charger for a NIMH.
Fuel. Synthetic blend.....We use the following: Coolpower, Optifuel and Wildcat. Pick one and stick with it!
Training Undercarriage. THIS IS A MUST!!!!!
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE YOU HELI’ WITHOUT IT!!!!
Field (starting equipment) Equipment(see top of page).
So why not a 60/90 size?
Initial cost is just one reason....cost of spares. Yes they are more stable in the air but they can also be quite intimidating as well. Please contact us if you require more detailed information regarding a 60/90 class.
Option 3 (500/600 size electric.)
The stability of a 30/50 glow heli but without the mess. However you do require the correct batteries (2+) and charger plus a balancer. Be aware the batteries are not cheap and special care must be taken with them.
No engine to tune, plug in and fly but flight duration is not as long as a glow heli.
Option 4 (450 size electric). T-Rex 450
You can learn to fly on one of these however unlike their larger counterparts they are even more unstable. We wouldn’t recommend one to start with as they are relatively fast and will disappear into a dot before you know it. They are suitable for outdoor and sports hall flying.
They are cheap to repair but they are twitchy little blighters. Flight time is usually between 5 and 8 minutes.
Lastly find a club that has members that fly heli’s, see what equipment they are using. Be mindful of the club ‘expert’....Is what they have suitable for you????.....Ask questions about why they need this and that and what they get out of having it. Spending money is one thing wasting it is another!!
If you are still in doubt or confused then feel free to drop us an email (see our contacts page)
PLEASE DO NOT JUST BUY SOMETHING OFF OF EBAY OR FROM A CAR BOOT SALE! 9/10 TIMES YOU WILL END UP DISAPPOINTED OR WASTING LOTS OF MONEY TO MAKE IT RIGHT. WE HAVE SEEN THIS COUNTLESS TIMES!