Radio Controlled Helicopters: Getting Started: GoArticles.com: "Unlike radio controlled airplanes, RC helicopters do not require a large mowed or paved runway, they take off vertically so any reasonably sized open area will do to fly in. At the other end of the radio controlled helicopter spectrum are small electric indoor helicopters that you can fly in your own home or other indoor area. Add in to the equation the fun factor and it is easy to see why radio controlled helicopters are showing the strongest growth among all the different forms of RC hobbies."There is so much choice available for every budget and ability when it comes to choosing an electric helicopter. Fixed pitch, selective pitch, 3, 4, 5 channel, different sizes and different makes. But the best news is that the cost of RC helicopters keeps falling while the technology keeps improving, which allows more people to get started in this great hobby.
However there is a down side to this huge selection of helicopters, and that is information overload! If you do not have all the facts and understand some of the technical facets of this hobby, you will not choose the best radio controlled helicopter that is right for you. This overload can lead to crashing, frustration and even possibly giving up with helicopters altogether.
With RC toy helis, micro coaxial helis and single rotor collective pitch hobby grade radio controlled choppers 'taking off' in shopping malls and open spaces where do you get started to get the most pleasure, least frustration and more important for most people, bang for your buck.
There are two schools of thought regarding what is the best approach to getting started with radio controlled helicopters. Firstly buy an inexpensive fixed pitch heli to learn on and when you master it then move on and purchase a more advanced heli. You risk less money if it is badly damaged and you decide that helicopters are not your thing. Secondly get a good helicopter with selective pitch and learn and grow with it. You risk more money but you will have a better flying experience, leading to more enjoyment and more time in the hobby.
I personally advocate the second option and believe you will not outgrow a quality collective pitch helicopter over a few months so saving money on upgrading. You can buy a high performance helicopter and adjust it or set it up for learning as you get started. Once you have mastered the basics you can change your set up for extra performance.
You are bound to have more enjoyment and fun with a good quality collective pitch helicopter and that is the real benefit. Most people do not realize that a collective pitch chopper can actually be easier to fly than a fixed pitch one. Do not be distracted by the wide choice of flashy looking fixed pitch helicopters, take my advice and go for a quality collective pitch helicopters such as the E-Flite Blade 400.
One thing I want to mention here and this is important, avoid a helicopter with collective pitch and an electric tail rotor, these are hard to learn on. You need a belt driven or shaft driven tail rotor with variable pitch to react quickly enough to correct for the ever changing reactive torque loads from the main rotor. An electric tail rotor cannot react fast enough to keep the tail steady, and this becomes twitchy at best.
Hobby grade single rotor helicopters are challenging, no doubt about that. They are complex machines with hundreds of parts. Single rotor helicopters are unstable, certainly when hovering. But once you master controlling the beast and 'connect' with it the fun will just be starting. Learning to hover is the first step, and hovering can be compared to balancing on a big ball. This is why the radio controlled helicopter is more difficult than other RC vehicles, cars and boats, as you are always making control corrections to keep it in the air.
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http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2444040
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