Things You Should Know

Helicopters require a SIGNIFICANT TIME COMMITMENT to learn to fly

R/C helicopters are not dynamically stable, and they require constant stick input. It is very similar to balancing a marble on a sheet of glass by radio control. In addition to this, the glass can be rotated which then rotates all the directions. Therefore, it takes a lot of time to develop a good sense of balance and orientation. You will learn much faster if you can dedicate at least a half-hour a day to practicing on a flight simulator. In addition, helicopters require significant amounts of time to build and isolate/fix various problems like vibration, tail wag, and other problems that will develop.

If you like building and tinkering with things for hours, and enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of learning difficult skills, then this is a great hobby for you. If you do not like building and tinkering with things for hours and are easily frustrated by learning difficult skills, then you may want to consider another hobby.

Repairs are expensive

Helicopters crash, and they are somewhat expensive to fix. Some helicopters are more durable than others, and some are much cheaper to fix - these are good trainers. But, you cannot expect to learn to fly without spending some money for repairs. Be sure to allocate some money for repairs.

Hovering is difficult to learn

Eventually, something will "click" inside your head, and you will "get it". For some people, this occurs all of a sudden and everything makes sense. For other people it seems to be a more gradual process.

Basically, helicopters suck horribly. Then you get your first hover, and it's an incredible head rush, and you're psyched for a whole week, and you're hooked.

The following  guideline should give you enough information on where to begin and what to get as far as entering the exciting and challenging hobby of remote control helicopter.

WHAT SHOULD YOU CONSIDER WHEN BUYING for YOUR first RC helicopter?

Price

Electric or Gas powered helicopter

Just getting into RC Helicopter? Not sure if you should go Micro , Midsize, Electric or Nitro (Gas)? We usually recommend that beginners start with Micro fixed pitch electric as they are quiet, easier to fly, and easy to maintain. With electric you do not need to deal with engines that need to be broken in and can randomly cut out, fuel lines which get clogged or neighbours that think it's too loud. You do not need to lug around fuel or starters and there is no idle/carb/leaner/richer adjustments to worry about. Your hands stay clean of exhaust/fuel and your neighbours will thank you!

A common misconception is that no electric can stick up to a nitro. Well with the growing popularity of RC helicopter, there are many new innovations such as Lithium batteries and Brushless motors that keep electric and nitro neck and neck. Electric Helicopters are now achieving even longer flight time than nitro's ( excess of 30 minutes ) and with the right combination of lithium batteries and the right brushless motor you will have more power than you can handle!

With Micro Electric FP Helicopter, $120 will get you start in this great hobby, as for 30 size Nitro Helicopter, you are looking at spending over $1000 to be ready to fly

Size

Size is very important, because larger helis are more stable and easier to hover. They have more inertia, so they move slower and they give more warning of their intent. Micro helis are more difficult to hover because they are very skittish and wander off in a new direction with very little warning of their intent. Larger helis are not any easier to fly, though. Generally speaking Larger the size, easier to fly

Micro/mini: Dragonfly 4 (FP, RTF-Ready-To-Fly) Dragonfly 76C (CP, RTF)

Slightly larger:  Dragonfly 35 (CP, RTF) Dragonfly 36 (CP, RTF) Dragonfly 60 (CP, eCCPM, RTF), can be flown in backyard/park

Counter rotating: Dragonfly 5#4 (Counter blades,  RTF) , can be flown in office building or living room at home

Collective pitch vs. Fixed pitch

Fixed pitch (FP) helicopter blades have blades that remain at a fixed angle (you can not alter their pitch). To get lift on these helicopters you must increase the power to the main blades. They are simpler in design, they are easier to fix when damaged, they are easier to set up and they are cheaper.

Collective pitch (CP) helicopters control lift through the angle of the blades, they have 3 servos instead of 2 (like the fixed pitch models) allowing you to alter blade pitch. This result in a more agile machine but it also means they are harder to repair and are more suited to an experienced flyer.

Beginners should start with a Fixed Pitch (FP) machine.  With a Fixed Pitch the angle of the main blades remains constant and the flyer can control altitude by using the speed of the main motor  (Revolutions Per Minute/RPM) allowing for a more calm Heli which will sustain MUCH less damage after a crash. Fixed pitch machines are also safer and easier to setup and fix.

In a collective Pitch Heli (CP) the RPM is somewhat constant and the Flyer controls altitude using the angle of the main blades ( more or less angle ) produces more or less lift,  thus allowing for a much faster agile machine which requires much more of an experienced Flyer

Flying conditions required

Indoor or Outdoor Rotor/Motor noise level, Can you fly it in your backyard or local park?

Where will you be flying?
Indoors : Stay in the Micro Electric range like Dragonfly 4 and Dragonfly 76C Collective Pitch Micro Heli.  these are good size for indoors , can withstand a few crashes, also be flown outdoors and won't cost you too much.

Outdoors: Most of the micro heli can be flown outdoors as well but are more affected by the weather ( wind ) due to their small size. A good beginner outdoor electric chopper is the Walkera 36, one of the most durable and best selling helicopter out there. Something a little bigger is the Walkera 56, known for its high quality and extreme capabilities. If you are looking for something that is ready to fly right out of the box that would be: One last thing: Wind conditions; the bigger the helicopter the more wind it can cope with, and a collective pitch (CP) helicopter can handle windier conditions as well (more power, stiffer rotor head).

Upgradeability

Better motor and Blades, Metal frame, etc

A brushless motor is inherently more reliable than a brush motor. They, of course, have no brushes to wear out, so they have a longer life and less downtime due to brush replacement. Because of the lack of brushes, there is no brush arcing or brush bounce. With no brush resistance, they typically provide higher speeds (RPM) than brush motors. And because the winding is typically on the outside element, they offer better heat dissipation.
The absence of brushes also makes the motor a more quiet (both acoustically and electrically) unit than one with brushes.

Spare parts

Cost of the spare parts and availability of replacement parts. The reason for this is: when you are learning to hover, you will crash. This is a given. Everyone crashes. When you crash, you do not want to spend a fortune repairing the helicopter, because everyone has limited funds. When you crash, you do not want to wait forever for replacement parts, because every day you spend waiting for a part is a day you are not flying the helicopter, and learning something.

see the spares section for detailed prices. The basic formula is the cheaper the helicopter the cheaper the spares, and the lighter the helicopter the less crash damage you will incur. and also availability of spare part locally for quick repair turn around time.

Dragonfly 4 is so small and hard wearing (G10 materials) meaning you will hardly ever have to buy spares (almost true), reducing your costs!

Brands/RTF

is it ready to fly or does it need to be built.

Brands; there is nothing really to say about this if you know what your looking for then we

A Ready To Fly (RTF) helicopter comes 99% assembled and requires no extras such as electronics or transmitter, if the helicopter has not got an RTF beside it then you may have to buy extras such as electronics and radio which gives you greater flexibility but with added expense.

The Dragon Fly 4 is a robust beginner’s machine which comes with everything a beginner would need including our added training kit and Free Simulator CD/cable. And if you are Looking for an inexpensive ready to fly Heli ? Well, the Dragon Fly is the one for you.

What about a flight sim?

A must for any beginner helicopter pilot,. The Dragonfly 4 and Collective Pitch 76C comes with FMS flight simulator