So my son bought me a little toy radio controlled helicopter for Christmas.
I’m sad to say it was like a gateway drug. This tiny toy with about 5 or 10 minutes of flying time is now already a stepping stone to a ‘real’ radio controlled helicopter.
I want something something that is heavy enough where it can be used outdoors. The tiny one I have now would be tossed around by a swift breeze.
Within reason; price is no object. In other words the rule of function over form. Don’t bother showing me the diamond encrusted Neiman Marcus version for a million bucks because you know that’s not what I’m talking about. However if you have personally used a model that costs a few hundred dollars and can say why it’s worth it; I’d love to hear about it.
A colleague of mine at work uses a radio powered helicopter with an attached camera and does surveillance and aerial photography with it. Unfortunately I have to wait until he gets back to work next year to find out what he’s using.
So… what experience do you have with RC aerial toys? Do you have a model you like; or you’ve heard good things about? Are there any brands to stay away from? Is there a brand that is widely known as “THE” brand to have?
I used to fly helis, but it’s been a while. Here’s a review page that seems to know what it’s talking about.
If you just want something to buzz around and take video/pix of your area, an AR Drone is pretty easy, 300 bucks or less, and is controlled by your ipad. It’s wicked cool.
Just go into any of the electric heli section. Admittedly I was in a similar situation a couple years back when I got a Syma 22.(Fun toy copter but completely unflyable if you could even feel the wind.) I think the standard answer is get a Blade mSR which is what I have but I’m not sure if they make that anymore or it’s just the mSRX.(Admittedly they’re not totally designed for outside but my little mSR does a lot better outside than the Syma did at that thing is 8 x more massive.)
Actually I’ve been thinking of going to the next step and get a collective pitch copter but I haven’t made the leap. (But basically you’re probably going to go 4-channel fixed pitch helicopter.)
That AR Drone is one of the coolest toys imaginable if as described, and I could see myself buying one today, but the high number of negative reviews on Amazon gives me pause. I wonder if the apparent bugs are being worked out.
I think generally the dual rotor (coaxial) copters will be more easier to fly but less versatile. I have a Blade CX coaxial that is happy flying outside if it’s not too windy. It was about $180 and there are many replacement and upgrade parts available.
There are other more powerful single-rotor models that can fly inverted etc.
The AR drone is a novelty but not worth the money. I have flown RC helicopters for years and got one of those for Christmas last year. It is an interesting thing to play with but it mostly flies on autopilot and takes your inputs as suggestions. It responds inconsistently, occasionally freaks out and crashes for no reason, can’t fly that fast, etc. I’ve probably not used it for more than an hour total since I got it. If you just want to look at something hovering in the air, it is fine. If you actually want to fly something, it sucks.
If you want a real RC helicopter that you must fly yourself, the best option is a conventional single-rotor helicopter with the tail rotor mechanically connected to the main rotor. Some small helicopters have the tail rotor powered by a small separate electric motor - these are too small and not suitable as anything other than “training”, you will quickly outgrow them.
The most popular entry level helicopters are the E-Flite Blade series - bladehelis.com . I would look at the Blade 300 as a minimum if you are serious about the hobby. If you are still unsure, you can get a cheaper model, but within 1-2 weeks you will be wanting the 300 (or even a bigger one). Anything smaller than the 300 will be very squirrelly outside. Even the 300 is pretty small - the 450 size used to be the standard “small” heli (the number refers to the blade size in mm).
Enright3 Are you me? My son also got me an indoor only RC chopper for Christmas. Best gift ever! We have already gone back to the store to get him one so we can fly simultaneously. It’s fun to jockey for position and knock each other out of the air with our prop wash. Gateway drug, indeed! I’ll follow this thread with much interest.
We got helicopters too! Santa bought us a set of battle copters from Radio Shack. Not only do they fly, but you can shoot each other down. We’ve been having a blast.
Mr. Athena has a bigass RC plane, but that doesn’t seem nearly as fun as the helicopters. Now we want a bigger better outside-flying copter.
Raptor has always been a favorite. You’ll have to assemble it or spend extra for one premade. If you choose to make it, you’ll need to get someone knowledgeable to help dial it in. Also, spend the money for some dual training. That’s where an expert has a separate control to the helicopter and keeps you from flying it into the ground.
Holy crap that’s awesome. Thx for helping me realize once again that you can take any Subject in the world and someone will take it to a level 1000X more than I thought possible!
