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Remote Control Helicopters

Posted December 19th, 2003 @ 12:00pm by Erik J. Barzeski

I'm looking for some information on remote control helicopters (specifically a military style one - sleek and fast and "tough" looking while still somewhat maneuverable). I want a good one (if I get one), but none of the hobby shops around my area seem to carry any in the store. As this would be my first RC adventure, I'd like see the equipment before I buy it, but I'd be satisfied by reading a bunch of reviews online.

Where should I shop? What sites are good for this sort of thing? Does anyone have any recommendations I may have missed?

P.S. Gas-powered, please. I don't think I want to bother with electric.

9 Comments »

9 Responses to "Remote Control Helicopters"

  1. | Reply B. Johannessen
    Posted 19 Dec 2003 at 9:33pm #

    RC Helies are hard to fly. Unless you put a serious amount of time into learning how, you're going to crash quite a few of these babies before you learn. My advice would be to start with a a chopper that's easy to fly, and move on to something that's fun to fly once you've mastered that. Cheaper too 🙂

  2. | Reply Duy Tran
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 5:13am #

    I also recommend getting some practice on an RC simulator for the PC. A good one out there is Real Flight. It's a tad bit pricey, but it comes with a controller and the selection of planes/copters are huge, plus downloadables.

  3. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 7:33am #

    Someone recommended to me that I pick up a copy of "RC Stuntcopter" for the PSX, so I've done that.

  4. | Reply M Jarosch
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 8:46am #

    I have never flown RC Helicopters, but I have flown RC Planes and my recommendation is to find a hobby shop or club in the area. There you can talk to someone who has some experience and get recommendations on a good starter kit, questions answered while building the helicopter, and some help for your first few flights.

    If you do this your experience will be much more enjoyable.

  5. | Reply Gabe
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 5:55pm #

    You might want to try and pick up any magazines that talk about this hobby. I know Model Airplane News touches on the subject, but there are many magazines dedicated to R/C Choppers.

    One thing's for sure, get a cheap heli first. You WILL crash it. It's difficult to learn to fly those things, and you're going to need something that can stand done bruising before you get better at flying. Plus, it's an expensive hobby. I'd go to an hobby shop that specialized in R/C planes and such. They'll let you know how to get started.

  6. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 9:52pm #

    There don't seem to be any such shops around here, Gabe. Have you found any? I haven't. 🙁 I'm gonna end up spending around $1000 for the first rig. I don't know if that's good or what. Seems like a pretty decent setup.

  7. | Reply Gabe
    Posted 20 Dec 2003 at 11:13pm #

    Give this place a try: http://www.rotory.com/select.html

    It's not much, but it's a magazine all about R/C choppers.

  8. | Reply Tedo
    Posted 19 Jan 2004 at 6:50pm #

    Try out this little copter, it is cheap, but it works very well for training. http://www.modelrec.com/products/rcHelicopters/xrb.asp

  9. | Reply christian
    Posted 06 Mar 2004 at 12:37pm #

    I would like to start flying choppers but am not shure if to buy one or to first buy a sim... please give feadback cheers.....