| This hobby is alot of fun but in the beginning it can be very confusing and somewhat intimidating. Learning to fly RC Helicopters is hard and can take awhile. There is no short cut to learning to fly. Some ways of learning are easier then others and what worked for one person might not work for the next. Everyone learns at different speeds and in different ways. Don't get discouraged if learning to fly seems like an impossible task, Because its Not. Just know that when you first start learning to fly, You WILL crash, alot! But everyone does so don't get upset when it happens, plan for it. Buy lots of spares for your first helicopter because you will most likely destroy it a few times before you finally start to get the hang of hovering and basic forward flight. |
I really feel that the best way to get
started in this hobby is to get yourself
a Flight Simulator. A Flight Simulator,
or sim for short, is a program that you
install on your computer. You then
connect either a real or specially
designed transmitter to your computer
so that you can learn the basics of
flying, and do so without ever having
to buy any replacement parts or spend
any time fixing your heli.
A few sim programs can be
downloaded for free, but to get the
most out of a Flight Simulator you
should look into a high quality one
(that you'll have to buy). A quality sim
can teach you more then could
imagine.
A few Flight Simulators to look into.
FMS -
www.flying-model-simulator.com/
Clearview - rcflightsim.com/
Reflex XTR - www.modelrectifier.com
Phoenix R/C - www.phoenix-sim.com
Aerofly Pro - www.aerofly.com/
Realflight - www.realflight.com
Learning to fly really starts with
learning what stick on the transmitter
does what. The easiest way to "train
your fingers" is through a sim.
started in this hobby is to get yourself
a Flight Simulator. A Flight Simulator,
or sim for short, is a program that you
install on your computer. You then
connect either a real or specially
designed transmitter to your computer
so that you can learn the basics of
flying, and do so without ever having
to buy any replacement parts or spend
any time fixing your heli.
A few sim programs can be
downloaded for free, but to get the
most out of a Flight Simulator you
should look into a high quality one
(that you'll have to buy). A quality sim
can teach you more then could
imagine.
A few Flight Simulators to look into.
FMS -
www.flying-model-simulator.com/
Clearview - rcflightsim.com/
Reflex XTR - www.modelrectifier.com
Phoenix R/C - www.phoenix-sim.com
Aerofly Pro - www.aerofly.com/
Realflight - www.realflight.com
Learning to fly really starts with
learning what stick on the transmitter
does what. The easiest way to "train
your fingers" is through a sim.
| Getting Started |
| Co-Axial Helicopters |
4ch Fixed Pitch Helicopters (FP's) are great beginner helis because they are very simple, durable
and require very little set-up. "Single Rotor" helis fly much differently from "CoAxial" helis and
tend to be much harder to control. Due to the complexity of 6ch Collective Pitch (CP's) Helicopters,
high cost to repair and lengthy set-up times, most choose to start on a FP because they cheap to
buy, cheap to fix and very durable. Learning on a FP can be a challenge but finding a large indoor
area will really help you learn faster. FP's are not good to try and learn on while outside. Rather
until you learn how to fly you will be better off staying indoors. Afterwards though, FP's can be alot
of care-free fun.
There are a few misconceptions about Fixed Pitch helis . First being that they fly differently from a
CP. This is NOT true. The only thing a FP can't do is fly upside down. Other then that the flight
characteristics of FP's are the same as CP's. Another misconception is that you have to master
flying a FP before moving to a CP. Again this is NOT true, FP's are meant as trainers. Once you
understand the basics then you should really look into buying a bigger CP heli. The biggest
misconception is that once someone buys a FP, they will become bored of it quickly. Most of the
time this is not true. Most people who buy a FP will keep it in their fleet of helis because they are
alot of fun to fly (once you learn how to fly).
and require very little set-up. "Single Rotor" helis fly much differently from "CoAxial" helis and
tend to be much harder to control. Due to the complexity of 6ch Collective Pitch (CP's) Helicopters,
high cost to repair and lengthy set-up times, most choose to start on a FP because they cheap to
buy, cheap to fix and very durable. Learning on a FP can be a challenge but finding a large indoor
area will really help you learn faster. FP's are not good to try and learn on while outside. Rather
until you learn how to fly you will be better off staying indoors. Afterwards though, FP's can be alot
of care-free fun.
There are a few misconceptions about Fixed Pitch helis . First being that they fly differently from a
CP. This is NOT true. The only thing a FP can't do is fly upside down. Other then that the flight
characteristics of FP's are the same as CP's. Another misconception is that you have to master
flying a FP before moving to a CP. Again this is NOT true, FP's are meant as trainers. Once you
understand the basics then you should really look into buying a bigger CP heli. The biggest
misconception is that once someone buys a FP, they will become bored of it quickly. Most of the
time this is not true. Most people who buy a FP will keep it in their fleet of helis because they are
alot of fun to fly (once you learn how to fly).
| Fixed Pitch Helicopters |
CP's are really not meant for beginners. Not only are they much more dangerous then Co-axial
and FP helis, they are more expensive to crash and take a fair bit of set up time to make them fly
right. CP's come in sizes from micro indoor ones all the way to really, really big outdoor ones. A
few CP's are sold as RTF Kits (Ready-to-fly) but most are sold as ARTF Kits (Almost-ready-to-fly).
RTF's come with everything you need to start flying in one box.
ARTF's come with just the basic heli kit, they usually need assembly, no electronics are included.
There are advantages to both kits but one thing to know bout RTF Helis is that they will still need
to be checked and set-up prior to flight. Often you will find yourself replacing components on RTF
kits with higher quality parts. Because of this it often makes more sense to buy an ARTF kit,
purchase the electronics you wish to use and build the heli yourself.
and FP helis, they are more expensive to crash and take a fair bit of set up time to make them fly
right. CP's come in sizes from micro indoor ones all the way to really, really big outdoor ones. A
few CP's are sold as RTF Kits (Ready-to-fly) but most are sold as ARTF Kits (Almost-ready-to-fly).
RTF's come with everything you need to start flying in one box.
ARTF's come with just the basic heli kit, they usually need assembly, no electronics are included.
There are advantages to both kits but one thing to know bout RTF Helis is that they will still need
to be checked and set-up prior to flight. Often you will find yourself replacing components on RTF
kits with higher quality parts. Because of this it often makes more sense to buy an ARTF kit,
purchase the electronics you wish to use and build the heli yourself.
| Collective Pitch Helicopters |
Choose your Heli. This is where it can
get complicated. If you're reading this
then most likely you are new to r/c
helis. So Here are my tips for choosing
your first heli, following these steps
should help make your choice easier.
- Where are you gonna be flying?
You need to consider this first for
various reasons.
You can't fly a nitro heli inside (most
can't and
don't want too) Also you can't fly a 600
class heli
(a rotor span bigger then 4ft) in a
garage. While
generally you want the largest heli you
have space for, the
bigger the heli the more stable it will
be, but bigger = more
money to fix when you crash.
- How much money do you have to
invest in this hobby?
There are now helis available in all
price ranges. Fly
what you can afford to crash/fix.
- Nitro or Electric
This is really a matter of personal
opinion. Both have pro's
and cons. I like electric because of its
simplicity and that
I can fly anywhere without making
anyone mad because of
the noise. Since I went with electric,
most of my tips are
for choosing an electric heli.
- Co-Axial or Single Rotor Heli
A co-axial heli is easier to fly, mainly
meant for inside
but can be flown outside on calm days.
However a co-axial
flys completely different from a single
rotor, so most
skills gained by learning on a co-axial
will not have
anything to do with a single rotor heli,
they fly
completely different from each other.
So if you want to be
able to really fly, go straight for a single
rotor heli.
- 4 Channel Fixed Pitch (FP) vs 6
Channel Collective Pitch (CP)
Single Rotor FP helis and CP helis fly
exactly the same -
EXCEPT the FP's won't fly upside
down!
This is an age old debate.Most who
learned to fly on a FP
will recommend it to other beginners
because of their
simplicity, ability to withstand most
crashes with no damage,
require almost no set-up time,
cheapest type of heli to buy,
fly and repair. CP helis are generally
not recommended to
beginners due to their complexity.
They must be properly set
up to fly right, they also need to be
re-adjusted anytime you
take it apart, that can mean lots of time
spent repairing and
tweaking if you crash alot. They also
cost more to fix, but
after you get better at flying and stop
crashing the cost of
repair parts becomes irrelevant. It is
possible to learn on a
CP with out any problems, it can just
take longer and more
money.
- Other tips
Buy Lots of batteries, this is good for 2
reasons. The first
being the obvious that more batteries
will equal more flight
time, the second reason is that by
having extra batteries you
will be putting less stress on the
batteries making them last
longer.
Buy a nice battery charger. You will
want a nice LiPo Balance
charger. LiPo batteries with more then
1 cell need to be
balanced. Buy a charger that can
accurately charge and
balance. Or use a seperate balancer,
but still buy a quality
battery charger.
Buy LOTS of spare parts. You can
never have too many spare
parts. And there's nothing worse then
having to wait for
replacement parts to arrive in the mail.
When you buy spare
parts always buy a few extras at the
same time.
get complicated. If you're reading this
then most likely you are new to r/c
helis. So Here are my tips for choosing
your first heli, following these steps
should help make your choice easier.
- Where are you gonna be flying?
You need to consider this first for
various reasons.
You can't fly a nitro heli inside (most
can't and
don't want too) Also you can't fly a 600
class heli
(a rotor span bigger then 4ft) in a
garage. While
generally you want the largest heli you
have space for, the
bigger the heli the more stable it will
be, but bigger = more
money to fix when you crash.
- How much money do you have to
invest in this hobby?
There are now helis available in all
price ranges. Fly
what you can afford to crash/fix.
- Nitro or Electric
This is really a matter of personal
opinion. Both have pro's
and cons. I like electric because of its
simplicity and that
I can fly anywhere without making
anyone mad because of
the noise. Since I went with electric,
most of my tips are
for choosing an electric heli.
- Co-Axial or Single Rotor Heli
A co-axial heli is easier to fly, mainly
meant for inside
but can be flown outside on calm days.
However a co-axial
flys completely different from a single
rotor, so most
skills gained by learning on a co-axial
will not have
anything to do with a single rotor heli,
they fly
completely different from each other.
So if you want to be
able to really fly, go straight for a single
rotor heli.
- 4 Channel Fixed Pitch (FP) vs 6
Channel Collective Pitch (CP)
Single Rotor FP helis and CP helis fly
exactly the same -
EXCEPT the FP's won't fly upside
down!
This is an age old debate.Most who
learned to fly on a FP
will recommend it to other beginners
because of their
simplicity, ability to withstand most
crashes with no damage,
require almost no set-up time,
cheapest type of heli to buy,
fly and repair. CP helis are generally
not recommended to
beginners due to their complexity.
They must be properly set
up to fly right, they also need to be
re-adjusted anytime you
take it apart, that can mean lots of time
spent repairing and
tweaking if you crash alot. They also
cost more to fix, but
after you get better at flying and stop
crashing the cost of
repair parts becomes irrelevant. It is
possible to learn on a
CP with out any problems, it can just
take longer and more
money.
- Other tips
Buy Lots of batteries, this is good for 2
reasons. The first
being the obvious that more batteries
will equal more flight
time, the second reason is that by
having extra batteries you
will be putting less stress on the
batteries making them last
longer.
Buy a nice battery charger. You will
want a nice LiPo Balance
charger. LiPo batteries with more then
1 cell need to be
balanced. Buy a charger that can
accurately charge and
balance. Or use a seperate balancer,
but still buy a quality
battery charger.
Buy LOTS of spare parts. You can
never have too many spare
parts. And there's nothing worse then
having to wait for
replacement parts to arrive in the mail.
When you buy spare
parts always buy a few extras at the
same time.
Co-Axial Helicopters are to easiest and
most stable helis available. When set
up properly they will hover all by
themselves. They are meane for
indoors only but can be flown outside
when there is NO wind.
Learning to fly on a CoAxial Heli will be
one of the quickest ways to get into
the air and start flying. They are great
beginner helis that almost anyone can
fly.
CoAxial Helis come in 2, 3, and 4
channel versions but my
recomendation is to only buy 4
channel versions, never 2 or 3 channel
ones.
One big thing you need to know about
CoAx's is that they fly and handle
much differently then Single Rotor
Helis. So once you master flying a
CoAx and want to move to single rotor
helis, you will basically have to re-learn
how to fly.
most stable helis available. When set
up properly they will hover all by
themselves. They are meane for
indoors only but can be flown outside
when there is NO wind.
Learning to fly on a CoAxial Heli will be
one of the quickest ways to get into
the air and start flying. They are great
beginner helis that almost anyone can
fly.
CoAxial Helis come in 2, 3, and 4
channel versions but my
recomendation is to only buy 4
channel versions, never 2 or 3 channel
ones.
One big thing you need to know about
CoAx's is that they fly and handle
much differently then Single Rotor
Helis. So once you master flying a
CoAx and want to move to single rotor
helis, you will basically have to re-learn
how to fly.
| Copyright © 2008-2010 Nuttcaze, myrcguides.com and myrcguide.com All Rights Reserved. All original wording and photographs used on this website are the property of Nuttcaze, and may not be used without prior written consent. |
 | |  | |  | |  |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |