Selecting an rc helicopter can be a daunting task, especially for the beginner. The first step is to know your options. To begin, we will examine the different types and configurations of rc helicopters available.

RC helicopter rotor blades can be fixed pitch, or collective pitch. An rc helicopter relies on the lift generated by it’s rotors. These rotors are comparable to the airfoil on the wing of an airplane. When the blades are locked at one angle, we refer to the rc heli as fixed pitch. This means that the blades always cut into the air at the same angle. This design has several advantages. The design is simpler, more durable, and easier and therefore cheaper to manufacture. The overall cost of a fixed pitch rc helicopter will be less than the cost of a comparable collective pitch model. The major disadvantage of the fixed pitch design is that the vertical component of flight becomes less controllable. Because the angle at which the blades cut through the air is constant, the only way to vary the amount of lift produced is to increase the rate at which the blades spin. This is accomplished by increasing the engine speed. The problem with this system is that because of inertia, the speed of the engine cannot be changed or controlled as rapidly as the servo you would use to control vertical thrust in a collective pitch rc helicopter.

In a collective pitch rc helicopter, the angle of the blades is changed to control the amount of upward thrust. Unlike a fixed pitch helicopter, when the command is given for the helicopter to climb or descend, the pitch of the rotor blades changes and the engine speed remains constant. The servo controlling the pitch of the blades (and the climb rate of the rc helicopter) only has to alter the position of the the rotors, which can be done rapidly with relatively little resistance. This is capable of a more rapid response than the engine having to accelerate the entire drive train and rotors up to a new speed. Clearly, the collective pitch design provides better control but at a higher price.

Cyclic pitch is the term applied to an rc helicopter which maneuvers by changing the pitch of each individual blade at different points along the path of rotation, causing them to generate more thrust on one side of the rc helicopter than the other. This will tilt the rc helicopter and result in horizontal motion.

An important option is known as auto rotation. In a fixed wing aircraft, if the engine were to stop, the plane becomes a glider with the wings still producing lift. The same can happen in an rc helicopter that is equipped with auto rotation. In an rc helicopter without auto rotation, the engine is connected to the rotors with out the ability to disengage – meaning that if the engine were to stop, the blades would do the same. This would result in the pilot losing control and the helicopter crashing. With auto rotation, the blades will spin freely during an engine failure. They will still generate some lift, allowing the pilot to maintain control and land. This is normally accomplished by a one way clutch or bearing. Auto rotation is a good feature to have because it may save your rc helicopter if the engine were to fail.

When manufactures refer to the size of a helicopter they are most likely talking about the displacement of the engine, rather than the size of the helicopter itself. Engine displacement commonly ranges from .30 to .90 cubic inches. Each size has it’s advantages and disadvantages, and these will be examined in depth in part two of this guide. For now though, the rule of thumb is that a larger engine is more powerful and will burn more fuel.

Pod and boom is a term applied to the type of helicopter where the body is composed of a ‘pod’ where the radio, engine, gears and other components are kept. The ‘boom’ is the part of the helicopter that holds the tail rotor. This is a common type of rc helicopter, accounting for the majority of the models available. This is different from the scale model style, where the entire model is designed to look just like the real thing. These generally have large fuselages which make them easier to see. They are also more aerodynamic. But for the beginner, pod and boom design is recommended, because of availability and durability.

Now that you are familiar with the different types of rc helicopters available, you are ready to make an informed choice on the type of model to buy. We will show you different points to consider when buying your first rc helicopter in the second part of this guide.

The gyro is an essential component in many rc helicopters. Gyros in rc helicopters are most commonly used to control unwanted movement on the yaw axis. When an rc helicopter rotates on its yaw axis, the direction the nose points (the heading) changes. The yaw gyro’s job is to sense any undesired rotation around the yaw axis (clockwise or counterclockwise rotation when viewed from above), and to automatically correct the orientation of the rc helicopter. Without a yaw gyro, even if the rc helicopter was trimmed out to fly straight initially, it would eventually begin to drift and rotate right or left. Normal maneuvering of the rc helicopter and external forces can result in undesired yaw rotation. When this occurs, the gyroscope senses this change in yaw and corrects it by controlling the thrust generated by the tail rotor to compensate for the rotation. This results in stable flight for the rc helicopter and no undesired changes in yaw.

Old rc helicopter gyros operated by using the inertia of a spinning weighted wheel. The wheel would resist changes in orientation, due to it’s angular momentum. A sensor would monitor the orientation of the spinning wheel and use it as a reference to compare to the rest of the rc helicopter. However, these gyros were heavy and consumed energy to keep the wheel spinning. As technology improved new rc helicopter gyros were developed. The solid state gyro has no moving parts, consumes less electricity than its mechanical counterpart, and is more crash resistant.

There are two important types of rc helicopter gyro. The rate gyro senses changes in yaw, and applies corrective action. When the motion stops, the gyro stops correcting. There are two disadvantages to this type: first, although this gyro stops the motion of the rc helicopter, it does not return it to it’s original heading. In other words, if a force were applied to an rc helicopter in level flight, it would turn and then the gyro would stop this motion. The end result would be that the rc helicopter has been turned to a new heading. A second disadvantage is that since the gyro only corrects after the motion has been detected, and the corrective action is always a little late.

The heading hold gyro operates in the same way as the rate gyro, with the exception being that after yaw movement has been corrected it returns the nose of the rc helicopter to it’s original position. This type of gyro does not stop giving commands to the tail rotor when motion stops, but will continue giving these commands to hold the nose of the rc helcopter in a certain orientation. Even more advanced gyros of this type will interpret the yaw requests that the pilot is sending through the radio control system, and will make whatever corrections are necessary to cause the rc helicopter to yaw at the desired rate. With this type of gyro, an rc helicopter will turn equally even in a crosswind.

Even though the heading hold gyro has many advantages, it places several demands on the rest of the rc helicopter system. It will require a very fast tail rotor servo, and a powerful battery to supply the servo, which will be required to make very fast corrections. This can strain the servo, and consume more power. The rc helicopter battery will need to supply the gyro and servos, so a higher capacity battery is better. However, the larger the battery, the larger the weight. An rc helicopter with a heading hold gyro and fast servos can use significantly more power than a less aggressive rc helicopter with a rate gyro.

Clearly, there are many choices of gyros for the rc helicopter pilot, each with it’s own advantages and disadvantages. When choosing a gyro system for your rc helicopter, be sure to consider battery capacity and weight, how you will be flying, and the type of servos with your radio system.

Flying your rc helicopter for the first time can be risky, especially if you have not had prior experience. Using a simulator is a good way to see what the hobby is all about and to practice without risking a crash.

There are many simulators available, both commercial products and free software. Any of them can provide a realistic way to try flying an rc helicopter. There are several benefits of using a flight simulator, the most important being you cannot damage a model while learning how to fly. Simulators can provide a good way to improve your flying skills. Many simulators support using your actual rc helicopter transmitter to control the simulated model, further enhancing the realism, while others require the use of a controller specifically designed to connect to your computer and simulate an rc transmitter. RC helicopter simulators will allow you to fly a variety of models, under different conditions. Most simulators will allow you to adjust various flight parameters. This means that you can simulate your own rc helicopter, and even simulate equipment failures. Unlike real flying, the simulator is not dependent on weather or time of day. Some simulators have training systems that will let you control different axis of motion, while the simulator controls the rest. This makes learning easy for the beginner.

Some available simulators include:

• The Dave Brown Products Ratio Control Flight Simulator 2001
• The Great Planes RealFlight R/C Flight Simulator G-3
• The Flying Model Simulator (FMS) – free!

There are many more simulators to be found online. Much of this software is upgradeable, and expansions can be either ordered, or found online. Flight simulators are a great way to learn to fly, without risking your expensive model.

Popular toy manufacturer WowWee has announced the Flytech Bladestar, a totally new type of rc helicopter which should become available this Feburary.

The BladeStar rc helicopter uses a single main blade along with small propellers mounted on the ends of two arms or ‘booms’. Sensors incorporated into the Flytech BladeStar allow it to fly autonomously and avoid bumping into walls or objects. In addion to this ‘auto pilot’ mode, it can also be controlled using its 3 channel digital IR remote to control (with beginner and expert level settings).

See a video of the BladeStar on YouTube.

The BladeStar rc helicopter recharges from the remote control and reports indicate that it will fly for 5 to 15 minutes and take about 20 minutes to charge. An optional combat feature which will allow you to shoot other BladeStar rc helicopters out of the air (or get shot out of the air yourself) had been mentioned. The Flytech BladeStar rc helicopter is suitable for indoor flight only, and is constructed from durable crash-resistant materials. Additional information is available on the official web site.

Interactive Toy Concepts has announced a remote controlled toy it is billing as the world’s smallest helicopter. It is a smaller version of their Micro Mosquito helicopter, called the Mosquito Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). The Mosquito MAV is an indoor RC helicopter measuring only 2.5 inches tall, 4 inches long, with a rotor diameter of 3.5 inches.

The Mosquito MAV features dual counter-rotating rotors geared to a single motor, with a vertical tail rotor for yaw control (steering), much like the Interactive Toy Concepts Black Ghost, but smaller. It has a twenty foot range, and is powered by an internal lithium polymer battery that lasts for 7 minutes. Recharging is said to only take five minutes, which would make it one of the fastest charge times on any rc helicopter. This Mosquito MAV helicopter will be available this year at most major retail and electronic stores for $49.99.

The Mosquito MAV combines the style of the Micro Mosquito with the design and precise flight control of the Black Ghost, all in the smallest helicopter design so far.