RC Helicopter flying is both challenging and exciting
and a huge amount of fun. In the past it’s been
a very expensive hobby to get started in with traditional
RC helicopters costing from £500 - £1000.
This cost has put many people off the hobby and those
that have taken the plunge have often been scared of
flying their new machines due to the fear of crashing.
Well the good news is all that has now changed, technology
has significantly improved and it’s never been
cheaper to learn to fly an RC helicopter. What’s
even better is that with new technology RC helicopters
have become easier to learn to fly as well.
So let’s look at the options
to get into this exciting hobby.
The most basic helicopters out there are simple two
channel helicopters where you can rise and fall and
change direction. These micro helicopters made by Syma
or silverlitt are little more than toys really but they
are great fun to fly and pretty robust. They are designed
to be flown in the house only. They make the perfect
gift as well at only £19.99. They are suitable
for ages 6 and up and they are very easy to fly. We
currently stock two different designs of this helicopter.
To start getting the most from RC helicopters you really
need a helicopter which has 4 channels or more. Prices
for these helicopters range from around £59.99 to
approx £120.00. Four channel helicopters come in
two types. These are contra-rotating helicopters and fixed
pitch helicopter. The difference is simple; the contra-rotating
types have two pairs of rotors which spin in opposite
directions making the helicopters very stable and easy
to fly. These helicopters are made by a number of manufacturers
such as Walkera, Perkins, E Flite and Esky. Fixed pitch
helicopters have a single pair of rotor blades and the
pitch is fixed at a set angle. These are more like traditional
helicopters and are often the next step after contra-rotating
helicopters.
Let’s look at contra-rotating helicopters first.
There are many models on the market at present many are
from low budget poor quality manufactures and parts and
spares are very difficult to obtain. That’s why
when choosing a helicopter in this class its important
to choose one with a brand name you can trust such as
the market leaders Esky and E Flite. Now with that said
contra rotating helicopters do provide a safe and easy
entry point into the hobby, they are suitable for 6-14
year olds with supervision and then all ages after that.
They are capable of full forward flight and they can bank
and turn, fly backwards etc. Also because they have 4
fully proportional functions you can control forwards
and backwards, left and right roll, let and right pirouette
and ascending and descending. Contra rotating helicopters
are designed to be flown indoors and can only be used
outside in flat calm conditions. Fast Lad Performance
stocks the following helicopters from Esky, The Lama V4,
Lama V4 and Co-Comanche and from Eflite the Blade CX2.
In addition we also stock a full range of parts and upgrades.
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