Ive been looking at them on ebay, they look kind of cool, does anybody know anything about them.

what brands are good, how far you can fly these things, whats a good price?

here is a gas powered one I was looking at.

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1750035820[/url]

Start with a cheap one, make sure you can readily get repair parts for (Rotors, fuselage). You WILL beat it to death learning to master rotor flight.

Remote controlled heli, that would be so frikken cool!!!

Find a local R/C club which has instructors to teach you how to fly.  You WILL NEED HELP.

Also, be sure you can afford the spare parts.  R/C helis get expensive -- the initial price is just a lead-in to get you to buy thousands of dollars in rotors, tail booms, body shells, and all the other things that you'll smash into bits while learning.

If you have no point of contact, ask in the newsgroup   rec.models.rc.air    If you don't know how to use/read Usenet News, go to [url]http://groups.google.com[/url] for starters.

I'd suggest trying a fixed wing model RC airplane.  I just got my first one.  I went with the Hitec Sky Scooter... it's a foam plane that runs with an electric motor.  Three channel (aileron, elevator and throttle), so it should be pretty easy to fly.  The foam body means it will be pretty forgiving in any ground-to-plane collisions, and if they do break, they can be glued, or replaced for cheap.  After I get decent on that, I'll do some upgrades to get more speed and performance out of it.  

Then I plan on offing it on Ebay for cheap, then getting a nice 6 or 7 channel radio, get an engine and build a SPAD.

A heli would be sweet, but they would be DIFFICULT to learn to fly....

... cyclic control... rudder... collective... throttle... trims on ALL of those...  yikes...

I hope you have deep pockets....One crash will cost as much as an upper. Oh yeah they also make a weak whinning noise. Have Fun.

Yes, they are cool.  They are also very expensive and very challenging to fly but once you start to get the hang of it then it can be very fun.

The limiting factor on range is your eyes.  The radio system will work much farther than you will.

My suggestion for the best starter helicopter is the Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 with the OS .32SX engine.  Low cost, readily available and affordable parts, very widespread, and very stable yet also has a lot of potential for stunt or "3D" flying.  Larger versions are available but cost more to fly and maintain.

Some things you'll need to fly:
Helicopter
Radio system (transmitter, receiver, servos)
Gyro (keeps thing from spinning out of control)
Engine
Muffler
Electric starter
Fuel
Spare parts (you WILL crash)
Miscellaneous tools and accessories

Buying new you will spend over $1000 for everything.  Make sure if you buy used you get everything you need.  That auction doesn't look like it includes the radio or gyro which are the two most expensive components.

I didn't start with airplanes but it would have been much easier if I had.  Get a 6-channel or greater radio that works with both and you can use all the same servos and receiver when you move to the helicopter.  Matthew_Q had some good advice on looking at SPAD's.  Very cheap, very durable, and VERY fun.  [url]www.spad.org[/url]

Simulators are also available.  Most popular is RealFlight G3 or CSM.  They hook up to your actual radio controller and give you a pretty good approximation of flying.  It's harder than you might think.

Definitely find a club near you.  Look at [url=http://modelaircraft.org/templates/ama/clubmain.asp?sid=D27D821580EB447F8844A4E68BAFBE]AMA[/url]
or find other pilots at [url]http://www.p-locate.rc-helipad.com/[/url]
They can help you with your setup and fine-tuning and get you in the air with the least pain.


I'll make another post with a bunch of great links I've collected for R/C Helicopters.

Thanks for the info.

There are a couplof products available that let you learn to fly your heli without leaving the house. They consist of a replica remote that connects with your computer and software that simulates flying your heli. Cost about $150-$200 and will save you lots of $ and patients with crashes. You can find ads for them in Model airplane magazines.

Also if you do get the simulator and advance to the actual heli there are special attachments that replace the stock skids that extend out farther to help protect from tips that cause the blades to hit the ground.

BrenLover

A few of the best links:

Stores:
[url=www.ronlund.com]Rick's R/C Helicopters[/url]
[url=www.heliproz.com]Heliproz[/url]

Other Pages:
[url=www.heliguy.com/rcheli/home.html]Heliguy[/url]
[url=http://members.tripod.com/~crono33/newbies.htm]Newbie Page[/url]
[url=http://members.telocity.com/fritzthecat/]Fritz the Cat[/url]
[url=http://www.rchelicopters.org/index.mcic]Matt Johnson[/url]
[url=http://www.raptortechnique.com/]Raptor Technique[/url]

Discussion Group and swap site:
[url=www.rconline.com]RC Online[/url]

When I looked into this a long time ago (went with R/C Sailplanes instead), I found a really cool training stand.

You strapped the skids to the arm type thing which limited the movement. It was primarilly used for training to hover.

I thought it was really cool! Besides I saw this before the PC training simulators came out.

P.S.
Bring $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, lots of it! If I remember the R/C helos are the most expensive of the R/C hobbies (on average).

I am not going to tell you what is the "best", as that is all BS, and would change daily, and still, the opinion of one person.  But I can give you a few guidelines:

1.  It is probably more cost effective, and fun per dollar to start with one of the .30 powered class choppers.

2.  Buy a radio made specifically for choppers, not an aircraft radio.  JR and Futaba are the most popular for choppers.

3.  Do not try to adapt an airplane engine, but buy one already set up specifically for choppers, a true "heli" engine.  This will have the proper heatsink head, etc.

4.  Some choppers specify a particular engine by brand name, so if you get one of these, get the engine specified... it will fit with minimal hassle.  Some can be bought with the engine factory installed.  This is a good idea.

5.  I like OS and Thunder Tiger engines.  Thunder Tigers are made by the guy that designed most of the OS engines, FYI.  Enya is another good brand.  Everything else comes in distant third in chopper engines.

6.  Find a local club, and pick the brains of the local chopper fliers (talk to the ones who fly a lot, not the ones who crash a lot... helpful hint #47), not some guy who had one but could not fly it.

7.  Buy a dial indicator and V-blocks (for checking main shaft for straightness after a hard landing), prop balancing equipment, etc.  All must be in balance and run true and smooth or the chopper will not last long.

8.  Never fly with little children nearby, and if you fly in the presence of others, have a person watching your back, watching that childres or stupid adults will not walk into the area where you are hovering.

9.  Yes, a tail rotor gyro (or one of the new solid state tail stabilizers) IS necessary.

My opinions are based on 30+ years of playing with R/C stuff, and my oldest son, who flies R/C choppers.  He learned from a former national champ and world class competitor.

I'd be inclined to agree with Matthew_Q. I've got a Hitec Sky Scooter and it's a bunch of fun. Being a high school student (well.. going into college), and having no money does have some bearing on my recommendation, though.

If you do go this course, I'd recommend Servocity. Good prices, free shipping, and they have good mods:

http://servocity.com/Products/Sky_Scooter_R_C_Airplane/sky_scooter_r_c_airplane.html

No financial interest, just a happy customer.

helio's are cool,  I had a Kalt Baron 50 when I was in Ft.Ord.(80's) (Sold when PCS'd and never got another one)

anyway, was great to have in the barracks.  Durring inspections, the CO would be more interested in it than anything else.  So, I'd do the Q&A thing with him and off he went. lol  .. [:D]


just a additional word of warning, they will suck the money out of you just like having a C&R license!  THey are Heli-fun, once you get the flying down.  Ask for help from someone who already has one.  We used to use long dowels and practice golf balls on them attached to the skids to give it more surface area for landing and to 'save' rotors from near misshaps.. Rotors ARE (were?) expensive!

GL[:)]

You have a pretty good R/C shop in town. Somewhere on the south side. I might be able to drive to it yet but I don't remember the name. I'll ask my friend who was into R/C planes.

Hobby Hut?

Here you go.. form [url]http://rotor.com.sg/raptor/raptorparts.html[/url]

3806 RAPTOR CRASH KIT SET: Included:PV0007 Spindle, PV0008 Flybar Rod, PV0017 Tail Pitch Slider, PV0036 Flybar Paddle, PV0037 Set Tail Rotor Blade, PV0038 Tail Fin Set, PV0039 Set Main Blade, PV0043 Tail Control Rod, AK0029 Main Shaft, AK0060 Tail Boom. S$80.30

I don't really remember. I was there only once with my friend. He thought very highly of the place and owner, and my friend doesn't suffer fools easily.

IIRC, it was off Hwy 50 (more along a parallel street), while it angled southeast before turning south, across the river. Might have been in a small strip mall. Sound familiar yet?

If not, I'll ask my friend. Let me know.

i saw one of those one time, it was "all black" i think it had 666 on the side. hey, where's my tin-foil hat....

hmmmm large winged slow rc plane with lipstick cam and remote fired hacked up AR7..........

I've been flying R/C airplanes since I was 8 years old.  What I can tell you about helicopters is that they are expensive and very hard to learn to fly, but it certainly can be done and they can be a lot of fun.  Just be prepared to have a long time learning and a lot of broken equipment in the mean time.  If you are unfamiliar with aerodynamic basics, try fixed wing R/C first..it certainly doesn't tranlate totally, but is a good starting spot.  That being said....HAVE FUN.  oh, BTW, don't waste your time on electric, whatever kind of R/C it is, go gas (OK glow) it's a lot better.

Mike

Gettin back into the rc hobby thing.. Helos cost a wee bit too much for me. I'm into trucks. Here's what I bought today:

[img]http://www.ar15.com/members/albums/toaster%2Ft3%2Ejpg[/img]

Kick ass!!