A new kind of fun

[Lonerider62]

I got introduced to Heli flying recently at an RV show in Quartzsite, AZ. Not exactly a venue where you'd expect to see people hawking miniture Helicopters but there were three or four vendors selling the inexpensive Chinese produced Copters of several different sizes. They were selling anywhere from $20 to about $150 in sizes from rotor spans of 5 inches for the smallest to about 30 inches for the largest. I often heard that Heli's were far too hard to fly when I got started with fixed-wing RC models so I never tried them because the fixed-wings were tough enough. But, after having a couple new counter-rotating double rotor copters with built-in gyros, I've learned they can be a blast to fly. And, pretty darned cheap at that. All the ones I have been using can be had for anywhere between $40 and $70 and come with everything you need for flying with the exception of the AA batteries for the transmitter. I will say, you have to be flying in a very quiet place (very little to no wind) when you are larning the controls, and have a nice open space clear from trees or power lines is a good idea. On my first flight I put mine right up into a tree as I lifted too fast. It ended up with some minor damage. If you need to find something to do other than tinker on a bike or ride and have $40 you an afford, try one out, they get as addictive as a motorcycle but don't hurt rearly as bad when you crash. Two good sources are Xenonproject.com and Xheli. You'll have a blast.

http://www.xheli.com/67h-9101-heli-yellow.html

[motoman]

Interestingly enough, my wife got me one for my B-day the other day. Not one to really be into the RC stuff, this thing IS a challange! Indoor use only as it is too lite to even counter a breeze. Fairly robust as I've dropped it out of the air several times. Finially figured just a foot off he floor was a good place to figure out correct manuevers. Like you say, a hoot and a REAL challange! Has the twin blades and the counter weight, so fairly easy to keep stable in one place.

[mack]

I bought one last

summer.It's pretty big, probably 16" rotor span and capable of carrying camera. My problem is i live on top of hill, and there is never a time that the wind isn't blowing.I've crashed it more times than i can count. I now try to fly it about 4 ft off the ground but the wind can still grab it and force mishap. My other complaint is the flying time. They take a longtime to charge, and only stay a loft for about ten minutes.