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I fancy getting a fairly cheap RC helicopter.
There seems to be hundreds out there and big difference in prices.
Are the smartphone controlled ones worth having?
Hubsan H107 Quadcopter for about £35..?
I've had cheap indoor helicopters and fancy one of these!
Also known as the Hubsan X4:
Some recommendations on this [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-rc-helicopter-for-big-kid ]thread[/url]
My kid got a decent one, I think it's a Syma 107, metal series. Flies very smoothly and easy to control.
But, come on, they are crap really aren't they? Who flies them after New Years? They just sit on a shelf with dying batteries.
I've got a few small ones and a large and the one is just bought cheap 20Quid from local flies very well fast stable and balanced.
anything by Perkins under the "Twister" brand. Or perhaps anything by EFlite or Blade. Then it starts getting expensive... which it will also do if you want to fly it outdoors...
http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=11&cat=helicopters
helis with contra-rotating main rotors and 4ch control are the most stable and easiest to fly. single main and tail rotors with 5-6ch control are the most versatile, especially those with full collective pitch, but are harder to fly than contras.
I personally wouldn't go near anything with less than 4ch control - Throttle, pitch, roll and yaw - anything else is less controllable.
On a heli (well, anything that flies, basically), the basics are this: throttle controls up & down, pitch makes it go forwards/backwards (on a plane, points the nose up or down - mix this with not enough throttle and you have the makings of a stall and, if you don't recover, a crash); roll makes it go from side to side (on a plane the wings will tilt) and yaw makes it twist on its vertical axis; roll & yaw are usually used together to make a nice smooth turn.
If you're going to spend any kind of decent money on a heli, spend a little on a simulator as well, so you can practice crashing - and avoiding it - on your computer. Spares can be more expensive and hard to get hold of than the original.
also have a look at www.heliguy.com
Will keep an eye on this as we need a new one for the office.
The current one didn't survive its last failed attempt at a pass through the box shelving...
I've got a Hubsan X4, it's ace fun. Looking forward to taking outside in the summer too.
Heliguy.co.uk
£13 Syma S107G is excellent. And fully modular - i.e all bits replaceable (and actually looks quite fun to do!)
What you [i]really[/i] want is one of these:
http://www.geekologie.com/2012/12/the-end-nears-flying-hexapod-hexacopter.php
http://hackaday.com/2012/12/18/the-hexapod-hexacopter/
Iv'e got one of the Syma 107's and for their price they really are great.
Your not going to be doing any aerobatics with them but for something to generally fly about indoors , figure of 8's etc they're good VFM.
Crashed mine a few times and have'nt had to replace anything yet, unlike my considerably more expensive 4 channel which I flew into a lampost and destroyed! 😆
I've just bought one of the Hubsan X4's and wouldn't really recommend it as a first heli. You could certainly do worse but it can be a twitchy little bastard and its definitely harder to fly around the living room than my E-Flite Blade MSR. You'd be better off starting with a contra rotating heli IMO. The Syma's seem to get good reviews but are considered to be at the toy end of the spectrum - the Apollo brand of the rc heli world if you will. E-Flite on the other hand are more like Specialized or Trek; they make the best small heli's you can buy in the sub £200 category and £27 will get you this - [url= http://www.apexmodels.com/gbu0-prodshow/BLH2700I.html ]http://www.apexmodels.com/gbu0-prodshow/BLH2700I.html.[/url] Notice how it has a swashplate on the rotor shaft to control forwards/backwards movement rather than a rotor on the tail; This also allows you to control left and right tilt (aileron) which is not possible with the Syma or similar helis and puts it into a different league than the stuff you'll find in Tesco's etc.
I got one from Clas Olson this Christmas with a camera that you can download the info, £49 just got to be able to fly it without the dog around as she will kill it when it lands LOL 🙁
Whatever you get, check availability and cost of spares before you buy!
indeed!
If I had an iphone or ipad i would get one of these: http://ardrone2.parrot.com/videos/
Serious question - do any RC helicopters have lifting ability, say packet of biscuits, cup of tea, or even mobile phone if you've left it in the kitchen?
the bigger the better 😉
something like the Silverlit micro living room things or a Blade MSX (MCX?) would struggle to lift anything other than a piece of paper; a big .50 nitro heli, or even better a turbine powered heli, could probably lift a substantial payload.
The balance of the load is probably more important than its weight, TBH
Yes, they can, but it'll need a fair amount of power. The novice 'toy' ones can lift their own weight, but that's about it
looks to be a fair old headwind in that video. at first I thought the pilot wasn't too good in the hover but if I tried flying in that wind, it'd be in the shed 😳
This one is a bit more controlled and a fair weight being lifted