The Joy of RC Helicopters and Planes

I waited too long to start with Remote Controlled Helicopters.

Like many people, I have a love of flight and dream of flying a full sized flight vehicle. But one day not long ago I went to the local hobby shop with my 12-year-old son and lashed out on a helicopter.

I took it home and downloaded the free flight simulator, FMS. I configured FMS to work with my new controller via its usb adaptor and started flying a similar helicopter to the one I had purchased.

I was terrible at it! I crashed over and over. I became confused at the three dimensional motion and control. But slowly I came to understand a helicopter as a floating thing. I know it sounds obvious but it was one of those 'aha' moments for me. I also came to understand that helicopters maneuver by 'falling'.

Armed with my new, deeper understanding, within a few more hours on the simulator, I gained the confidence to 'crawl' my 'real' model helicopter across the floor. What a blast. Over the next weeks my son and I became more and more confident with flying the helicopter around the living room.

I sincerely recommend this adventure to everyone. And, to avoid the kind of disasters I had see my article, Learn to Fly a Helicopter the Easy Way.

Initially, I would suggest going for a helicopter that is stable and easy to fly rather than a trick, 3-D one.

Enjoy!

ps. Whenever we have a flight vehicle that really stands out in terms of quality, interest and price, we'll show it below.