Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Helicopters / October 2006

Well, your budget limits you to the low end of the spectrum, to
helicopters like the E-flite Blade CX and CP.  There's a few
equivilents out there that I'm not familiar with, so I won't talk
about them.

Both fly like `real helicopters' and aren't toys like you'd find at
Radio Shack, but the CX cannot handle wind or turbulence (it causes
the dreaded `blade clash' problem) so it really needs to be flown
indoors.  So that leaves you with the Blade CP, which costs $220 or
$250 for the `Pro' version (which basically includes many of the
improvements that you really do want.)

They're not the best flying helicopters, and are downright difficult
to fly for several reasons, but it does fit your budget.  Do be sure
to get a training gear for it ($10 more or so) and find a web page on
how to learn to fly a R/C helicopter and do what it tells you to do
(and more importantly, don't do what it doesn't tell you to do until
you're ready.)  If you can get a good simulator (alas, FMS isn't much
good for learning to fly helicopters) that will help a lot, but they
tend to be expensive enough to blow your budget.

If you have any friends that know helicopters and can help you trim
whatever you get and make sure it works and can give you pointers,
that will help a lot.

Is that $300 total, or $300 for just the helicopter?  You can find kits that
run "around" the $300 mark but you've still got to buy radio, engine, fuel,
tools, starting equipment, etc.  That's assuming you're not into radio
control aircraft at all.  If you're already flying airplanes, there's a lot
of detail stuff you've probably already got.

There are a number of small electrics that can be had RTF (ready to fly) for
at or less than $300 but they're not going to be that great outdoors, if
they'd be flyable in any wind at all.

I'd recommend looking around your area and try to find a local RC field that
has folks flying helicopters and see what they've got.  That way you can see
the actual model and get a more realistic idea of what to expect.

Good luck,
Steve R.

With only 300 dollars to spend, I'd forget it it for now and save up a bit
longer.

Even if you got one (with all the other necessary stuff) for that kind of
money, you'd be a little "upset" when you spank it.