The Best RC Helicopter: You Decide
Skill Level / Type:
What skill level are you at in rc? Or better yet, what skill level would you like to be at? This page is all about the 3 main difficulty levels and what to expect in each one.
The 3 main difficulty levels are beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A beginner can learn to fly on an advanced heli, but an advanced pilot should not learn on a beginner heli. This is pretty obvious, but I just wanted to get it out of the way.
Basically:
The 3 main difficulty levels are beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A beginner can learn to fly on an advanced heli, but an advanced pilot should not learn on a beginner heli. This is pretty obvious, but I just wanted to get it out of the way.
Basically:
- Beginner: Coaxial Helicopter
- Intermediate: FP Heli
- Advanced: CP Heli
Coaxial Helicopter
Coaxials are usually 3-4 channels, but some can be only 2 (a piece of junk) or 5 (for laser tag). Generally, they incorporate a 45 Degree Flybar.
Note: there are a very few collective pitch coaxials. These, however, fall under the category of CP Helis.
Advantages:
Note: there are a very few collective pitch coaxials. These, however, fall under the category of CP Helis.
Advantages:
- Innately Stable
- Generally easy for a beginner rc pilot to fly.
- Quite limited in aerobatic potential.
- 45 Degree Flybar quite annoying when flying at higher speeds
- Very limited in outdoor flying because of design; flying into wind causes heli to climb instead.
- Limited in size because of lack of collective; throttle becomes less responsive at larger rotor diameters.
Fixed Pitch Helicopter
*The Blade 120 SR FP Heli
Fixed pitch (FP) helicopters are basically toned-down collective pitch rc helis, except lack of collective control forces them to control altitude with throttle, like coaxials. Fixed pitch helis are generally 4 channels, but can be 3 or 5. They usually have a 45 degree flybar.
Advantages:
Advantages:
- More responsive and realistic than a coaxial helicopter
- More stable than a collective pitch helicopter
- Stable enough for a beginner, responsive enough for an intermediate pilot
- Limited in aerobatic potential
- 45 Degree Flybar annoying when flying at higher heli speeds
- Limited in size because throttle becomes unresponsive at larger sizes.
Collective Pitch Helicopter
*The T-Rex 450 CP Heli
Collective pitch (CP) helicopters are any helicopter that has the ability to vary the pitch (or angle of attack) of its main blades to control the amount of lift. Generally, CP helis have a 90 Degree flybar, making them much less innately stable than coaxial and FP helis. CP helis always have 5 or more channels.
Because of their 90 degree flybar, they are innately unstable. However, this makes them much more responsive. To fly a CP helicopter you basically have to constantly make control corrections.
For example:
To go in a straight line with a FP or coaxial heli you push and hold down on the forward stick. Not so on a CP heli. To move forward, you simply nudge the forward stick and then let go, and the helicopter accelerates forward. You also have to use left and right aileron if the helicopter begins (and usually does) to accelerate to the right or left, respectively.
To stop on a FP or coaxial heli you just let up on the forward stick and they pendulum back into a hover. However, with a CP heli you have to counter-correct. In other words, you must pull back on the forward stick to stop movement.
To put it another way, unless the helicopter and swashplate are perfectly level, the helicopter will begin to accelerate in the direction the swashplate is leaning, in proportion to the tilt of the swashplate. If you counter correct and it is even a tiny bit too much, the helicopter will begin to accelerate in the new direction the swashplate is tilted, again proportionally to the tilt of the swashplate. If on the other hand you counter correct too little, the helicopter will continue to accelerate in the same direction, but the rate of acceleration (speeding up) will be less. This means that the helicopter will still continue to move faster in that direction.
Notice that the helicopter's movement is always proportional to the tilt of the swashplate. A greater tilt means a greater acceleration, while a smaller tilt means a smaller acceleration.
Advantages:
Because of their 90 degree flybar, they are innately unstable. However, this makes them much more responsive. To fly a CP helicopter you basically have to constantly make control corrections.
For example:
To go in a straight line with a FP or coaxial heli you push and hold down on the forward stick. Not so on a CP heli. To move forward, you simply nudge the forward stick and then let go, and the helicopter accelerates forward. You also have to use left and right aileron if the helicopter begins (and usually does) to accelerate to the right or left, respectively.
To stop on a FP or coaxial heli you just let up on the forward stick and they pendulum back into a hover. However, with a CP heli you have to counter-correct. In other words, you must pull back on the forward stick to stop movement.
To put it another way, unless the helicopter and swashplate are perfectly level, the helicopter will begin to accelerate in the direction the swashplate is leaning, in proportion to the tilt of the swashplate. If you counter correct and it is even a tiny bit too much, the helicopter will begin to accelerate in the new direction the swashplate is tilted, again proportionally to the tilt of the swashplate. If on the other hand you counter correct too little, the helicopter will continue to accelerate in the same direction, but the rate of acceleration (speeding up) will be less. This means that the helicopter will still continue to move faster in that direction.
Notice that the helicopter's movement is always proportional to the tilt of the swashplate. A greater tilt means a greater acceleration, while a smaller tilt means a smaller acceleration.
Advantages:
- Highly responsive because of their 90 Degree flybar
- With a suitable controller, capable of all kinds of acrobatics
- Well suited to the intermediate all the way to expert pilot
- Capable of inverted (upside down) flight
- Lift control much more - even almost instantaneously - responsive than on FP and coaxial helis because of their collective control. This enables CP helis to be larger while just as responsive.
- Less efficient with power because of symmetrical airfoils and horizontal tail rotor
- Difficult (but quite possible) for a beginner
- Innately unstable
Basic Comparisons:
Feature:
Stability: Average Flight Time: Size Limits: High Speed Flight: Outdoor Flight: Aerobatic Potential: Cost: Responsitivity: Ease of Flying: Fun Ranking: |
Coaxial:
Extremely Stable
Best; up to 15 mins / battery Limited in Size; Max about 24" main rotor (300 size) Limited. Very Limited outside Very limited. Best inside Almost none. Best is circles and figure 8s Cheapest Very unresponsive Easy 3rd |
Fixed Pitch
Very Stable Pretty good; sometimes 10 min / battery Limited in Size; generally less than 300 size Not very good Decent. Small size makes it more difficult Almost none. Best is figure 8s and banked turns More expensive Less responsive Fairly Easy 2nd |
Collective Pitch:
Unstable
Least; generally no more than 8 min / battery No size limit: 100-700+ size. Some can be 1/4th scale Very good Very good Very good; loops, rolls, funnels, inverted flight, etc. Depending on quality, can do extreme 3D Most Expensive Extremely Responsive Difficult 1st |
Conclusion:
I would recommend that if you've never flown an rc helicopter before that you start with a cheap (but not junky) coaxial. This enables you to make a cheap entrance into the hobby and a quick, relatively painless exit if you don't like it. A 4 channel coaxial is a great learner for new rc enthusiasts, teaching you about proper battery care, charging habits, helicopter flight, and radio control. In addition, if you do make the fun progression to a collective pitch heli, a 4 channel coaxial will likely help you cut the time to learn nose in hovering in half.
You can also get a 3 channel coaxial, and this is a very good, slightly cheaper option. However, you will likely never fly it again if you progress to a more capable helicopter. Yes, I did the same, and my 9053 only sees air time when a friend is flying.
If you have flown an rc helicopter before but do not own one (such as flying a friend's) I recommend you start out with a FP heli. In addition, if you haven't flown before but know you like flight and have the money, I would recommend a FP heli because they are more capable. FP helis behave similar to CP helis, but are more stable and have one less channel to worry about. A 4 channel, cheap (but quality) FP heli can be a great starter heli as well.
If you have learned adequately how to fly a coaxial or FP heli (such as by following Flight School) then I would recommend a CP heli.
Let me just take this chance right now to tell you a collective pitch helicopter is the BOMB! They are so fun and rewarding to fly. More than any other RC craft (and I have quite a few) a CP RC Heli can do so many things that other air and ground vehicles can't. Yes, they are more expensive than FP and coaxials, but as one who has had a coaxial, you get what you pay for. Often I wish I had never bought one and instead saved it and used in on my CP Heli, but I suppose I would never have bought a CP heli without first getting my 9053.
You can also get a 3 channel coaxial, and this is a very good, slightly cheaper option. However, you will likely never fly it again if you progress to a more capable helicopter. Yes, I did the same, and my 9053 only sees air time when a friend is flying.
If you have flown an rc helicopter before but do not own one (such as flying a friend's) I recommend you start out with a FP heli. In addition, if you haven't flown before but know you like flight and have the money, I would recommend a FP heli because they are more capable. FP helis behave similar to CP helis, but are more stable and have one less channel to worry about. A 4 channel, cheap (but quality) FP heli can be a great starter heli as well.
If you have learned adequately how to fly a coaxial or FP heli (such as by following Flight School) then I would recommend a CP heli.
Let me just take this chance right now to tell you a collective pitch helicopter is the BOMB! They are so fun and rewarding to fly. More than any other RC craft (and I have quite a few) a CP RC Heli can do so many things that other air and ground vehicles can't. Yes, they are more expensive than FP and coaxials, but as one who has had a coaxial, you get what you pay for. Often I wish I had never bought one and instead saved it and used in on my CP Heli, but I suppose I would never have bought a CP heli without first getting my 9053.