subject: Mini Remote Control Helicopters: Why Get Them? [print this page] Mini remote control helicopters are very popular among people of all ages, and have enjoyed a steady increase in its popularity especially during the last couple of years. This can be attributed to its lighter lithium polymer batteries and because it employs cheaper technology that ultimately lowers its costs.
The bodies of these mini flying machines are usually made of EPP Styrofoam like material or sometimes even plastic, while the blades are composed mostly of either soft nylon or plastic.
Unlike the traditional remote control helicopters, the micro or mini lines are set up to always moves forward. You will only ever be able to control the hover height as well as the left or right turns, and by adding on tiny weights to the nose of the helicopter, you will be able to adjust just how fast you want the helicopter to move forwards. These mini machines are also designed to be controlled by a 2 channel proportional infrared control system, that is responsible for it forward and backward movement, as well as its left and right turns. Its blade pitch is fixed and the up and down or left and right movement is controlled solely by speeding up or slowing down the main and tail rotors.
These mini helicopters are often powered by an extremely small brushed motor and pinion combination, which turns a main gear that is attached to the main rotor, while the tail rotor is powered by an even smaller motor that is attached to the fixed pitch tail rotor.
These also have no gyros, unlike the conventional one that require the presence of one. Instead of a gyro, the mini helicopters have a trim switch that is responsible for controlling the speed of the tail rotor.
A small lithium polymer battery that is charged by the infrared transmitter in a few minutes powers the entire system of the remote control helicopters. The secret behind the ability of these mini helicopters to be stable while on air is mainly the presence of its weighted fly bars, which is attached to the main rotors and has similar functions to the gyros in the traditional RC helicopter.
The mini remote control helicopters also come in coaxial rotor design, that comes without the use of a tail rotor and instead uses two main rotors that are able to rotate in opposing directions to counteract each others rotational force or torque.
The biggest advantage of these mini helicopters is that they can be flown indoors, and even around people without having to worry about causing injury to anyone, your walls, and your furniture. However, unless the winds are perfectly calm, you will be unable to flow these mini helicopters outside. Because of their weight (about 10 or so grams), even the smallest breeze of gust of wind will be able to make you lose control over them. Aside from this, the mini helicopters also come in very cheap when compared to other.
