subject: Basics Of Rc Helicopters [print this page] Before you go in to buy a RC helicopter, you must look into the wide range of copters which are available today. The variety available in radio controlled helicopters seems too good to be true. You will be surprised to find that there are micro electric toy models which can sit in the palm of your hand and there are the giant ones which need liquid or gas so that they can work effectively.
If you are just a beginner learning to fly the RC helicopter, you must start with an electric or battery operated one. Not only are they simple, but they do not produce much sound as well. The electric helicopters are easy to operate and to control as well. As soon as you press the start button, the electric ones start working, unlike the other varieties, which need to be primed and are temperamental at the same time. There is no doubt that the electric helicopters are the safest and the easiest to start with.
The electric helicopters are usually powered with rechargeable batteries which give power to the engine. With the use of the modern LiPo batteries which work on the cell phone technology, a new variety of RC copters has been launched, which are the micro electric helicopters. All the varieties of helicopters are inserted with the radio transmitter which allows the pilot to operate it. Usually, the transmitters come with 2 channels; however, if you would like the helicopter to do more than the basic stuff, it needs to have at least 3 channels. With the increase in the number of channels, the functionality of the helicopter increases. A RC helicopter with the 3 channels performs in a certain manner, one of the channel will take care of the engine power while the other two channels will operate the mechanical components of the copter which are involved in giving the heli a stable flight.
The mechanical components or the servos are connected to the swashplate which is located just under the main rotor. Any type of RC helicopter which comes with the cyclic control is attached with the swashplate and this will in turn help to control the movements of the fly bar. The servos are referred to as the cyclic and they both tend to have one control. As the rotor turns, the body of the helicopter starts turning the other way round and this is referred to as the torque. To make sure that the helicopter avoids this movement, the radio controlled helicopters should try to stop the torque movement and for this purpose, they must have the two rotors that have counter-rotating movement. Certain channel 3 helicopters have these located at the center while in some others; they are present one on top of the other. Such type of helicopters is referred to as the coaxial. They are constructed in such a way that they do not have any tail rotor but they might have some kind of rudder attached with them.
It is always advisable to understand the basics of your RC helicopter before you decide to purchase one.
