But if you’ve already mastered a plane and feel ready for the demands of a heli…read on for more details!

What Can an R/C Helicopter Do?
  The answer is, just about anything that involves flying! They’ll hover in one spot. Fly backwards and sideways. Do pirouettes while in forward flight. Perform stall turns, loops, rolls, standing loops and rolls (a loop or roll with no forward speed)…even fly upside-down and hover while only inches off the ground. Let’s see an airplane — or even a full-size helicopter — do that!
  In normal forward flight, an R/C helicopter flies at about 40-50 mph and approximately 100 to 300 feet high.

Parts Diagram of a Conventional R/C Helicopter

Controlling Your Heli
  A helicopter radio provides a separate channel for each of the five functions described below. It has special throttle-collective pitch mixing functions that are not available on airplane radios. These mixing functions make the helicopter much easier to set up and fly. Special features such as throttle hold and idle up also increase ease of flying and aerobatics. More channels may be used for other purposes - gyro switching, lights, landing gear, etc.

1. THROTTLE - Moves the helicopter up and down. Transfers engine power to the spinning rotor blades and increases collective pitch to lift the helicopter.
2. COLLECTIVE PITCH - Moves the helicopter up and down. Controlled by the throttle through automatic mixing, the pitch of each of the two main rotor blades is directly proportional and changes together or collectively to create the desired movement of the helicopter.
3. TAIL ROTOR PITCH - Turns the helicopter right or left (Yaw). This tells the helicopter which direction to face. In the neutral position, the tail rotor blades have 4 degrees of built-in pitch, which enables the model to counteract the torque of the spinning main rotor blades.
4. FORE-AFT CYCLIC - Tilts the helicopter forwards and backwards (Pitch). Changes the pitch of the main rotor blades in cycles, which adjusts the pitch (forward and backward tilt) of the helicopter itself. This enables the helicopter itself to fly forwards or backwards.
5. LEFT-RIGHT CYCLIC - Leans the helicopter to the left and right (Roll). Acts similar to the Fore-Aft Cyclic, except in this case the helicopter leans to the right or left in order to fly in either direction.
6. GYRO - is kind of like an "automatic pilot" for the tail rotor function. Generally, the tail rotor is a touchy, difficult function to control (and the most important while learning). A gyro is a little black box that contains special components and circuitry to help you hold the yaw (left and right turning) position of the helicopter. Don’t fly your conventional heli without a gyro. All helicopter pilots today, from beginners to experts, use a gyro.

Getting Started
  How do you know what helicopter model to choose? Below are some proven options—models that customers have told us gave them an excellent start in the hobby.

Heli-Max AXE EZ EP RTF
This compact, ready-to-fly electric heli is the fun and easy way to impress your friends with motionless hovering! The secret to successful hovering is in the twin counter-rotating blades. When the blades rotate at the same speed, they cancel out each other’s torque, so there’s zero tendency to spin. It’s so easy that even a beginner can fly and hover like a pro after just a few minutes of practice. The AXE EZ comes Prebuilt and complete, so you can start flying right away — training gear and an instructional DVD are included to make it even easier!

Heli-Max RotoFly EX EP RTF
The RotoFly EX is more than a great way to get started — it’s also a great way for experienced pilots to kick back! Factory-assembled and fully-equipped, the RotoFly EX is flight tested so you know it’s dependable. “Fly anywhere” compactness combines with gentle handling — and if you’re still a little nervous about first flights, training gear and a training DVD will help to set your mind at ease. Everything’s packaged in a compact, lockable aluminum case that features shaped foam inside to organize and protect it all.

Venom Air Corps Night Ranger II EP RTF
Hover, turn or go straight, the Night Ranger II heli can do it all! The mini Night Ranger II is a great electric helicopter for beginners and those new to R/C helicopters! Simply open the box, charge the battery, and FLY! This amazing ready-to-fly helicopter comes complete with all you will need except 8 "AA" batteries.