My Father just crashed a helicopter

[TVC]

I've just got back from Modelzone with my copter, waiting for the charge.

Had lunch at Wagamama and picked up my shiny new helmet from the post office as well, so feeling seriously satisfied with myself.

 

[downfader]

I'll tell him about the tether thing. Might be handy, I can see him destroying it or losing it otherwise...

 

[biggs682]

we got my father one of these last year and it crashed more times than it flew but great fun and dammed hard work to fly steadily

 

[Night Train]

Last Christmas I got one of those for my Ex wife's new husband.
He is also fast approaching 60 but also trained as a helicopter pilot before being told he couldn't get a licence due to an eye sight defect.

He had a great time with the rc helicopter and has since made his wife get him a massive out door one to play with. I think he now has about four or five of the things.
I'm glad I got the first one for him for the amount of fun he has had.

 

[Headgardener]

I don't think I could control any flying model for long but I have seen a RC digger which looks like fun.

 

[Black Sheep]

Gti junior got one for Xmas, took it outside and watched it fly itself onto the roof where it ditched in the snow. Apparently the IR control doesn't work too well in daylight.

Guess who had to get the ladder out and climb up to dislodge it with a long stick?

The IR range on an indoor one is not that great, I can fly one about 12m down the shop and after that it starts becoming a bit picky about what controls to respond to

I remember a bloke a work buying a radio controlled helicopter.

He said you start by tieing the helicopter to a stake with about 1ft of string to stop you crashing it too badly - something to do with them having 8 planes of movement:

left/right cyclic = roll
fore/aft cyclic = airspeed
left/right yaw = yaw
collective pitch/throttle = climb / dive

I suppose once you can co-ordinate all that lot you're sorted!!!

I'll stick to my mini-science up/down simple hovercraft ...

Cheers,
Shaun

the other way is to get some training balls, they're long plastic sticks that you attach to the copter with an orange ball on the end - the idea being that if you're close to the ground it'll stop you tipping the copter and damaging it

I'm into radio control, cars and bikes mainly and I am tempted to get an R/C yacht, but I would never touch a plane or helicopter. I could see a very expensive crash happening on day 1, although the newer moulded ones you can get cheaply now look pretty tough.

I crashed 2 in sucessive Chistmases so Santa said I couldn't have another one this year. I think it ruined my no claims bonus.

Pity - the military one I saw being demo'd in Modelzone looked rather fun.

the molded ones are pretty tough, I keep crashing them at work although the cheap knock offs have had people coming in looking for new propellers (check how flexable the small tail rotor is)

I work in Antics, similar to Modelzone i guess, and we've sold a few of the chinook style copters, no one has come back yet looking for spares but I do imagine they've been crashed already!

I'd recommend this:

http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1878_1_106084989.html

or if you fancy a military copter

http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1878_1_106380541.html

both very stable, just apply a decent amount of power and they hop off the ground / table / biscuit tin / small child's head, e
ease off the throttle to avoid cealing,
get used to modulating throttle
start playing about with directional controlls
get cocky about it
crash it
start again.

had people coming in for a second one so they can race their son's / dad's