Remote Control Helicopters FAQ - Newbie Questions

So you have seen some guys (or girls) playing with these cool helicopters down at the local park and you think to yourself "I would like to try that". But before buying one, I have some questions.

We have put together a FAQ full of useful information which will hopefully answer most of your questions. If you don't see an answer to your question then maybe it on this page: more helicopter questions. Enjoy.

Q: How long do they stay up

A: My nexus has a nice sized fuel tank and can fly 15 to 20 minutes on one tank of gas.

Q: How far do they go

A: They go as far as the transmitter can broadcast, which is about 2 miles. They will go very high and far out of sight before the radio looses contact, unless your batteries are low.

Q: How fast do they go

A: Same as a average plane, the record top speed is under 90 mph straight and level (without diving first) I think. Most 30 sized helicopters can do around 40 mph fairly easily.

Q: How much do they weigh

A: Most .30 sized helicopters weigh in around 6 lbs empty (no fuel or electronics)

Q: How much can they lift

A: A entry level (30 size) helicopter can lift 1-2 lbs with a significant performance hit. A typical 60 size can lift 5-8 lbs with a significant performance hit. A specialized 60 with flat bottom blades and designed to lift can lift around 15 lbs. (Bergen Observer)

Q: How fast are the blades moving

A: Most .30 sized helicopters spin their main blades near 1600 rpm for easy flying around, and for sport loops and such closer to 1900 rpm. This calculates to over 200 mph at the blade tips and near 300 lbs of force pulling on the center of the blades. The average .30 engine produces a mean one and a half horsepower.

Q: How much do they cost

A: Starting the hobby from zilch materials and tools, the saying goes, $1000 US dollars, I spent a little more, as you can see by looking at my price log. You can get by with a .30 size helicopter for around $800 complete, or you could get a LMH which isn't quite a real helicopter because it doesn't have collective pitch (see glossary) for around $400 to $500.

Q: What kind of mechanical experience do you need to build a heli

A: Minimal: I had never built an rc car, or boat or anything all mechanical before, only an airplane which was all wood. Not at all like this heli. However, following the directions very closely and double checking everything seems to have worked.

Q: How long does it take to build

A: I built my nexus in 3 days. The manual is very good and some components are pre-assembled. With a pre-built ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) kit like the Raptor, you're only a few hours from ready to hover when you get it in the box.

Q: Are they much harder than planes

A: They are more complicated to fly than airplanes, however it is possible to learn to fly a helicopter by yourself which is next to impossible for an rc airplane because with a helicopter you can fly a little bit, 2 inches off the ground and land safely, but with an airplane it's all or none. Helicopters become more complicated because of the fact that there are more ways to fly them, and thus, more orientations you must get used to.

Q: How do you learn to fly

A: By use of a computer simulator which hooks up to your real transmitter through the trainer interface and large training gear which prevent the helicopter from tipping sideways when learning to hover a few inches above the ground.

Q: Do they run on gas

A: Not so much gasoline, as they do on a liquid fuel made of alcohol and nitro methane. They do make r/c helicopter engines that run on regular gasoline, but they're not as common due to their increased cost, weight, and lower power output. They are however much cheaper to buy gas for and can stay up longer, since the regular 2-stroke model engine gas can cost any where from $13 to $23 depending on the mixture. Model engine fuel (glow fuel) produces more power than conventional gasoline because of the high contests of nitro methane, which is why it is more popular than gasoline for model aircraft.

Q: What kind of engines do they run on

A: Special remote control helicopter engines. They come in 2-stroke and 4-stroke glow burning engines as well as 2 stroke gasoline models. They range in size from .06 cu inches to .91 cubic inches. The most common of these are glow fuel .30 and .60 two stroke engines. The O.S. .32 SXH runs at a peak power RPM of around 18000 RPM with 1.2 horsepower, while the 60 size engines can make 2 to 3 h.p.!

Q: Whats a glow engine

A: An engine that uses a glow plug instead of a spark plug. A glow plug does not require a spark to ignite the next cycle, it has a small coil which remains hot enough to ignite the next cycle when the fuel is compressed in the cylinder head. In order to start the engine, you must use a glow heater which heats the coil in the glow plug like a coil in a light bulb, and once the engine is running it produces enough heat by itself and you remove the glow heater.

Q: What happens when you crash

A: In a light crash (bad bounce) you might break the landing gear and a couple other things, in a average crash (lands on it's side) the first things to go are the main blades, the tail boom, the main shaft, the flybar, possibly the landing gear and the boom supports. Then there are the bad crashes where you look for the parts that aren't broken. Thanks to Stewart for providing this sample of what happens when you turn a rotory-wing into a fixed-wing while in flight.

Ok, enough of the super typical questions, and on to some more in-depth questions