Find Your RC Helicopter: The Ultimate Guide

In the past, flying an RC helicopter was an expensive hobby that demanded a lot of involvement in assembly and maintenance, and basic electric models simply weren’t available.

Today you can find models with all kinds of features and capabilities. Here we’ll go over a bit of their history and the different options the market has for you.

A short history of RC helicopters

In the late 1990s they started showing up in hobby shops, and the first affordable, mass-produced Ready to Fly (RTF) electric helicopter was the Piccolo from Ikarus, a 4-channel model.

This little RC helicopter set a trend and immediately revealed a big market opportunity: lots of would-be helicopter pilots couldn’t afford to pour all their money and free time into an expensive glow-engine helicopter, but would happily buy a simpler electric RTF model.

Since then, electric RC helicopters have dominated the hobby, and finding a basic beginner model isn’t hard at all. In fact, most toy stores and general retailers sell them these days.

Prices have also dropped dramatically compared with the early days of the Piccolo.

Types of beginner RC helicopters

Most beginner RC helicopters are coaxials, like the one in the picture. That means they have two sets of main rotors, one mounted above the other.

The rotors spin in opposite directions and cancel out the reactive torque (a natural force created by any spinning object) that a single main rotor would otherwise produce.

With a pair of main rotors, there’s no need for a tail rotor, and that makes learning to fly easier.

Coaxial RC helicopters are inherently very stable machines, and the learning curve is fairly gentle.

Single-rotor RC helicopters have traditionally been much harder to master.

Of course, the appeal of a single-rotor RC helicopter over a coaxial is largely visual, since single-rotor models look like real helicopters.

Coaxials don’t appeal to everyone, simply because of the twin-rotor look. Then again, you have to be happy with what you’re flying 😉.

The other big difference between the two types is flight performance and agility.

A coaxial helicopter is easy to fly, but there isn’t much you can do with it compared with a single-rotor helicopter when it comes to more advanced flying and aerobatics.

The commercial success of RC helicopters

Electric RC helicopters, whether for beginners or not, have meant big business for manufacturers.

The American company Horizon Hobby certainly led the way for a while (and probably still does) with its Blade range, which includes some of the most popular beginner RC helicopters ever made.

Its helicopters range from the micro-size Blade mCX2 coaxial up to more advanced machines such as the Blade 450.

That one isn’t a beginner helicopter, but it’s certainly an entry-level aerobatic machine for taking the next step.

Why buy an RC helicopter

Buying an RC helicopter brings a number of exciting benefits and unique experiences for hobbyists of all ages. These remote-controlled machines let you fly like a real helicopter pilot and explore the sky from a unique perspective.

RC helicopters are great for improving hand-eye coordination and motor skills, since pilots have to precisely control lift, direction and maneuvers throughout the flight.

Flying an RC helicopter is also an outdoor activity that gets you out exploring, since you can enjoy it in parks, open fields and natural spaces.

The RC helicopter community is warm and welcoming too, giving you the chance to share knowledge, swap tips and connect with people who share your interests. In short, buying an RC helicopter is an exciting experience that combines fun, learning and connection with other enthusiasts, and gives pilots the chance to reach new heights in search of thrilling adventures in the air.

Advanced RC helicopters

Mastering a fully functional single-rotor (that is, non-coaxial) RC helicopter isn’t easy.

They have a steep learning curve, and crashes are common for newcomers.

Don’t let that put you off, though, because these helicopters are very rewarding to fly. Starting out with a basic RC helicopter is a sensible and affordable option these days.

You may or may not like the look of a coaxial helicopter, but they’re easy to fly and you don’t need any previous helicopter experience to have a decent first flight.

A micro coaxial such as the Blade mCX / mCX2 can be flown safely indoors and can be an excellent introduction to the basic helicopter controls and, even more importantly, to the most demanding skills, such as hovering.

Gas RC helicopters

A gas RC helicopter shouldn’t be a beginner’s first choice. But if you enjoy getting to know every part of these machines and doing the maintenance yourself, you’re more than welcome.

Just be aware that it’s a long road: don’t expect to be flying your helicopter a couple of hours after opening the box. First you need to learn its basic movements so you don’t crash it on the first attempt.

This is probably the closest thing to a real helicopter: the smell of fuel, the smoke coming out of the exhaust and that unmistakable sound. And if you like mechanics, these models have it all, and you’ll learn a huge amount along the way.

You can read more about these aircraft in our guide to fuel-powered RC helicopters.

RC helicopter spare parts

As new and different RC helicopter models keep coming out, the range of spare parts available for them keeps growing too.

We recommend choosing a model you know you’ll easily find replacement parts for if something breaks, or if you just want to upgrade part of your helicopter.

Electric scale helicopters have fewer parts to worry about when it comes to setup and maintenance. It’s easy to keep spares on hand in case you need them at some point.

In general, the parts you’ll need most often are the rotor blades, since they’re the first thing to get damaged, especially when you’re new to the hobby.

6-channel RC helicopters

When choosing an RC transmitter, it’s very important to pick one that can handle as many channels as possible. This matters because the more channels you have, the more functions you can control on your RC helicopter.

Each channel handles one movement of the aircraft: one for the cyclic servos, another for the tail rotor, and so on for the rest of your helicopter’s functions.

That’s why we recommend a radio with at least 4 channels to control the basic functions of whatever helicopter you have.

Remember that RC transmitters can be used with many different RC vehicles. They just need to be compatible with the radio’s transmission frequency, which is 2.4 GHz in most cases. RC transmitters have internal memory that lets them store settings for different vehicles’ receivers.