March 2001 113
iT’S aNoThEr great month to enjoy the
hobby of RC (Radio Control) helicopters! I
want to thank all the helicopter pilots—and
prospective pilots—who have written me
about this column. Your input is appreciated.
This column would be even more
enjoyable if you would send me photographs
of your helicopter projects!
Do not send digital files, because Model
Aviation does not accept them yet, and don’t
send a printout; the typical “ink-spitter”
printers output photos that are not
acceptable for publishing.
(Editor’s note: Stay tuned for near-future
changes to this policy.)
Instead, log onto the Internet and send
your files to one of the new vendors that
output continuous-tone photographic prints
from your files. If your original photo is
good, the output will be good.
You might want to order duplicates too,
so your favorite digital photograph can be
saved for a long time. (Inkjet printers are
generally very poor for archival use—the ink
fades very quickly.)
Model Aviation is read primarily by fixed-wing
pilots, so I get many calls and letters from
airplane pilots who are considering adding a
helicopter to their fleet. I’ve been involved with
fixed-wing RC for 30 years, and I have some
idea of the differences and similarities.
There is no reason for anyone just getting
into RC helicopters to start off flying an RC
airplane. Some people advise prospective
helicopter pilots to buy an airplane first, but
this is pointless. If you want to fly
helicopters, buy a helicopter!
Any time and money you invest in an
airplane will be that much less you have for
the part of the hobby you want to be in. It
would take many years to become a good
enough fixed-wing RC pilot to make a
difference in mastering a helicopter.
You’d be far ahead if you spent the
money on a simulator instead of an airplane.
Much of the support equipment you need
is the same for helicopters and fixed-wing
models, such as electric starters, glow-plug
lighters, and fueling accessories. Many
customers at my shop fly (or used to fly) RC
airplanes, and they usually spend far less on
support items than someone who has never
been into any aspect of the RC hobby.
In addition to the normal field equipment,
a helicopter pilot will need metric tools, a
pitch gauge, ball-link pliers, and a blade
balancer. Most modern helicopters also
require a hex start-adapter that mounts on
the airplane-style electric starters, to engage
the starting system.
On the plus side, with helicopters you
don’t need the room or tools usually
required to build or assemble fixed-wing
aircraft.
Airplane fliers are often amazed at how
“clean” it is to assemble a helicopter. The
typical helicopter involves no actual
building—merely assembly. There is no
gluing, no sanding, no carving and shaping,
and no covering or painting.
Todd Monson, one of my RC Pattern
flying buddies, finally took the plunge into
helicopters in the fall; his wife was thrilled
with the lack of noise and mess involved in
getting his helicopter ready to fly.
It was the first flying model project Todd
had ever started and finished within a twoweek
period. (It usually takes him years to
finish a prebuilt airplane!)
Helicopters also have the upper hand in
storage and transport. The average airplane
field is lined with pickups, SUVs (sportutility
vehicles), vans, and trailers, because
the average RC airplanes are relatively large.
Even when disassembled for
transport, you need a big cargo area to
haul a few airplanes to the flying field.
You also need more room to store a
handful of airplanes at home.
Helicopters do not need disassembly for
transport. The “wings” (main blades) are
simply swung back into a blade holder
mounted on the tailboom, and off you go.
Even a small car, such as a Honda Civic, has
room to haul two or three helicopters and all
the flight-support equipment.
When you get to the flying site, the
blades are swung out, fuel is pumped in, and
it’s time to preflight and fly.
Helicopters definitely have an
advantage at flying sites. Very few
airplane clubs don’t have to occasionally
worry about losing their field. Finding
and keeping a flying site is one of the
biggest challenges facing most clubs in
our country.
Helicopters need flying sites too, but it is
much easier to find a grassy clearing
somewhere than to find a clearing that has a
paved runway sitting on it! You don’t have
to have pavement for airplanes, but you do
need some sort of large, flat surface that is
smooth enough to allow tires to roll.
Helicopters need almost (but not quite)
the same amount of airspace as airplanes,
but they only need a small area suitable for
takeoff and landing. This makes it easier to
locate a site, and the less demanding
requirements of helicopters often mean you
can find a flying site without having to drive
as far from developed areas.
When it comes to the fun part of the
hobby, it is true that helicopters are a bit
more difficult to master. Airplane pilots
will learn that once they get into forward
flight, the helicopter does not feel much
different from a fixed-wing model. The
challenge is getting to the point where they
are ready for forward flight!
Let’s take a look at what makes learning
to fly a helicopter a bit more challenging.
For airplanes, the hardest part of
normal nonaerobatic flight is the landing.
The typical fixed-wing pilot will start out
with a trimmed airplane flying at a safe
altitude, and with the help of an instructor,
take over the controls for a brief period to
try to make some turns.
After many sessions—and many “saves”
by the instructor—the pilot will slowly work
his or her way up to the harder part: landing
the airplane. By the time the first landing is
attempted, the pilot will have built up
experience and confidence in small steps.
The hardest part of normal nonaerobatic
flight with helicopters is the low-altitude
stationary hover. Unfortunately, that’s the
first thing a novice helicopter pilot attempts.
From the beginning, the pilot has to learn
a gentle touch on all the controls, making the
constant small inputs required to keep his or
her helicopter balanced on its bubble of air.
While you are doing this, the helicopter
is only at a few inches of altitude and has
roughly zero airspeed. As long as you don’t
mentally lock up for an extended period, all
you need to do is reduce the
throttle/collective and let the helicopter settle
to the ground, so you can regain your
composure for another attempt.
As with airplanes, work at mastering
small steps. When the inevitable “oops”
does occur, you’ll learn another nice thing
about helicopters: instead of having to
choose between throwing the carcass
Eric Hawkinson, 319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings Mt 59101; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
… the pilot
has to learn
a gentle touch
on all the controls
… to keep his or her
helicopter balanced …
114 M ODEL AVIATION
away, or settling in for a long rebuilding
session with uncertain results, the
helicopter pilot removes the damaged
parts and replaces them.
Presto—you have a new machine that
should look and perform the same as what
you had before.
If you are an airplane pilot
considering getting into RC helicopters,
give it a try. Besides already having
much of the flight-support equipment
(roughly a third of the total cost of
getting a helicopter flying), you may
have a radio that includes helicopter
software. You should also have a good
understanding of RC engines and radios.
Find a good shop or a local RC
helicopter pilot you can go to, and discuss
your options. It has never been less
expensive to get into the hobby, and the
odds of success have never been better.
New Products: One item that has made a
large difference in how many people
learn—and master—helicopters is the
computer and the RC flight simulator.
If you have a computer, a flight
simulator is virtually (pun intended)
guaranteed to save you more than it costs,
and it will get you flying better and faster.
My wife Ellen hovered her Raptor on
the first tank, without ever coming close to
crashing. This used to be a rare event, but
Ellen had spent a few hours at the shop on
the simulator before her first attempt.
Simulators really do save time,
money, and stress.
One of the best RC simulators on the
market has just gotten better. The
RealFlight® Generation 2™ simulator is
available. Distributed by Great Planes,
the newest version of the popular
RealFlight® series has several good
changes and additions.
Now you can change colors and trim
schemes with aftermarket software, and
you can see a crash occur when you fly
into a virtual object or into the ground.
More importantly, the menus used to
set the program and aircraft parameters
are instantly accessible while you are
flying the simulator, so you no longer
have to exit the flying session to make
a change.
The software also has the ability to run
on a network/Internet connection, allowing
remote student/instructor sessions, and
even a Pylon Racing multi-user session.
If you have a prior version of the
RealFlight® simulator, your dealer can get
you a reasonably priced upgrade.
The simulator is available with either a
dummy RC transmitter for a controller or a
connector to use most current transmitters
as the controller.
Several new gyros from Futaba have
also been released. All have “AVCS”
modes (Active Angular Velocity Control
System—Futaba’s terminology for
heading-hold) and new electronics.
The lower-priced GY240 is small and
simple, with a single manually adjusted
rate setting and manual switching for
reversing and mode.
The new GY401 is a moderatelypriced
gyro with remote gain and mode
adjustment, manual reversing, and
“delay” settings.
The popular GY501 has been replaced
by a nice-looking unit designated GY502,
which reportedly has a higher frame rate,
but seems similar otherwise.
Not shipping yet is the Futaba GY601,
which is to be released this month.
Any Futaba dealer can get these units.
until next time, fly safely and happy
rotoring! MA
