Remote control airplane or helicopter?

Big Unit · 10-24-2008, 05:26 PM

A nine year old

wants

either an airplane or a helicopter for Christmas. The price range is $100-$160.

Any suggestions out there to ease my search??

Thanks,

BU

USS Minnow · 10-24-2008, 06:23 PM

If you don't have a lot of room a heli is great. Check this one out and watch the video. Check out Hobby-Lobby on the internet.

Bloom · 10-24-2008, 06:26 PM

If you want quiet, consider going with an electric. The battery technology is great nowadays, light weight and longer flights. I would suggest something along the line of a motorized high or shoulder wing glider with, speed control(motor rpm) rudder and elevator only to get him started.

Stay away from the so-called "trainers" as they tend to have heavy wing loading and can be difficult to fly, in spite ofwhat their name implies.

If he has some basic skills and is interested in building, there are hundreds, thousands of decent kit planes on the market.Building his own will give him a true sense of pride and a better understanding of the relationship of all the components necessary for flight. Some of the ARF's (almost -ready -to -fly) are a good bet.I would suggest going to a flying site and talk with some of the guys and you'll get a good idea on particular makes/models, cost etc. Type in "Model Aircraft" and you'll see a lot of choices, Tower Hobbies, Hobby Lobby and many, many more.

I would stay away from the choppers if you want him to remain interested, as they require a bit more skill. If you go electric, plan on spending about $400-500 for the complete package, plane, motor, props, batteries, radio, servos, charger. The newer generation radios allow you to safely fly more than one plane, meaning you don't have to have a transmitter for each plane.

I still like the sound and smell of nitro with the conventional engines, but the electrics are clean and a lot quieter, plus you can fly these little guys in very small parks and fields.
Gliders are pretty cool too and if you have a place to fly them, such as along the coast or off a hill-top, you can get by with a cheap 2 channel radio, no fuel or expensive motor or batteries, other than those used for powering the servos and receiver.

Weight is your enemy when it comes to aircraft. Build it light and strong and don't let him get discouraged when he has an incident in which he appears to be testing to see if gravity still works. We call that "re-kitting". : )

A sure-fie way to discourage him is to get him the wrong kind of aircraft that is well above his skill level. I learned to fly with a plane that I got conned into scratch building, a PB-2, 8ft wingspan, originally built as a free-flight model from the 1940's but powered by a 4 stroke .60 size engine. My mentor, an old WW2 fighter pilot watched me as I struggled figuering things out, but said to me when I completed it:"congratulations, you just scratch-built your first airplane and it's a beauty, let's go fly that baby".
Good luck.

Incredible_Bulk · 10-24-2008, 06:34 PM

One question: Dink around style Helicopter, or the more serious gas powered stuff?

If its "dink around" I would suggest that you guys might have some fun with the Havoc Heli Laser Battle RC Helicopters by Air Hogs. You can find them online at Toys R Us.

They're kind of cool in that you can fly them around in the house (they're smaller) and you can battle it out with them. They shoot an infrared signal, and when you hit your opponent, they crash. You could start out in seperate rooms and meet in the middle, battle it out and do it all over again. Could be fun father-son time, though your wife may not be a fan of a Blue Thunder re-enactment in her kitchen...

Bulk

Kevin2023 · 10-24-2008, 07:50 PM

Helicopters can cost alot more over time. Any time you tip one over it requires alot of parts to fix most of the time. I have a Midwest citabria kit that I can make you a deal on if you want to go gas. It flies just as good as any trainer I've ever flown and it's very stable in slow flight. If you want electric there is a T-28 made by parkzone out that flies well. Almost everyone in my club has one. I would recommend if buying one with parkflyer electronics or something similar to scrap the transmitter and reciever that comes with it, and replace with quality ones such as futaba, JR, or anything with spread spectrum technology. We have had alot of problems resulting in destroyed planes from those cheap systems. A trainer isn't necessary. I learned on everyone elses planes ranging from a sig four star forty to the wickedest of airobatic planes. Look up the Canby Dusters. They aren't too far from the woodburn dragstrip. If you can make it up to portland before the end of the year I would be willing to give you and your son flying lessons if I can find my trainer cord.

drhall99 · 10-24-2008, 08:01 PM

honestly, neither... the cost of repair is high and he will likely quit flying after the plane (or heli) has crashed a bunch of times.

But if you decide to go through with it, take the time to talk with Tammy's hobbys (or any GOOD hobby shop) to find a good trainer plane/heli. Otherwise, you are just throwing your money away.

shinook65 · 10-24-2008, 08:09 PM

Just to jump in, I lost my mind on RC this spring. I bought a Blade CX-2 Hele, and the first of 4 AeroBird Swift airplanes. They are both a blast to fly, but I have to say, if you go with a ready to fly airplane, alerons (sp?) add a whole new dimension to flying. My 4th plane is now grounded after its first hard crash. I had flown a Aerobird Commander (no alerons) and it was a blast, and easy to fly. After destroying it by flying it with a damaged wing, (They tend to break under high G forces lol) at altitude, I thought I was ready to step up. I have to say, I have had some great flights, and I find myself watching birds thinking "I can do that.". But like I said, I bought 4, and the 4th one now sits on my headboard with a broken fuselage after only 1 flight (crash).. I'll probably get another one.. Its that fun. Off the E-auction site, you can get them for $100 TYD. (I paid $150-$170 for the first 3).
The hele is also a blast to fly, but it took a while to master. Broke lots of rotor blades, body kits. It is still flyable, but tends to sit.
So for me, the plane has been way more expensive.. But funner..

Kevin2023 · 10-24-2008, 08:11 PM

Make sure you purchase insurance through the Academy of Model Aeronautics. It only costs about $12 a year with subscription to AMA magazine for him. I think it's still $1 per year without the magazine for juniors. Remember they're not toys. They are real planes only smaller and they can do some damage. I have witnessed some small elecric helicopters throw parts over 200 feet with ease when crashed. Make sure your name, ama number, and adress is somewhere on the plane or chopper. If it's not AMA insurance won't pay out on the claim if damage is done.

Big Unit · 10-25-2008, 06:15 PM

Thank you very much guys!

BU

Chrome Bumper · 10-25-2008, 09:37 PM

Helicopters are alway broken.... Should be some good electric planes for a 9 year old.

Laguna29 · 10-26-2008, 01:00 PM

Start with the Realflight G4 simulator kit. Was going to sell mine as daughter and I are not using it as much as I thought we would ....but she informed me she is playing with it more than I thought.

Anyway can pick one up on net for about 180 or so comes with a futaba style control that is exact as the real thing. Works on your pc and crashes are free.......Great learning tool as flying a remote is harder than it looks. Has all kinds of different aircraft fixed and heli.