What Constitutes a R/C Heli

[Stuart]

With so many of the micro heli's being sold by the likes of Toy's R Us and not too mention the 1,000's on Ebay, what's your definition of a

"Radio Controlled Helicopter"

[mo]

Hi Stuart.
This will turn out to be one of those what came first discussions, but in my opinion for a model helicopter to be termed as such, it must look identical and have the same controlls and controllabilty of the full size equivelent,and should in fact be a remotely piloted model of the real thing.This will turn out to be a most interesting topic and I look forward to other points of view.
GOOD FLYING.
MO.

[kiwipilot]

I agree with Mo on this.

Cheap imitations that almost fly themselves are not much fun.

To be a true R/C Heli you should have to build it and then learn to fly it (not just open the box, insert batteries and switch on)

[G-DAVE]

Mo Says " it must look identical and have the same controlls and controllabilty of the full size equivelent".

Haven't seen to many Full Size Raptors Flying about lately.
Dave

[mo]

Jesus Christ!!!! G-Dave does believe in hitting hard,we will have a riot on our hands if we cannot gag him.
Not having flown one I cannot comment on how good Raptors may be, but after G-Dave's comments I don't think I will care to find out now.
keep em coming.
Mo.

[kiwipilot]

Not a Raptor fan G-Dave ?

You can fit them in certain scale bodies (but I'm nowhere near that level), so they can be made mor realistic.

Same can be said about the standard canopies of most R/C Heli's on the market today.

[G-DAVE]

Hi Mo and Kiwipilot :-
It must be my poor communicating skills because you both appear to have misunderstood my post . So it's with a faint heart that I endevour to explain.
My comment was in response to Mo's definition of a radio control helicopter ie "It must look indentical to a real helicopter"
So this would discount a Raptor or indeed any " pod and boom " as an R/C Heli as they look nothing like a real heli.
Sorry about the late response but we had a magical afternoon up hear - got through about a gallon of Magnum 20 flying my JR Venture 90 and Sylphide 50 , life is good .
Dave :lol: :lol:

[mo]

G-Dave.
It is a pity you have put me straight, for the way I was reading your posts was keeping me entertained.Can you now put it in black and white that you in fact are a fan of the Raptor.
Glad you have managed to get some serious flying time in Dave.
GOOD FLYING.
Mo.

[G-DAVE]

Hi Mo
If I said that Raptors were rubbish it would show a distinct lack of knowlegde because they are probably biggest selling heli. - worldwide - at the moment . That means they do the job very well .
But lets visualise a heli world inhabited only by Raptors "" :cry: :cry: :cry: ""
Imagine you have had your flight and your Sitting / Standing watching the Raptors flying one after another :roll: :roll: :roll:
Dave

[BrontoRaptus]

Hi Stuart

To get back to your original question !! Here's my thoughts :-

It is tempting to define a model as a scaled-down version of the real thing. However, with any flying machine, they simply won't work ! For example, with fixed-wing models, the control surfaces have to be much larger, proportionally, than the real thing.

Heli's are a whole different ball game ! Even the real ones are difficult to fly. In fact, in the bigger ones, the pilot is actually flying 'through' a full-time autopilot, so is actually commanding the A/P what to do rather than actually directly flying the heli. So, to enable us to fly a 'model', modifications have to be made. For example, you don't see many real Heli's with fly-bars and Bell-Hiller mixing units !

I guess it all boils down to how much the model is modified.
In my humble opinion, for it to be classed as a model heli, it should at LEAST use the same principles of control as the real thing. i.e. The one thing that ALL REAL HELI'S have in common, is a swashplate capable of both cyclic and collective movement to control the rotor disc.

If it hasn't - then it 'aint !!!!!

Rgds .............. Tony

[kiwipilot]

Thanks G-Dave - great response.

I agree, it would be a shame if all R/C Heli's were Raptors.

Had a shitty day down here (London) - would have loved to have been outside watching heli's do their thing.......

Oh well, at least mine is now a step closer to flying.

[mo]

Hi Dave.
Many thanks for your answer to my Raptor query,which was done very cleverly,I was under the impression that you were not enraptored (pun intended)with this brand, but at the same time I wished to find out if was just another flavour of the month case.
I have yet to hear a bad word about them, but not so much in the performance stakes,but mainly on the fact that the spares for them are so cheap and easily obtainable.
I have said before that in my opinion there is not a bad heli out there, and it all comes down to the fact of the quality of build, and flying expertise of the purchaser.
Perhaps the Raptor can be likened to the Ford (Dagenham dustcart)car some years ago, this was cheap and cheerfull, and sometimes got you where you wanted to go,and the frequent breakdowns could be rectified for a few pennies.
I have no wish to be offensive, but if they are such a damned good machine, could someone please give me the reasons why, and in what departments,or could it have been that very agressive name that swayed them.
GOOD FLYING.
Mo.

[G-DAVE]

Radio Control Helicopter Definition:-
A heavier than air machine - with a motor driving horizontal rotating rotors - capable of hovering on the spot , and able to move in any direction by use of a swash plate . Able to rotate 360 degrees under the main rotor while hovering or flying slowly. All controled without wires.
Dave

[TC]

I have no wish to be offensive, but if they are such a damned good machine, could someone please give me the reasons why, and in what departments

I got a R50 V1 about 2 1/2 years ago, to use as a bendit mendit machine & boy did I, several times.
At the time my other heli was a Futura SE & this was holding me back, because I was intimidated by it, as in I dare not try anything new in case I binned it, cost of repairs etc.

Now in the 2 1/2 years I've had my Rappy I've learnt all manner things, loops, rolls, nose in, flips, inverted (not for long, yet), auto's etc. & if I did bin it, it was cheap & easy to repair, I ran the cheapest blades i could find, never had any upgrades, still got the original clutch, TT50 engine & TT muffler.

I worked out a while back that I must have put somewhere in the region 60 gallons of fuel thru it.

I reackon I got my monies worth.

[G-DAVE]

WHAT CONSTITUTES A R/C HELICOPTER

This Post appears to have been Hijacked by the Raptor Rappers !
Some of us are trying to define an R/C heli
Dave
:roll: :roll: