Micro rc helicopters?

Question

So yeah, I've been browsing this website http://www.raidentech.com/mirche.html looking at micro rc helicopters.

I'm thinking of getting one just for fun, at some point soon. I'm kind of a big kid at heart, when relaxing at home. I see some of these that only cost like $20 something bucks. I looked at videos of them on youtube and they seem to be very easy to control and fly very well. I see that I'll have to choose carefully, as apparently there are a few that only have a 30 second flight time on a 5 or 10 minute charge.

Some have a 15 or 20 minute charge, and a 5 to 8 minute flight time. This is more of what I would be interested in.

So, some questions for those who have one: How long do these rechargeable batteries in this thing last? How many charges before a new battery pack for the helicopter has to be purchased?

Also...I see various 2 channel through 7 channel helicopters. All are not micro, however...and I like the micros.

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

I want to warn you that the $20 micro helicopters have a 50% failure rate out of the box.  I have worked with many of them myself, and the members of my RC club got about 30 of them.  Fully half would spin uncontrollably.

All the ones I had flew for several minutes on a 15 minute charge.  There is no new battery for the heli.  These do not have any user-serviceable parts.  It is put in by the factory and you throw it away when it stops working.  But the failures were always with the mechanics or with the electronics.  The batteries kept going after a hundred charges (on the few that worked well enough to keep using)

Channels refer to the control features supported between the transmitter and receiver.  Not individual frequencies for each channel, but rather coded data sent on the one frequency the Transmitter uses.  Two channel helis have the main throttle on one channel, so that the heli can go up and down, and the rudder, or yaw control, on the second channel so that you ca turn the heli.  There is no provision for forward flight.  You typically add a bit of weight to the nose so that the heli always drifts forward slowly the entire time it is in flight.  A three channel heli adds elevator, or pitch, control.  You can make the heli lean forward and back, so you can control forward and rearward flight.  A four channel heli adds roll control, so you can fly left and right (like a crab).

The next step is typically a six channel heli, adding gyro control and collective pitch.  These are the helis that can do ore aggressive stunts, like inverted flight.

Before you buy, read and ask question on the dedicated RC heli forums.  You will learn a lot, and get better information.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Helicopt...

http://www.rcgroups.com/micro-helis-42/

Good luck!