Helicopters

From micros to 3D machines


Check your BECs!

Check your BECs!

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the Blade 600X, and I have found it to be the best-engineered 600-class heli I personally have flown.  The quality of construction is outstanding, the drivetrain is extremely stout, and handling is silky-smooth.  I look forward to getting a lot more flying time on this bird.  (See my full […]
Amazing flight demo by scale NH90

Amazing flight demo by scale NH90

You can admire a scale machine on the ground, but when it takes off it’s a thing of beauty. In this video, the pilot demonstrates Drop-N-Goes, Evacs, Recon Maneuvers, Skimming, Air Assaults & Flying Below Radar techniques in strong winds at Markham Park [Australia] with his Graupner Scale NH90 Combat Helicopter. Note the retract action during Touch & Go’s! Thanks […]
Review: Savöx Brushless Motors

Review: Savöx Brushless Motors

Savöx is well-known to modelers, particularly in the helicopter world, for their powerful digital servos.  What you may not know is that they also market a line of brushless motors for electric helis.  These motors span all popular classes from 450 to 700 size, and their quality of construction is excellent.   The 450, 500 and […]
Gas Power Tips & Tricks

Gas Power Tips & Tricks

  The new O.S. GT15HZ gas engine is specifically designed for our helicopters to replace a 91 size glow engine. Until now gas engines have not been designed for our use, and have therefore been almost impossible to mount to our helicopters, did not come with the needed muffler system to extract maximum power, and […]
Flight Tested: Heli-Max UH-60 Black Hawk & EC145 Eurocopter

Flight Tested: Heli-Max UH-60 Black Hawk & EC145 Eurocopter

High-quality micro helis are everywhere these days, and with so many on the market, it’s hard to keep up with them all. That said, scale is my first love, so Heli-Max really caught my eye with two highly detailed models in 1/43 scale. The first is a Eurocopter EC145 and the second is an even […]
Gyro Programming 101

Gyro Programming 101

Many low-time heli flyers making the step from Bind-N-Fly micros to larger helis struggle with programming heading hold gyros. The following is a general guide for programming gyros. It’s not intended to address the much more aggressive setups needed for full-on 3D, rather the goal is to program a typical gyro for sport flying. Because […]
Preventive Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance

Electric helicopters are far cleaner and smoother running than their nitro-powered brethren, meaning that they tend to require less maintenance. This, however, can be both a blessing and a curse. I’ll confess to being a bit haphazard with preventative maintenance on my helis, with an inclination to think, “It flew fine last time As my […]
Getting Started in Scale

Getting Started in Scale

A well done and nicely detailed scale RC helicopter model is a rare sight at most flying fields. One reason is that most scale models are complex and time consuming to build and can be costly. A great way to get started in scale modeling is with one of the 450-size electric conversion kits.  This […]
Fly the Rolling Tailslide

Fly the Rolling Tailslide

There are some maneuvers that are truly unique to RC helicopters, and the rolling tailslide is one of them. Performing what appears to be a suicidal maneuver and turning it into a controlled and graceful 3D move is always a crowd-pleaser, and while there are many maneuvers that are similar between airplanes and helis, this […]
ABCs of Ball Links

ABCs of Ball Links

Improvements in RC helicopter design and performance have resulted in the almost universal use of the ball link in all modern helicopter control systems. Most major manufacturers make their own ball links to their specifications, with their name, logo or other such mark on the body of the link. Although these links are slightly different, […]
Fall maintenance tips & tricks

Fall maintenance tips & tricks

In many areas of the country, the fall flying season is here and soon it will be time to put up your helicopters for next year. These next few weeks, however, when you have nothing better to do on a bad weather day, is a good time to inspect your helicopters and get them ready for […]
Gorgeous Giant-Scale Lama

Gorgeous Giant-Scale Lama

Thanks to Hans Thunderbolt for posting this great clip on YouTube. He notes that the video is “One of the first flights of a scale RC turbine helicopter at RC meet in Thermiek ’58, Nuth, the Netherlands this summer. ”  
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