Top Ten Tips for New Rc Helicopter Pilots

This video is made by an absolute novice to rc heli flying. With the first months flying just completed, I thought this would be helpful to anyone else considering the exciting new world of heli's
Of course there is loads more things to consider and study more thoroughly in order to get in the air, but this info might be a good place to start.
I'd love to hear from you about what your early experiences have been and what you think might be the best first heli.
Happy Flying

[@jhuff8596]

Great Video! I have been flying Helicopters for 9 years and I agree with all of your Tips. It takes perseverance to learn to fly heli's you will crash. I like the XK 110 but when I teach people I start with the Blade Nano and blade 70 first after the simulator. Cheers!

[@rcpilots1291]

Thanks for your reply. It’s a strange addiction. Fly, crash, fix n fly again…, but slowly I’m getting a bit better each time so that’s enough to keep me going- happy flying

[@johncgibson4720]

Thumbs up. More people should care about helicopters for their natural high endurance of flight time. I have a FPV helicopter at 250 grams and HD onboard video recording that flips and snaps with 35 minutes of flight time per charge. No quads can ever beat that.

[@rcpilots1291]

I am envious of your setup. 30+ minutes is amazing 👍

[@stevew7308]

Fantastic advise! I've done exactly the same thing. I started Heli's 10 years ago, learned to hover my Honey Bee King II, then life got in the way. Fast forward 10 years and I want to try again, but I could still only hover tail in. After watching John Salt's videos, I got the XK K110... then I bought many crash parts and another 110. Now I keep both heli's in the air. When I crash one, I fly the other until more parts come in. For me its mostly tail booms. Its the low cost! I'm willing to try new maneuvers KNOWING I will crash. It makes the learning progression much faster. Many people say to sim as much as possible and I agree, every day if you can. Tones of fun!

[@rcpilots1291]

I’m delighted to hear where you’re coming from and I’m in the same position,, a few k110’s buckets of spares and the expectation of loads more crashes - worth every penny 👍

[@txdave2]

Thank you for the great common sense advice. I can fly fixed wing aircraft pretty well, but am a total newbie on RC helis. I started out with the Eachine E160 and broke it on the first flight. I then bought the XK K110 and have flown and crashed it many times. Parts are super cheap and I am actually getting better with this little heli. I will take your advice and buy a 2nd one.

[@rcpilots1291]

Hi, thanks for all the info, I agree completely that the 110 can be so much fun and takes the Knicks so well. Happy heli flying 👍

[@FORDEVR]

Thanks for the great tips. Just got back into planes and decided to get my first heli. (Blade 330s). I bought it with a few pieces broken so just waiting for those to come. It has a rtf radio but I am going to bind it to my nx8 since that heli is already programmed into the nx8. I don’t have a sim but have messed with a sim yrs ago. Also I have ppl at my flying club that can help. Awesome video. Thx again.

[@rcpilots1291]

Max respect for your 330 acquisition- and best of luck , it’s great to have mates to help

[@FORDEVR]

@@rcpilots1291 it has safe mode so I’m counting on that.👍

[@rcpilots1291]

FORDEVR where would we be without safe mode ??? - it’s a life saver 🥵

[@rcsbyrich3035]

Wow. I think you're doing really well. I've Flown fixed wing many years ago now, and had drones for the last few years. I think the coordination from a drone must help a tiny bit. I was also looking at the pretty shiny rotor heads thinking oh yeah I can do this but after hours of watching you tube I slowly sunk back into my seat with my tail between my legs and have also decided after watching countless videos that the xk k110 is going to be my best bet at being a tad more durable than the rest. No heavy rotor head to keep momentum as its shreds gears and bend shafts, I'm guessing if you hit the kill switch and throttle down and be over grass you got half a chance 🤣... keep up the good work 👏

[@rcpilots1291]

Hi Richard, thanks for those kind words… It’s great to hear that someone else is ‘bitten by this bug’. It’s such a strange addiction. I keep crashing, almost giving up, but then have a few successful sorties and I’m back in the game …. W.y.b. That I’ve purchase 4 XK K110’s each one is lasting a little bit longer than its predecessor . In reality bigger helis are easier to fly, but allot more expensive to repair …. Happy flying my friend

[@frisos3944]

I started heli flying 2 months ago with the xk k110s. I totally agree it’s great to start with. If i lose control and can’t recover it, i hit throttle hold. It falls to the ground and almost always survives unscaved. That makes you dare stuff, you wouldn’t dare with a bigger more expensive heli. Parts are also very cheap, but buy in advance if you don’t want to wait for 3 weeks for stuff to arrive from China. The only big downside of this heli is that it is very susceptible to the wind, and it always blows here in the Netherlands. But learning to fly in the wind, probably makes you a better pilot in the end.

[@rcpilots1291]

Your are 100% correct with what you say, just like you I found that I was taking chances with this little hello that I wouldn’t dare trying with a bigger one. N ya I’m laughing about buying plenty of spare parts in of time 😀👍

[@cdubb4306]

@14.43min..."but. the small heli is essential, cause it's light...and that lightness is your friend for crashes... CAUSE UR GONNA CRASH..." 🤣🤣hahaha so true!

[@markrice23]

Agreed. JS is the man! I bought my xk last November and took it straight out to so some inverted and tic tics. How bloody wrong I was 😂😂😂 I'm now on my second omp M2 and I've been inverted about 5 times. It's so hard but rewarding when you get something right. I made almost zero progress until I downloaded accu RC. Brilliant SIM at a good price.

[@rcpilots1291]

Great to hear from a fellow pilot going through allot of hard times but definitely worth it. Kudos to you going with the m2. I’m on my second m1 after the first flew out of range. Tbh I’ve bought 4 k110’s because it is a great bit of kit to learn 3d. And yes you are right about practising on a good sim program. Happy flying

[@markrice23]

@@rcpilots1291 lol I lost a k110 in the wind. I had self level on and it restricted the bank angle. Of course I realised this too late

[@rcpilots1291]

Mark Rice losing a k110 to fly away is bad but would you believe that I lost my precious omphobby M1 😭

[@markrice23]

@@rcpilots1291 yeah I'd be gutted. Did the wind get it? I attachh battery alarms to mine. If they go down I'll hopefully hear it after a while!

[@rcpilots1291]

Mark Rice ya, strong winds - my over eagerness… I have Alarms for my planes but didn’t know about that option for helis. Any recommendations?

[@vracan]

Just ordered k123. Not at all interested in acro. Just interested in scale flying. Maybe one day sling loading. Funny how he never mentions anything about nose-in hover practice.

[@rcpilots1291]

Best of luck with your purchase. I think you’ll be very happy 👍

[@greggstankowski5073]

I got a couple tips,,,have alot of time,patients and money!

[@rcpilots1291]

That’s probably The best advice ever 🎉👍

[@gvanausdle]

I did similarly n bought an eachine e160. What a disaster. My experience with the e160 is it will randomly go into 3d mode! I did get the cheaper eachine e129 but that is basically a toy. I wanted something inbetween. So I'll do like you say n get a Sim. Then get the xk k110 and check out John Salt. Sounds like a good path.

[@rcpilots1291]

Hi Gary, I feel your pain. The 160 is a difficult heli cos it won’t flip back to 6g when you need it. Unlike the excellent 180 or even the new to market e150 which looks very promising. But absolutely the best first hello is the Xk K110 - happy flying

[@FiatPandaSelecta]

Goosky s1

[@kris4362]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😎 (HOKITIKA Sth Westland NZ)

[@rcpilots1291]

Thanks for that buddy… happy flying

[@boeing747400ifly]

I've been flying helis for 10 years. Here's my tip: Don't fly your heli at a club field. Fly it somewhere else on your own. Most clubs are not keen on helis. Also, your skills will progress much more quickly when you are flying alone. I recently met a guy who flies 3D with his 700 size heli, every trick in the book. He's only been flying for 3 years. I asked him how he got so good. He said he only flies by himself at a safe, secure field.

[@rcpilots1291]

That’s a great tip, thanks for that 👍

[@FORDEVR]

Here’s my tip. Change Clubs. 😜 everyone at our club loves any new planes or projects someone wants to fly. I actually checked out my club before I joined it just to make sure everyone was chill and not psycho. Nice knowing I’m the only phyco at the club.😇🤣😁

[@rcpilots1291]

FORDEVR haha - personally I think it’s great to be a bit psycho when it comes to flying things

[@petewatts30]

I spent last summer learning to fly solo with the 230 s smart rtf kit. You don't need a sim just watch some video lessons and practice tail in hover. I would NOT recommend smaller helicopters they're harder to see, and difficult to work on when they break. I have a nano s3 and it's crap, cut out problems then the servo burnt out JUST NO for a beginner. Stay away from the small cheap rubbish.

[@rcpilots1291]

Hi Mark, thank you for that practical and honest advice. I agree, the s3 is too fragile in my hands but I’m having some success with the xk k110. The real fun is with the eachine e180 ( until I make shi8te of it ) haha , thanks and happy flying