| licopters have been proven to be one of the toughest, | | | | How Do RC Helicopters Fly? |
| yet most enjoyable, radio-controlled vehicles to own | | | | The same principles that allow full-size military |
| and operate. It takes a lot of time and skill to be able to | | | | helicopters to fly also allows RC helicopters to fly as |
| master what some consider the art of flying an RC | | | | well. The two main components that allow an RC |
| helicopter. If you’re new to the whole | | | | helicopter to fly are the main rotor and the tail rotor. |
| radio-controlled helicopter craze that’s growing | | | | The main rotor is the large blade that sits on top of the |
| by leaps and bounds on a daily basis, this article will | | | | helicopter. This is the rotor that provides the power |
| give you a basic understanding of how RC helicopters | | | | associated with lift off and flight. The main rotor usually |
| fly and how they work. | | | | spins at a constant speed and induces lift by changing |
| How Do Radio Controlled Helicopters Work? | | | | the pitch or angle of attack of the blades. The greater |
| You may not know this by looking at them, but an RC | | | | the pitch is, the more lift the rotors will provide. |
| helicopter is a pretty complicated toy to play with. On | | | | As the main rotor spins, it puts a twisting force on the |
| top of having many moving parts to operate, a | | | | rest of the helicopter and that’s where the tail |
| radio-controlled helicopter is made even more | | | | rotor steps in to help out. Basically, the tail rotor helps |
| complicated by having a radio transmitter and radio | | | | to counteract the spinning force of the main rotor and |
| receiver thrown into the mix. Actually, the transmitter | | | | helps keep the helicopter straight. The tail rotor is like a |
| and receiver are very important for flying an RC | | | | rudder on a ship: it goes the opposite direction so that |
| helicopter because they send and receive the radio | | | | the helicopter can be steered. The tail rotor is |
| signals that tell the helicopter what to do. | | | | connected to the main rotor through a belt or torque |
| The transmitter is the hand-held device that you use to | | | | tube and in most cases the tail rotor will spin 3-6 times |
| tell the RC helicopter what you want it to do. The | | | | for each time that the main rotor spins. |
| receiver is the device that receives the radio signal | | | | It’s also important to know that when |
| inside the RC helicopter and passes it on to the rest of | | | | you’re learning to fly an RC helicopter that you |
| the electronics of the helicopter so that it can perform | | | | learn to fly with the nose of the helicopter and not the |
| as its been instructed to do. | | | | tail. Many amateurs get distracted by what the tail is |
| It’s very important that you have a fully | | | | doing and don’t realize that the helicopter is |
| charged transmitter and receiver when you take your | | | | going to fly wherever the nose is pointing, even if |
| RC helicopter out for a flight. If one or the other dies | | | | it’s pointing right at a building or a person! So |
| while you’re trying to pilot, you’re looking | | | | always know what’s going on with the nose of |
| at an expensive, so always be sure they’re | | | | the helicopter so that you’re in complete control |
| both fully charged when you take them out. | | | | of piloting it. |