Where To Find An RC Chopper If you would like to purchase a remote controlled chopper, the first thing to do is find out what you want. There are basically two categories of remote controlled chopper and each category has two foremost kinds. The first option is, do you want a battery or petrol powered copter and secondly, do you want to buy the chopper pre-assembled (ready to fly) or do you want a kit? You can also think about size and price. Some of the small or micro battery remote controlled choppers just cost about $30, so you are not taking much of risk by purchasing one sight-unseen. However, larger petrol or nitro powered models cost $1,000 and more, although there are plenty of models in the $200 - $500 bracket. So, cost is an important factor in how you continue. You could buy a $30 Syma mini battery powered chopper on the Web right away, but if you would like something more up market you will need to do some research first. As always, the first thing, if you are a beginner, is to learn something concerning the hobby before you go buying anything. Get yourself a micro chopper and learn some of the skills of flying it. Read some magazines and join a few Internet forums. Go along to a club if there is one in your area or enquire at the local hobby shop whether they know other RC fliers locally. They may have a few models in the shop that you can look at as well, but do not spend hundreds of dollars until you are certain of what you like. As you are formulating in your mind a picture of the RC chopper you want, note the prices that you see it being sold for. Forgetting about the cheap micro choppers, if you are purchasing your first 'real' RC copter for, say, $100, get one that is crash-proof. Nothing is really damage proof, if something drops 30 feet out of the sky, something is going to break, so purchase a remote controlled copter that is more robust rather than pretty, because, as a novice, you will crash it. Because you will crash it, make certain that there are parts readily available in your region or on the Internet. You will almost certainly have to replace the rotors, the skids and the canopy from time to time due to crashes. You may also need to replace the motor (or parts of it) and batteries, if you are using them. Some businesses supply, or sell separately, a flight simulation program for your computer. This is a good idea, because you can practice the more difficult manoeuvres without risking damage to your aircraft in a crash. This is one of the questions that you could pose on one of the forums - whether the flight simulator for your model is worth buying.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with the Gyro Helicopter S107. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Smart Toys for Kids.