RC plane or helicopter question

For my 11 year old son (how did he get that old, this fast?). A Christmas present.

Looking for things he can fly outside that don't break easily, do fly easily, and don't cost a fortune.

I'm thinking we'd want something that flew relatively slowly because we don't have oodles of open space, so he's going to have to be able to realize he's flying at a tree and turn it away from it in time.

We've had some planes in the past, and he's got an inside helo that frustrates the heck out of him. I'm kinda thinking a helo would be of more interest to him than a plane. He could practice picking things up and moving them around with a helo, or try to land on a goose.

Any sage thoughts of things to consider, as well things to absolutely not consider?

AirHogs helicopters. My 10yo loves his. He has the plane with the camera on it too...but it needs space. The choppers can fly inside.

Those airhogs choppers weigh like what, a quarter ounce? How do they fair outside? I would think it would need to be dead calm with no wind. I've seen them inside, but something that worked outdoors would be nice.

Look into small ready-to-fly electric airplanes called "park flyers". They should be slow enough to be easy to fly in a smallish outdoor space, but with enough sauce to brave some breeze.

www.towerhobbies.com

The AirHogs choppers work OK in a light-breeze...not so much when its really windy. Neither does the AH plane.

I looked at 'real' RC planes,and for the money I would like to see him play with a degree of responsibility with a $30 toy before we go and buy a $100+ plane/copter. He's still pretty hard on his toys...maybe that will be better when he is 11, but he just turned 10 last week.

I've flown RC planes for ages, but helicopters eluded me forever, even flying on a simulator. Then I got one of these:

Blade mCX Heli

I've crashed it literally hundreds of times into ceilings, walls, furniture, myself - anything you can fly into, I've flown into.

I haven't broken a part yet that I can recall.

I've graduated to the single rotor mSR now which makes for great living room flying.

The Blade stuff costs a little more than the toy store stuff, but it really works, and lasts forever. Plus most hobby shops carry all the replacement parts for the blade helis.

Highly recommended.

I have a double horse 9104. While it doesn't take a beating well.. (currently out of service due to a broken swashplate) it does fly VERY well for a three channel helicopter.

For an 11 year old, don't get an expensive model, it might be a passing interest. instead, get this:

The E-zone forums say its the pest flyer yet from AirHogs. Plus, its an F-14! I've flown a bunch of these and I've never been disappointed. Both my brothers learned to fly with this kind of foam airplanes, and they've never flown anything before. We used to dogfight. If you never smack asphalt with the props turning full blast, you'll never break it. $40.00 bucks at Toys- r- us. Look for coupons. There are some cheaper versions the run $30.00

How about the quadracopters? how are they to fly?

In reply to mad_machine:

i like how they always crop/photoshop out the second rotor in product images so you can't tell its a coaxial...

Grtechguy: quads have a fairly steep learning curve, i wouldn't recommend one for a first timer, or a second timer for that matter. when they crash, there is almost always going to be at least a prop replacement.

i'd say decide heli or plane, and go from there. the blade mCx is a nice little indoor coaxial heli that is super stable and easy to fly right out of the box. the heli tradeoff is going to be that the more stable, the less wind it can handle outdoors. even the a/c vents in the house are going to push the little micro helis around.

if you're leaning towards a plane, go to www.horizonhobby.com and check out the hobbyzone champ. $99 and it comes ready to fly, complete with batteries for the radio and everything. everything that you could break or need for them are cheap cheap. you can find batteries (1 cell lithium polymer 3.7v) for them for around $1-3 each online, and the planes take a real beating since they are so light. if you fly over grass, they can resist even a couple full throttle dives into the yard before much needs to be fixed. and when it does need repair, there isn't much superglue and packing tape can't handle.

you can check out the beginner aircraft area on rcgroups.com for other suggestions, but you really can't do much better than the champ for dipping a toe in the R/C flying water.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/champ-rtf-HBZ4900

I got my son this: http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/force-combo-pack-FCE5000?cm_sp=FORCE+Combo--Homepage--Heli+Tab+1

for his birthday. Not really an outside toy (although it would probably do fine in a dead calm). Total hoot, pretty durable (the only thing that break occasionally are the landing gear, and those cost about $2.50 to replace, just buy a few extras) Very easy to control, yet can be flown in any direction and rotated side to side. The only things you have to be careful to do are 1. cut the power if you crash and 2. pull the battery when you are done flying them. I've yet to find an RC plane that didn't die a spectacular and early death.

EDIT: BTW - my son is 10 and has no problems flying the choppers, and shooting me out of the sky with relative ease.

Frisbee?

Strizzo wrote: In reply to mad_machine: i like how they always crop/photoshop out the second rotor in product images so you can't tell its a coaxial...

that one is not a co-axial. That is why I bought it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yI0Oms3xh4&feature=related

With lasers on there heads.

My only experience with RC helicopters is nitro 60's and they are anything but easy to fly.

In reply to mad_machine:

I don't see a flybar in te picture, my guess is that it is either always hovering or always flying forward then. I'd recommend one of the fixed pitch 4channel helis if one isn't going with a coax. I'd still recommend a coaxial for a 10 year old though.

Not a plane, but it sure does fly:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111202/CARNEWS/111209974?utm_source=DailyDrive20111202&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=article3&utm_content=20111202-Traxxas_remote-controlled_car_is_no_toy,_hits_100_mph__Video&utm_campaign=awdailydrive

...not cheap either...

I remember when it was a huge deal that the 4-tec went 50 out of the box

Reporting.

A proper RC helicopter is really hard to fly (much harder than even non-fly-by-wire coaxial types) and you can't really pick things up with them, at that size even the aerodynamic disturbance of a load is too tough to handle.

Quadcopters are very easy to fly, they're all fly-by-wire, some have a manual mode. But ones with body panels like the ARdrone tend to get carried away by the wind pretty easily. For indoor flying they're about as easy as it gets though.

For fixed-wing, the only thing that would be appropriate is a blended-wing trainer that can survive plenty of crashes.

Hi, spend the money and get something decent. The hobby store quality perform so much better. Plus you can fly with him. Foam planes are easy to repair. Check out flitetest.com

I have a heli max 1sq, and a Blade mqx. For your son I would use the 1sq. It's summer easy to fly, you can adjust everything to make it fly stable.

Have fun

Just don't let it GO TO YOUR HEAD.

Oh heck, as long as we're resurrecting zombie threads, I'll post an update.

That little Champ is one heck of a flier, and tough as all get out. Changing the throws on the planes linkage, and using the other mode result in near stunt plane abilities. Cheap repair parts and tape keep it flying (tail rudder breaks easily). He likes threading the Champ through trees and such, and practicing landings right on the box itself. He is ready and able to move up, his father is not. He really wants a Corsair for the next plane.

An Air Hog indoor helo showed up, and is quite nice to fly inside. Though the slightest of breezes takes it out of control. He delights in careful controlled flights and landings.

Parrot AR drone is also in the inventory. Picked it up dirt cheap this spring. Surprisingly hard to fly. Lots of frustration. May well be an illegal moot point now due to our proximity to the airport. Not that either one of us plan to let that actually stop us.

If you are considering purchasing a rc heli or plane absolutely go to E-flights website. Do not waste your money on airhogs garbage when real rc is so similarly priced.

slantvaliant wrote: Just don't let it GO TO YOUR HEAD.

Holy E36 M3.