[starman]

So, we had this thread about the $30 toy helicopters and I got two of them. They're fun, but they only fly up and down and spin their tail. Whoopie. I'd like to know which would be a good intermediate 4-CH copter to get.

[Teronzhul]

Something like a Blade CX or an Esky Llama.

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The Llama is certainly cheaper. I have 2 Esky helis and have been quite satisfied with both. I have a Honeybee cp2 and a Honeybee King.

[ThinkInsane]

How hard are the two you recommended to fly? Is there a steep (and potentially costly) learning curve? I've gotten hooked by my little livingroom copter (now defunct) and like starman would like to move up to something else. Are these something a novice can take out and not mangle on the first flight?

[starman]

From what I understand, you need (NEED!) to learn to hover well before you do anything else. I'm itching to try.

[Teronzhul]

Theoretically the 4 channel coaxial helis are very easy to fly. Since they counter rotate hovering is a cinch as there is no drift. I have never flown one of them, I jumped straight into 6 channel helis with tail rotors. I've seen lots of people flying the cx/llama indoors, even though it isn't exactly recommended.

Yes, you do need to learn to hover first, but going from a coax to a conventional heli with a tail rotor is so different that learning to hover with a 4 channel helicopter won't help a lot for the transition. It will help for basic motor controls in forward flight etc, but hovering is a different matter entirely.

[alligator]

I've purchased and flow the Piccolo Helicopter. It is more difficult than a toy helicopter, but much easier than a nitro powered r/c copter. You still need the full equipment to fly it, and it isn't a toy, but man is it fun! I'm not sure where it is sold, but there are probably similar models available.

Good luck, r/c copters are much harder than you might realize.

[Teronzhul]

Yeah, I didn't even think about fixed pitch helis when referencing 4 channel models. I was just thinking coaxials. FP helis with tail rotors would be an intermediate step, but they're still considerably harder to fly than the counter rotating variety.

Another thing to consider is that with tail rotor equipped helis is that the smaller they are the less stable and more susceptible to wind they are. I actually learned to fly on a collective pitch 30 size nitro, but that requires a $400+ investment.