DEFINITIONS:
Fixed pitch (FP) helicopter blades have blades that remain at a fixed angle (you can not alter their pitch). To get lift on these helicopters you must increase the power to the main blades. They are simpler in design, they are easier to fix when damaged, they are easier to set up and they are cheaper.
Collective pitch (CP) helicopters control lift through the angle of the blades, they have 3 servos instead of 2 (like the fixed pitch models) allowing you to alter blade pitch. This result in a more agile machine but it also means they are harder to repair and are more suited to an experienced flyer.
HELICOPTER STATS:
CP = Collective Pitch, FP = Fixed Pitch, RTF = Ready To Fly, ARF = Almost Ready To Fly
A Ready To Fly (RTF) helicopter comes 99% assembled and requires no extras such as electronics or transmitter, if the helicopter has not got an RTF beside it then you may have to buy extras such as electronics and radio which gives you greater flexibility but with added expense.
HELIGUY recommends the following beginner options Lama v3, HoneyBee, Dragonfly 4 and HoneyBee CP2.
CLARIFICATION:
The HELICOPTER STATS above give you a brief introduction. If the rc helicopter has NOT got RTF beside it you will have extra costs to get it flight ready and will have to do some building these are know as ARF.
Wind conditions; the bigger the helicopter the more wind it can cope with, and a collective pitch (CP) helicopter can handle windier conditions as well (more power, stiffer rotor head).
Flight sims; Heliguy.com will enable you to get going with FREE flight sims or commercial flight sims and controllers ranging from £19.99 - £129.99, these flight simulators can save you a fortune and some of them must be seen on 48" plasmas!
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