How do toy helicopters work

The basic controls on your RC helicopter include:. Your standard RC helicopter would have the main rotor located on the body of the aircraft, and it would feature two or more rotor blades that come out from a central rotor head. The main rotors on RC helicopters help make the lifting power that allows your RC helicopter its flight ability so it can turn.

However, before we start, we do want to remind you that a coaxial single rotor RC helicopter might take some time to learn how to fly. Experts usually recommend that newbies buy these types of helicopters and fly them. However, we also recommend the cheaper model of RC helicopter at this point because you are likely to crash your RC helicopter a few times and damage it while you are learning.

However, keep in mind that even a cheap coaxial single rotor RC helicopter will have similar control methods and also uses the same rules in physics that are used by standard helicopter manufacturers. If you can gain some understanding into how these forces and laws work, then learning how to control a helicopter becomes a bit easier. When it comes to lift, we need to discuss pitch a bit as well.

We use collective pitch on RC helicopters because it allows for an immediate option for operating your lift and thrust. Larger RC helicopters use a throttle. However, the larger the RC helicopter, the longer the throttle can take to kick into action.

Collective pitch is also one of the two basic ways you can increase lift. The other way is to bring up the RPMs on your helicopter. Changing the collective lift by using the pitch is so fast because of the swashplate. Then, the information travels into the upper swashplate.

Once the upper swashplate gets the communication, it sends them to the rotors through a bar. When that bar experiences movement, it makes the rotor circulate and then change the pitch, which in turn increases the lift. Whenever the upper swashplate moves because of the lower swashplate, then the position or the rotor blades also alters. Both Newton and Bernoulli created theories of lift, which we will cover in more detail below. People often assume, incorrectly, that air molecules that are made to move faster as they pass over the airfoil and combine again with the air molecules below the airfoil.

When we are talking about the torque of an RC helicopter, we are referring to the stability. Torque refers to the rotating force we find on RC helicopters, which means their rotors. We just mentioned above that most coaxial RC helicopters create lift as their main rotor circulates. As that primary motor rotates, it starts generating a force known as torque. When torque happens, the fuselage switches to moving in the other direction. When the first helicopters were built, their original engineers figured out how to counteract this issue by adding another, tinier, perpendicular rotor on the tail.

Reply 6 years ago on Introduction. Reply 10 years ago on Introduction. Those cheap ones are great! But they have LiPo batteries, so if you compleatly drain the battiery Yah, I tried to soder a new battery and it worked! Introduction: How to Fly a Toy Helicopter. Did you make this project?

Share it with us! I Made It! HarshS Question 3 years ago on Introduction. Answer Upvote. RakeshJ25 Question 3 years ago. My plane is not gaining height it is only on land even after full raise of trottle. VishalJ53 Question 3 years ago on Step 5. Reply Upvote. Prathamesh Padiyar 5 years ago. VijayaJ 6 years ago. RaviK45 6 years ago on Introduction. Hai, i bought a new one form online, but it is mot flighing can u guide me.

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In addition, the controls on these machines are more sensitive that the controls on larger helicopters, which makes them more difficult to fly.

The larger electric helicopters are not practical for flying in public places. Large electric helicopters, just like nitro helicopters, can be quite dangerous. Nitro powered collective pitches typically weigh somewhere between six or seven pounds. Because of their larger size and the amount of noise that they make, you should only fly these helicopters at designated flying sites.

The additional weight makes these helicopters easier to fly, but the cost to repair the machine after a crash is not cheap. You should only attempt to operate these machines if you are an experienced RC helicopter pilot, especially due to the energy that is stored in the spinning rotor as well as the extra weight. Tandem rotor RC helicopters are quite rare. With this type of radio-controlled helicopter, there are two rotors mounted longitudinally that counter rotate, cancelling out the majority of the rotor torque.

Since tandem rotor helicopters are so complex, most helicopters of this type are collective pitch; even though building one that is fixed pitch would not be an impossible feat. Collective pitch coaxial helicopters are especially rare. A collective pitch coaxial helicopter is distinct because of its ability to fly in zero gravity.

The items that are covered in this section are considered necessary for piloting an RC helicopter in the field. A number of the items that you are going to learn about are things that you are going to need right away, while others may only be needed later down the road.

Without the necessary gear, your flying time may be cut abruptly short. Small fixed-pitch helicopters need a 4-channel radio throttle, elevator, aileron, rudder , although micro helicopters that utilize a 2-channel infrared control system also exist; while collective-pitch models need a minimum of 5 channels with 6 being most common throttle, collective pitch, elevator, aileron, rudder and gyro gain.

Especially if you are just getting started with radio-controlled helicopters, you need to invest in a good helicopter book. If you are serious about flying radio-controlled helicopters, it is a good idea to invest in a good helicopter simulator.

A number of good simulators are currently on the market. The investment that you make on a helicopter simulator is well worth it, especially considering the money that it will save you on the flying field.

Aircraft libraries and realism vary from one simulator to the next, so take some time to find the one that is right for you. Training gear for radio-controlled helicopters is nothing more that some simple fiberglass or wooden sticks arranged in a tic tack toe or cross pattern.

On the end of each of these sticks is a light plastic ball. The plastic balls keep the sticks from ramming into the ground as the helicopter is bobbing along. You should be able to find training gear for your RC helicopter for around twenty to forty dollars. If you prefer, you can save money by building your own RC helicopter training gear.

Choosing a RC helicopter that is constructed of the correct material does not have to be a stressful task. Take the time to explore some of the most common materials to determine the one that is best for your radio-controlled helicopter.

RC helicopters must be built to endure all types of stress, including low and high frequency vibrations, hard landings, heat, centrifugal forces as well as G-forces and more. So, it is important that the material you choose for your RC helicopter is strong enough to survive, yet still light enough to fly through the air with ease. Radio-controlled helicopter controls can be somewhat difficult to understand.

However, if you take the time to understand the controls one step at a time, it will make much more sense for you.