Learn to Fly

Learning to fly an RC helicopter is a challenging and difficult thing to do. If you are looking for a new hobby and are considering the world of RC helicopters and need a little extra encouragement, please read the why bother page.

The following is a summary of the learning process but please go into more detail of each stage by clicking on the links on the left.

Please do not be under any illusions, if you have never flown an RC helicopter before, without a basic understanding of the controls, your attempt will not end well. Most likely you will damage your helicopter, yourself, your mates, next doors cat etc…

As a starting point, please review the basic controls page. Understand what and where the important switches are, undestand the basic stick movements on the transmitter and what affect each input has on your RC helicopter. Once you have a conceptual understanding of the control inputs, we would then highly recommend experimenting with these inputs by connecting your transmitter to your PC or laptop and installing an RC helicopter simulator.

As mentioned under the equipment needed page, we would highly recommend speaking to one of the UK’s RC helicopter shops/retailers and ask about a Ready to Fly (RTF) micro or mini sized helicopter which comes complete with a transmitter, and also request the transmitter is compatible with flight simulators. You can download the majority of simulators online, you just need to know that the transmitter bundled with your RTF helicopter is compatible with RC helicopter simulators. You will need either a USB cable or wireless dongle to connect your transmitter to your PC.

Spend a few hours on the simulator until you know what each stick does, can take off and hover, and then land again whilst keeping the helicopter upright with the tail facing you, and nose facing away from you.

Once you can do this without having to think about it too much, you are probably ready to test your nerves, and try it for the first time for real. Please take the time to read each of the pages in this section shown in the menu on the left before attempting your first real flight.

All this sounds very daunting and borderline impossible to master. You will be amazed at just how amazing the human brain is by soon commiting all the above into muscle memory, then it’s time to move on to the next stage of flight training. Just like learning to ride a bike.