Beginners Setup
Next Level Setup
Adventurous Ambitious Apprentice – Collective Pitch – Can hover upside down
For those with a little more money to spend, or perhaps for those that already have or have had the types of ‘Fixed Pitch’ none acrobatic helicopters suggested in the ‘Basic Budget Beginner’ page, this section is probably for you.
The helicopters shown below are very different from their basic budget beginner bredren’s in two ways. The motors are direct drive which means the amateur of the motor directly connects to the main rotor blades via a main shaft without any gearing giving crazy amounts of power.
The other key difference is the main rotor blades can be tilted on demand by the pilot to allow the helicopter to fly upside down (inverted), as well as allowing the helicopters to pull off crazy acrobatics limited only by the pilot’s imagination and ability. This style of extreme acrobatics is known as 3D. Helicopters that allow for the blades to be pitched by the pilot are know as ‘Collective Pitch’ rather than ‘Fixed Pitch’ helicopters.
The helicopters below do also come with a stability mode and a form of rescue as standard which means they can level themselves out when you lose control. Think of stability mode as like a ball bearing in a bowl. As soon as you stop moving them around and center your control stick, the helicopter will settle into a nice stable hover the same way the ball bearing will settle to the bottom of the bowl.
A key point to make for both of the helicopters below is that both can be purchased either with or without a pre-programmed fully configured transmitter. Both helicopters come with a single battery but no charger. Batteries cost more for the models below when compared with the more basic fixed pitch options, however they are still incredibly cheap why you consider you will likely get around 200 flights+ per battery.
OMP M1 EVO – Average Price £250 without transmitter £295 with transmitter OMP website
James Platts – Midland Helicopters Team Pilot – Flying OMP M1
OMP M2 EVO -Average Price £300 without transmitter £400 with transmitter OMP website
James Platts – Midland Helicopters Team Pilot – Flying OMP M2
RadioMaster – Transmitter (Controller) included with the Ready To Fly (RTF) options for the above
The Zorro controller is a gamepad type controller that is popular with the drone racing community. The Zorro is an attractive option as it can be connected (bound) to a broad range of other helicopters and radio-controlled devices.