Is it hard to build a radio-controlled helicopter?

The short answer is yes and no. When you’re building your very own helicopter, you have to assemble the parts to make the helicopter, as well as measure the linkages and make sure everything’s set just right. There’s usually no special work involved, like sanding, gluing or cutting and if you’re willing to be patient and follow the instructions that come with it, you can have your RC helicopter assembled in just a handful of evenings and be ready to fly in very little time.

Do they cost a lot?

It all depends on what type of helicopter you choose and the equipment that you’ll need with it. A basic .30 setup will cost you anywhere between $550-$750, while a Turbine or even a .90 sized electric RC helicopter setup can easily cost $5,000, $10,000 or more. It all depends on what you want.

Read more »

Resilient people share certain traits that help them bounce back from hard times. Learn more about this emotional intelligence competency. Did you ever notice how resilient people – people who seem to be able to handle the ups and down in life, and not freak out under stress – are kind of, well, zany?

Al Siebert, Ph.D., who has studied resiliency for many years found that one of the qualities of survivors is having what he calls “paradoxical personality traits.” This means being able to be one way and also the opposite – being mean and kind, selfish and altruistic, generous and stingy. My clients who read Siebert’s book The Survivor Personality report appreciating the “normalizing” of reading that it’s okay to be different depending upon the situation.

It does sound like a good survival trait doesn’t it? Because when hard times comes, or when change is as prevalent and continual as it is today, or our environments as multicultural as they are, we need lots of ways of “being” in order to have positive outcomes. What works with one person won’t work with the next, and what worked today won’t always work tomorrow.

Read more »

Many people really wish to get into the hobby of flying an RC helicopter. The difficulty and learning curve of an RC helicopter and the potential disaster of crashing a very expensive model, are preventing many potential helicopter pilots from entering this sport. There has never been a better time to consider getting into RC helicopters. The current technology allows for almost everyone to learn with very little risk. The main thing to remember is to start with the correct model to learn basic flight, before advancing to a complex machine which will require an extreme amount of maintenance, knowledge and setup.

The absolute best helicopters for a new pilot are: NO TAIL ROTOR & Counter rotating main blades. The counter rotating main blades enhance the stability of the model and allow for the beginner to make a few errors with the needed time to correct a problem with transmitter input. A novice must learn to hover first without trying any other task and these type of helicopters will allow for a hover to be accomplished in a very short time. Have no doubt, if you are considering getting into the hobby, these are the type of helicopter to purchase. Chose one of these models and meet with success.

No vehicle in the world is as complex to maintain as a real, full grown helicopter. The Nitro or Gas RC helicopters are very much the same as the real thing. Lots of moving parts. Beginner helicopter enthusiasts havent a clue about how to setup a gas/Nitro helicopter. These machines are really fun and amazing but, a novice needs to stay away from purchasing such machines until acquiring the skill and knowledge that is sufficient enough to take on this daunting task of the total concentration that is required to handle what might very well have cost an individual as much as $700 and more. I want to include an explanation of just how complex one of the more expensive helicopters are and why it would be very expensive for someone that doesnt know all that is required to make the helicopter do the various types of maneuvers that are common to the real thing. Linkages and bearings would all need to be replaced in the event of braking a main rotor blade during a bad landing. Heres a brief description of a phenomenon that is referred to gyroscopic precession and is relevant to what is know as the swash plate which is what all the push rods and bearings are attached to in order change the main rotor angle for forward, sideways and backwards motion.

Read more »