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How Coaxial RC Helicopters Work

Conventional RC helicopters have one main rotor and a tail rotor. The tail rotor is used to counteract the torque effect from the main rotor. Coaxial RC helicopters do not have a tail rotor; they use two main rotors that spin in opposite directions to cancel the torque effect.

Benefits
- Coaxial RC helicopters do not need a tail rotor or have a fly bar for steering; this makes the helicopter simpler to maintain and more resilient in a crash. Steering is handled by changing the speed of one of the motors.
Considerations
- To get the main rotors to spin in opposite directions, coaxial helicopters use two motors. Each motor drives a different set of rotor blades. Dual motors draw more amperage from a battery pack, which can reduce flight time and double the chance that a motor will fail.
Fun Fact
- Coaxial RC helicopters are recommended for the first-time helicopter pilot. A novice pilot can be flying a coaxial helicopter within minutes of taking it out of the package.

Aviation