How to Fly a Radio Controlled Helicopter

Attach a training base to the bottom of the model helicopter to provide a wide base in the event control of the helicopter is lost. This base will keep the helicopter upright and provides a springing effect during hard landing, preventing the helicopter from being damaged. Remove this training gear once you have learned full control of the helicopter.

Ask an instructor to work with you in learning each of the controls so you are able to understand the mechanics of the controls and how they affect the helicopter. An instructor will be able to use a separate transmitter radio to operate two of the three main controls while you concentrate on learning the third one. All helicopters have three controls: rudder, collective, and cyclic.

Have your instructor operate the collective and the cyclic first so you may concentrate on learning how to use the rudder while observing what the helicopter does when you move the rudder control. The rudder control moves the tail of the helicopter left and right. If operated correctly, the helicopter can be made to fly sideways while still moving forward.

Learn to use the collective lever. Have the instructor control the rudder and the cyclic controls while you concentrate on operating the collective lever. Observe carefully how your movements affect the flight of the helicopter. The collective lever controls the ascent (upward) and descent (downward) altitude movement of a helicopter. Continue practicing until you have the hang of this ascending and descending movement.

Learn to use the cyclic lever. Have the instructor control the rudder and the collective levers while you concentrate on practicing with the cyclic control. The cyclic lever controls the forward, backward, forward-left and forward-right movement of the helicopter. It moves the helicopter left and right while moving forward or backward, but it doesn't control the left-right movement of the tail.

Practice working the rudder and cyclic controls, as they must be combined together for proper turning of a helicopter. If the helicopter is in flight and you want to turn it to the right until the helicopter is going in the opposite direction, then you must move the cyclic lever gently to the right with several careful nudges while also pressing the right rudder pedal. This will cause forward-right banking of the aircraft while the tail also flips the helicopter around to reposition the aircraft into a different heading. Allow the instructor to maintain altitude with the collective lever while practicing this maneuver.

Learn how to take-off and then hover. This is the most difficult part of completing your training, because if you cannot take-off and hover, you cannot get the helicopter airborne and you will also have no understanding of "backwash" when taking off and landing. When a helicopter is near the ground, the blades push air downward, which is reflected back into the blades due to low altitude. This "backwash" requires constant mini-movements of the cyclic and rudder pedals to keep the aircraft stable until some altitude is achieved.

Practice a complete take-off, flight, and landing cycle without the instructor's assistance and see if you are now able to control the helicopter. If you are still having difficulty with any one of the controls, making flight difficult, your instructor will assist you by observing what you may be doing incorrectly until the problem is eliminated.

Remove the training gear once you are fully able to control the helicopter so that you may gain more speed and altitude and enjoy the hobby.