How to Fly Remote Toy Helicopters

Start by practicing your flying with an online simulator. While it can be fun to crash the virtual helicopter, remember that in real life you are going to be flying a very expensive, and easily breakable, remote control helicopter. So you'll want to learn how to fly properly in the simulation--that way you don't crash your real life toy. See Resources below for a link to some good simulators to try.

Let an instructor help you as you first learn to fly. He will control certain aspects of the helicopter so you can focus on others. Once you've learned them, you can begin to fly on your own. Start by learning the cyclic controls. Basically, you will control only the right stick. After the instructor gets the helicopter hovering in the air, move it to the side, hover and return to the start position. Then move forward, hover and return to the original position.

Let the instructor control the cyclic controls that you learned in Step 2, while you practice the collective and rudder. This means you'll be learning to move helicopter up and down and to hover as you did before. After this is mastered, practice using both sticks to both hover and move.

Practice hovering and moving until you feel comfortable with it. Then you can move on to taking off and landing. Make sure your instructor is there to help you if you have any trouble. Use gradual take-offs, practice hovering and moving and then gently set the helicopter back down. Do this a number of times to get the feel for it.

Practice with the helicopter in different conditions, such as flying when there is wind. You'll still need to have your instructor present, but you should have an idea of what to do on your own. Do not fly in too much wind or you may cause damage to your helicopter. When you feel confident enough, you can begin to fly the helicopter without your instructor.