How to Start Up RC Helicopters

Fill the fuel tank of your RC helicopter with a specifically formulated fuel created for use with RC model engines.

Turn on the radio transmitter and receiver. Test the controls, watching the reaction of your helicopter to make sure the transmitter, receiver, and servos on the helicopter are responding correctly, especially when the throttle and directional servos are engaged.

Turn the idle-up switch on your radio transmitter to off. This should place your helicopter on takeoff/forward flight mode. With the idle-up switch off, the RPMs used by the helicopter are at their lowest, making the controls less sensitive and aiding with hovering, easing takeoff.

Turn on the helicopter, checking that the gyro initializes. This sets the neutral position of the helicopter, which helps the helicopter to maintain stable flight when the sticks on the transmitter are centered.

Connect your glow ignitor by clipping it to the glow plug located on the helicopter engine. The ignitor will cause the heating element in the glow plug to heat to a white-hot glow, which ignites the fuel mixture, starting the engine.

Place the starter onto the starting shaft. The starter has a motor which connects with a cone or hex head on the helicopter's starter shaft, which runs out of the top of the helicopter and is connected to the engine. The spinning starter shaft primes the engine with fuel and begins turning the engine, at which point the glow plug ignites the fuel/air mixture. This keeps the engine running. When the engine begins running smoothly, remove both the ignitor and the starter.

Move the helicopter to the takeoff/landing pad and then take off and fly.