Micro Coaxial RC Helicopters
Helis For Everyone!
Micro coaxial RC helicopters are one of the most amazing and fun products to hit the RC market in years. They are responsible for introducing so many more people to this wonderful hobby and why RC helicopters are showing the strongest growth over all other forms of RC modeling.
The cost is low, the fun is high... They are perfect for just about every age group and ability. First time flyers can’t put them down and more experienced heli pilots like me are just as hooked with models like the
Blade CX3
.If you are interested in RC helicopters but are a little intimidated by the complexity and cost of single rotor hobby grade helis, Coaxials are the perfect solution. Even though they are easy to fly, many of the skills you learn on a hobby grade coaxial RC helicopter are somewhat transferable to single rotor hobby grade RC helis. This holds especially true for understanding the control reversals when practicing
nose in hovers
.
I was actually having a very hard time deciding where I should classify and talk about micro coaxial RC helicopters on my web site. At first they were going to be included in the
Toy RC helicopter section
; but the good ones like E-Flite's Blade
mCX S300
,
mCX
,
CX2
, and the
CX3
are so much more than simple toys. They have full cyclic control and use on board
gyro
technology. The only answer was to create a completely new section devoted just to micro coaxial RC helicopters.
So what makes them so special? Simple, stability! Unlike a conventional single rotor helicopter that only has one main rotor and a tail rotor to counteract the
torque
produced, coaxial helicopters have two main rotors stacked on top of each other.
The picture to the right shows how these two rotors spin in the opposite direction of each other and thereby cancel out the reactive torque that is produced by each. Having two rotors also produces a significant gyroscopic effect that further stabilizes the helicopter. In short – no other design is as stable. Remember me saying on the
home page
that all helicopters are unstable? Well, coaxial’s break this rule - unless of course your coaxial heli encounters the infamous
Toilet Bowl Effect
.
How do they work?
All micro coaxial RC helicopters work the same way. They have two separate electric motors that drive each rotor. You can see this in the picture to the right. Each motor drives a main gear. You can’t see the upper gear that well in this photo because it is hidden by the lower gear.At any rate, these two main gears turn two main rotor shafts. The outside shaft that powers the lower rotor is hollow and the inner shaft that powers the upper rotor is spinning inside the lower hollow shaft – obviously in the opposite direction – pretty simple. These two motors control both the
lift
of the helicopter by speeding up and slowing down. They also control the
turning or yaw movement
of the heli just like a tail rotor would on a single rotor helicopter. How? If one rotor is slowed down a bit, and the other is sped up, the one that is turning faster will produce more reactive torque than the slow one and the heli will turn/yaw, just as if a tail rotor turn command was given. This yaw movement is controlled by a special electronic mixing board that will seamlessly mix the speed of both the motors to allow the required turn rate while also making sure the overall lift remains the same. Cyclic Control Yes – full
cyclic control
gives these helicopters the same agility that their more complex hobby grade single rotor big brothers have. The lower rotor has a typical swash plate to produce the cyclic control functions. Hover, fly forwards and backwards, left and right, it is all possible. Throw in some nice controlled pirouettes and your have a very functional and controllable bird. This is the big difference between a micro coaxial RC helicopter with cyclic control over a simple 2 channel toy RC helicopter that has limited directional control.
Recommendations E-flite's line of electric micro coaxial helicopters are my top pic for several reasons. They stand out due to value, performance, product support, parts availability, and they all come with DSM2 compatible receivers making them work with any good computerized programmable Spektrum or JR radio if and when you progress in this hobby. E-flite calls this wonderful feature bind & fly (BNF) and is to me, one of the best side results of 2.4 GhZ spread spectrum modulation. They all come ready to fly with everything needed to get you air born right away (helicopter, radio, li-po battery, and charger). The smallest and least expensive is the E-Flite's
Blade mCX
, the “m” stands for micro. The mCX is without question, one of the most amazing RC helicopters to ever hit the market. Everyone raves about it and justifiably so. Never before has this amount of technology (mechanical, aeronautical, and electronic) be applied to anything this small at such a low price. This little rascal is not much bigger than a Spinmaster Havoc toy helicopter, but outperforms the Havoc in every area. It is easy to fly, very maneuverable, light weight, strong, and of course way too much fun! Yes it even has a
gyro
built into its 5 in one electronic control board and uses 2.4GHz spread spectrum
RC radio
technology. This is the perfect indoor RC helicopter in all respects, and the price is outstanding.
Watch a
video of the Blade mCX
or click on mCX picture to the right if you wish to order this wonderful bird for yourself or as the perfect gift for almost anyone who likes RC or helicopters. To learn more about the Blade mCX,
here is my full review
on it.
JUST ANNOUNCED
The mCX2 was just announced and will be available May 2010. To learn all about it and see it in action,
here is my full write-up.
The
Blade mCX S300
is E-flite's scale Schweizer 300C coaxial RC Helicopter that uses the same proven mechanical and electronic guts that have made the base Blade mCX so successful. I purchased one myself and was so impressed -
Here's my full review on it.
A step up from the mCX, mCX S300, and the new mCX2 is the
Blade CX2
. This coaxial RC helicopter is about twice as big as the mCX/2/S300 and features a 7.4 volt 2 cell 800 mAh Li-Po battery that gives more power and faster flight. The CX2 is still a great indoor RC helicopter but because it is bigger, you can venture outside on those perfect calm days and really spread your wings. If you are looking for one of the higher performance coaxial RC helicopters on the market – the Blade XC2 is the perfect choice.
This
Blade CX2 video manual
shows in depth how to set up and fly a coaxial RC helicopter. It will help you understand how they work, how easy they are, and how fun! Click on the picture to the right to place your order.
The
Blade CX3 scale MD 520N RC helicopter
is without doubt the best looking scale heli in E-flite's coaxial hanger. I am very fond of scale RC helicopters, specifically the MD 520N so I ordered the CX3 from my friend Matt at Red Rocket Hobbies and have been putting it through the paces. I have written a
full review
on the CX3 coaxial RC helicopter, have a
CX3 Tips & Help
page, and
tips
on the LED upgrade. This scale micro coaxial RC helicopter is such a pleasure to fly (inside and out).
The
Blade mCX Tandem Rescue
is E-flite's dual rotor coaxial RC helicopter and has some very interesting features.
Hear is my full write-up
if you want to learn more about it.
Wow! I have got my self so worked up writing about these amazing little RC helicopters and watching the videos, I have to go flying... sorry to write and run.
Happy Coaxial Flying!
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