Prospective Members

This article is aimed at the individual with no prior experience in remote control aircraft who would like some idea as to the costs involved and the time required to get set-up from scratch. Flying remote control helicopters isn't an expensive hobby provided you are sensible about your flying. However there are times just like anything else, you will need to take yourself out of the "comfort zone" in order learn and enjoy yourself in the process. The emphasis here is having fun.

The first question I asked myself when I started this hobby some time ago was how much will it cost and is this going to be a bottomless pit of money once I get into it more. To my surprise it hasn't turned out that way at all. The pleasure I've obtained from the hobby has far exceeded the very small costs involved. I've only had a couple of minor crashes while I was learning costing around $50 each but that's it! The quality of the engineering of the engines, helicopter and radio equipment has come along way to make it a very reliable and ultimately, an affordable hobby.

Buying a helicopter

Another Popular 30 Size "The Raptor"

You can buy a model helicopter in kit form or buy new/ second hand ready built. There are advantages of both ways however it would be more beneficial to build it yourself from kit to get you familiar with the heli's mechanical operation and besides there's going to be a time when you will need to fix it so the more experience you gain now the better. There are various helicopters brands available for learning on. The quality of the engineering of most helicopters today is excellent.

I learnt to fly on a JR Ergo 30. Japan Remote also make the popular brands of radio control sets like the popular 388 and 3810 models. The JR Ergo 30 helicopters are usually powered by a .35 cu inch engine and run on glow fuels. These models can be purchased by most model hobby shops but I would recommend Brian Simpson from Perth RC Models and Hobbies located in Newcastle Street Perth. Brian's after sales service is excellent. I would suggest you give Brian a call because he can best advise you on a suitable package.

Joining a club

Some shots from the Heli Musta

The time and money saved and knowledge gained in a short period of time make joining a club invaluable. One of the advantage of our club is we have a lagre pool of members with different experience levels, all ready to help you get started. One the aims of our club has been to help out new pilots therefore it would be more sensible to take advantage of the services that we will provide.

Our field is huge and frequency congestion is basically non-existent. We are a heli only club and don't share the field with any other clubs. This means helis have full access to the flight line to fly however you like, no need to watch out for other birds in the sky. Flight space is not a problem as you can see from the above photo.

Keith's sister watching the flying.

Female Members

While there are no female members at the moment we're waiting for our first, we've had a few expressions of interest but none have taken the plunge, the club is by no means a 'boys club' and it would be great to have some female members. So on that note, girls your welcome to join.

Types of flying available

One the really exciting aspects of flying model helicopters is 3D flying. That's where they do all sorts of fancy maneuvers like flying inverted, backwards, inverted and backwards and any other combination of these. This is the ultimate in helicopter control. The only limitation is your imagination and persistence. 3D is exciting and difficult but that's only a very small part of the overall scene.

There is competition flying available called F3C where you have to fly a pre-determined set of maneuvers precisely. There are night flying competitions. We hook up lights onto the helicopter blades and landing gear to give us some idea as to the orientation of the heli and go flying at night.

The raptor 50 in a pair of steady hands

Vigor 90 in an inverted hover

Twister 3D (mini electric heli) in an inverted hover

Learning to fly

Once the helicopter is ready to go we will teach you the basic maneuvers of learning the hover. We will fit a special undercarriage to your heli that will extend surface area so that if it comes down on an angle, it will land upright therefore preventing any damage occurring. The next step will involve your time on learning how to hover.

Once your confident grows it will be time to remove the special undercarriage and continue your training. One of the important things you will learn is how to correctly orientate the heli with relation to your controls. When the heli is coming towards you the ailerons and rudder are reversed. A simple way to remember is if the heli banks to the right then stick to the right to correct.

Buying a simulator

Screen Shot from Realflight G3

Yes that's right you can actually get model flight simulators, they range in price and functionality. There not for everyone, some people prefer to get out doors and burn fuel, and many pilots have achieved great success without them. On the other hand some pilots consider a simulator essential. Its a great tool to teach orientation for both beginner style flying right through to advanced 3D (acrobatics). Learn the basics of a maneuver on the sim and then transfer what you've learnt down at the field. Controlling the model on the sim is via the same radio you use at the field or some simulator come with a fake radio to avoid the hassle of using you own. This is often a nice option for beginners because they don't have to mess around with the technical details of the radio, they just install the sim and off you go. 2 of the more popular simulators out there are Realflight G3 and Reflex XRT, but check out the links page for more.

This site has lots of helicopter paint schemes for the RealFlight simulator so check it out if you have RealFlight G2 or G3 (the schemes are for G2 but G3 can run the G2 helis).

Local Hobby Shops

As far as local hobby shops go I can't speak about them all as I haven?t dealt with them all, however in terms of RC Helicopters I'd say Perth RC would have the most experience so you may find them useful. For a listing of some shops here in Perth check out the link category Local shops.

Safety (for both members and prospective members)

Safety is the most important part of flying RC helicopters and shouldn't be taken lightly. Over the years we have operated we have had no accidents at the club. We practice strict safety rules to ensure a safe environment. Please check out the safety page for the clubs safety document and further information about safety.

Club Costs and Membership Application forum

The small cost consists of a MAAA/ AWA insurance fee and a club yearly fee. The insurance will cover you worldwide along as you fly at approved flying fields. So in the unlikely event of an unfortunate incident your covered. The club fees are as follows.

Once off nomination fee (for first time members) $15

PRCHC 2007/08 Membership form

If you would like any further information please don't hesitate to contact one of the committee members via email, alternatively you can drop down to the field on a Sunday.