Micro RC helicopters

- the 'Must Have' radio control aircraft!

True micro rc helicopters are widely available nowadays, a long time after micro rc cars, boats and airplanes became popular.

This is because model helicopter technology is far more complicated than any other rc vehicle or aircraft technology, and so it's taken manufacturers longer to produce the appropriate components that are small enough and cheap enough to allow mass-production of true micro rc helicopters.

But, fortunately for us, such helicopters do now exist and are readily available. Two shining examples are E-flite's Blade mCX and Walkera's 4#3B - a scaled-down version of the successful Dragonfly 4 FP electric rc helicopter.

Above, the Blade mCX and Walkera 4#3 will both sit comfortably on your hand!

The Blade mCX and Walkera 4#3 rc helicopters each represent a very different style of helicopter, coaxial and single rotor respectively. Both are sold with the latest 2.4GHz radio control technology for interference-free flying around the home.

Both are excellent products, but don't be fooled in to thinking that such helicopters are toys. While the Blade mCX can be flown pretty much straight out the box, the Walkera 4#3B is more of a handful if you've never flown a single-rotor rc helicopter before.
There's a definite learning curve attached to such a helicopter but don't let this put you off! Single rotor helicopters, while harder to master, are more versatile in the air and are certainly more exhilarating!

Low-cost micro helicopters

By far the cheapest micro helicopters on sale now are not, in fact, radio control in the true sense of the term, but are controlled by infra-red technology, in much the same way that your TV or DVD player remote operates.

The Silverlit Picoo Z was the first to appear late in 2006, getting in to the record books for the world's smallest 'rc' helicopter! The Picoo Z is now marketed as the Havoc Heli and still sells in huge numbers even though many manufacturers have since jumped on the bandwagon and followed suit.

Above, the Havoc Heli sits comfortably in the palm of your hand!

See more micro rc helicopters here.

The popularity of these tiny helicopters reached new limits in the rc world once videos of them started appearing on YouTube - we all wanted one! It is indeed incredible to think that a controllable model helicopter can be bought for around $40 and flown around the living room! True testament to the rapidly changing face of radio control flying.

Such IR micro helicopters won't give you the same level of exhilaration as, say, the Blade mCX and Walkera 4#3B shown above but they are a great product and a lot of fun - for not a lot of money!

So as the seemingly unstoppable electronic revolution continues, just how small will rc helicopters and airplanes go? Will we soon be able to buy a 6 channel 3D helicopter the size of a Havoc Heli?... I hope so!!

See more IR micro rc helicopters here.

See the Blade mCX and Walkera 4#3B.

Walkera 4#3B - review of my 4#3B micro helicopter.