Radio Controlled Helicopters in the UK - a different toy!

This is part of a series on Electronic Learning Toys, and concerns helicopter toys. Definitely a toy with a difference, for both adults and children - read on to discover more.

Note: The information provided in this lens is mainly for the benefit of UK readers, but there are links provided for readers from the United States.

Radio Controlled Helicopters are not quite your 'normal' learning toys, but they do require some patience and determination to fly properly. Compared with radio controlled cars, or planes, there are 3 dimensions to cope with; so an interesting challenge!

The fact that a helicopter will start flying by lifting vertically means that it can be flown indoors (assuming that care is taken in the early stages of learning to fly the helicopter, in order to avoid 'bumping' into the wrong things!). Some RC Helicopters can also be flown outside, but only in fairly calm weather. However most Radio Controlled Helicopters are designed for flying indoors, and they are not as much of a nuisance as it might at first appear!

There is quite a community of RC Helicopter enthusiasts in the UK and it could be an interest that you, or your children, may want to follow. What you don't want to do is go out and find a really expensive model before you have built up the necessary skill.

There are some excellent helicopter toys available and they're not all as hard to fly as you might think; although some patience and perseverance is required, so probably better for teen aged children and adults.

The skill required can depend on the number of radio channels available. A different channel is needed to control each separate action (e.g. tilt of the blades). There are cheaper models with just two channels; still excellent helicopters, but needing more skill than 3, or 4, channels. For those who start treating this as a serious hobby, 6, or more, channels are more normal. One minor limitation with most basic helicopters is the need to re-charge batteries, with the normal flying time being anything from 5 to 15 minutes before batteries need charging, or replacing (rechargeable batteries are the best option obviously).

Okay so toy helicopters are not really an Electronic Learning Toy, but just imagine sitting somewhere in your house and receiving a message delivered by a helicopter, an interesting image! I know that a Radio Controlled Helicopter would make an excellent gift, for adult or child!