With Christmas approaching , it might be a good time to start or renew your child or grandchild's interest in the hobby. Kids who pal around with their dad are going to have some great memories when they get older. Do you think a child would ever forget the first time he flew a model helicopter? Not likely.

Our number one concern should be safety. Make sure he understands that Loctite isn't in any of the major food groups and that a little CA in the right place could render him immobile.

 

Here are some suggestions that will keep things fun and safe.

• Let him help you build. Once children gets to be about 4 years old, they can actually be helpful.

• Double check all of his work. A little guy might not be quite strong enough to get those bolts as tight as they need to be.

• Start him off on the simulator. As soon as he shows the desire and skill to control the model, let him try the real thing.

• Unless the child is strong enough to control a hot start, always start the model for him.

• Teach him respect for the model.

• Always stand close by. If something happens, at least you'll be able to put yourself between your child and danger. Discuss what he should do if he loses control. Use a buddy cord if you can.

• Don't push him. Kids might not want to spend all day flying. One or two flights might be enough. Plan your outing so you can take him home when he gets tired. If he does want to fly all day, rejoice and break into song and dance. You've got a flying buddy for life.

Is my model obsolete?

That depends on you and how attached you are to the model. Sometimes it's smarter to just retire a model, but if you really want to, there's always a way to bring that old model back to life. We have thousands of parts for models that have been discontinued. If we don't have it, get on the internet. You should be able to find just about any part for any model. If you ask enough people enough questions, you can do it. Places to start are:

• www.rcuniverse.com

• www.craigslist.org

• www.ebay.com

• www.helifreak.com

• www.runryder.com

When advertising for parts wanted, be specific. Post who manufactured the model and exactly what model it is. It's always best to post pictures if you can. If you don't know what model it is, send me a picture and I'll help you identify it. Anytime you buy something off the internet, be careful to protect yourself.

Investigate parts that could be substituted for the part you need. Things like tail booms and canopies are rather generic and can sometimes be altered to fit.

When looking for belts, check with your local sewing machine or vacuum cleaner shop. They might not stock what you need, but they know where to get them.

Be persistent in your search.  Just because you didn't get any replies the first time you posted something on one of the forums doesn't mean the right guy won't see it next time. Give it at least a month before you post again. Keep good notes. If you intend to fly the model, you'll be needing more parts sooner or later.

I still have my very first helicopter. It's a Kalt Cyclone II. It's disassembled, but all the parts are there, whether I want to put it back together again or give it to one of my kids to build. Someday it will fly again.

Setup Tips that Pay Off Big

No guess radio setup.

Whether you are flying a T-rex 250 or a Vibe 90, getting the CCPM servos set at center is critical. My trick is to set the pitch curve up so that it's easy to find center. I set the center point to 50% and the points on either side to 50% also. For example, on a 5 point pitch curve, low stick would be set to 0, 1/4 stick would be 50, 1/2 stick would be 50, 3/4 stick would be 50 and high stick would be 100. I leave this curve in the transmitter until I'm ready to do the final pitch curve setup. You can do the same thing when setting up the throttle.

Get that extra punch the big dogs get.

When you are deciding what headspeed to run, consider this. If you set the hover speed a hundred rpm above the "max horsepower" rating of your engine, when you put a big load on it, the engine will drop down into it's ideal power band. For example, we know the T-rex 600 Nitro has a gear ratio of 8.5:1. If you are using an OS 50 Hyper the max horsepower is at 17000 rpm. That means the headspeed will be 2000. If you set your machine up to hover (in idle up) at 2100, when you nail the collective, the engine will drop down into the range of max power, giving you amazing response. One thing, please don't try this with wood blades or plastic blade grips. If you're going to fly like this, your model needs to be in top notch condition.

Eliminate one of those failures that can put you in the dirt.

Tail rotor failure can be disastrous, and it always seems to happen at the worst time. Nathan and I have both had the balls on our tail rotor control bellcrank wear out. When it happens, the link just falls off the ball and the tail is on its own. Now we check them regularly and if there's any up and down play in the link, we replace the ball. Dirt and grime are especially bad behind the canopy. When it gets between the link and the ball, the ball just wears away. One way to eliminate the possibility of this happening is to replace the stock ball with an aftermarket ball and put a small washer on the screw to make it impossible for the link to come off. It makes it a pain to remove the link, but that's the idea. Click on the picture and you'll see all these things in the store.

Christmas Ideas

What would a newsletter in November be without some Christmas ideas.

Kids ages 4 - and up

Blade mCX 
It's almost impossible to hurt anything with this little machine. It's very durable too. As a test, we took ours outside on a calm day and climbed it to about 100 feet then chopped the power. After 3 times, there was still no damage. Extra batteries are under $10. This one comes with everything he'll need to fly for hours and hours. It's extremely stable and even a 4 year old will be able to fly it with a little help from Dad. Only $114.99 and we pay the shipping!

The Bind N' Fly version for $89.99 uses your Spektrum or JR 2.4 ghz transmitter, which would be okay for bigger hands. Buy a couple extra batteries and we'll pay the shipping! Remember, to get free shipping, your order has to be over $100.

Vapor

I know. We are a helicopter shop, but I got my hands on one of these in Sulphur, Louisiana at the Fall Fest Funfly and I had a blast with it...outside! The wind was only 1 or 2 mph or I might have had a problem. It's designed to fly in the house or a gymnasium  This little "airplane" is totally harmless and easy to fly. Some simulator time would come in handy for a little fella. The RTF version comes with 8 AA batteries for the  transmitter and charger. The batteries last an incredibly long time. It also includes a little Lipo battery for powering the airplane for about 8 minutes. Spares lipos are only $6.99. The RTF version sells for $119.99

The Bind N' Fly version, which can use any DSM2 transmitter, is only $89.99

I'm not sure what it would take to break one of these things. We've crashed ours over 100 times and it's still good as new! Your mileage may vary. The key to crashing without damage is to get off the throttle as soon as you realize you're going to crash. It can get out of some very tight spots though. With a little quick thinking it can fly upside down and you can do loops! Even an Immelman turn!

The Wife or Girlfriend

• Diamonds of any size as long as it's at least a half carat. Industrial diamonds won't work guys.

• A day at the Spa (trust me, they love this)

• Cash ( saves on all those gift returns and any size fits)

• Volunteer for jobs your club needs to work on.

• Run for an officer position in your club

• Attend as many funflys as you possibly can.

• Help others. This is a big one. I have an article about this on my homepage.

Get a simulator and use it regularly. Trying new maneuvers on the simulator can save you a ton of dough and make you a much better pilot. If you wonder how these kids do what they do, don't wonder. They all spend hours on the simulator.