Topic: 6 Yr old wants to fly helis!!

My youngest.. bless her, has a wee PicooZ green bug type thingy tadpole. Shes had it a few days now and very twitchy though it is, and despite the delay in the controls turning it left or right.. shes started to handle it ok. She had it flying round the front room about an inch or so off the floor which i believe is fluke, shes learning to fly it round the room without it bouncing off the walls or the ceiling.

She turned to me and said, i want a bigger helicopter!!

Thoughts of her chaseing my son around the front room with a helicopter on his tail with him screaming instantly flashed through my mind and i said not untill she can fly her bug type thingy properly.

So now she considers herself in " Training" and keeps asking if she is good enough yet to get a really really big one!! 

God almighty... what do i do??  She aint exactly a wall flower, she isnt exactly girlie like... more half girlie and half thuggy!!

So.. if im to allow her to persue her um... gawd.. wishes... is there a heli out there, very cheap.. that wont be as twitchy as this one.. thats small, plastic blades that wont maim or kill if she decides to chase people round the room with it?? I have a mini twister, but by eck she aint getting her mitts on that!! 

blade mcx is a pussycat, controllable and can fly into anyone without damaging them..

and parts are cheap too

Is it small??  coz there is no way on this earth, am i getting her a bigger heli untill shes about 30!!

maybe get her one of the e flight bind and fly blades. they re great fun and very controlable.

Is it small??  coz there is no way on this earth, am i getting her a bigger heli untill shes about 30!!

yep, lands in the palm of your hand...

E-Flite EFLH2300 Schweizer 300

EFLH2200 Blade MCX

How about a JP twister. Micro and only £30. Spares are peanuts.

J Perkins Distribution

blade mcx can fly into anyone without damaging them..

I beg to differ 

They're great, the BNF helis, got 2 now. IIRC you have a DX7 which would make it easier to learn on with dual rates and expo - start with maybe 50% expo and 40% rates and increase as she gets better 

I beg to differ  

They're great, the BNF helis, got 2 now. IIRC you have a DX7 which would make it easier to learn on with dual rates and expo - start with maybe 50% expo and 40% rates and increase as she gets better  

ok, let's improve the statement. They can fly into people without damaging the person providing the rotor does NOT strike an eyeball.

It has to be an indoor flyer, and she aint getting her mitts on my Tx.I know, im being selfish.

I have a twister Mike, shes seen it fly..Im not sure.... If anyone wants to donate a heli... i wont mind. 

sheepy one... shopuldnt that read.. doesnt 

sheepy one... shopuldnt that read.. doesnt 

yes, it should,  i think i am not well...

blade mcx is a pussycat, controllable and can fly into anyone without damaging them..

and parts are cheap too

2nd above not had one but good reports on them
Ron

should add get ready as it will not take long for her to get used to the heli learn nose in etc and she will be ready for the next step up i hope you have deep pockets 
Ron

always get her a t rex 250

My pockets are very very shallow... and noooooooooooooooooooooooooo to the T rex. 

YouTube             - RC Heli Raptor 90 Indoor

As long as you take the smoke alarm batteries out  She should be fine with one of these indoors   

blade mcx is a pussycat, controllable and can fly into anyone without damaging them..

and parts are cheap too

I wouldn't bother with the MCX. If you can afford it go for the MCR.
The MCX is twin contra - rotating blades but the MSR is a single rotor. £99 in SWM for the one that includes the TX. The bind and fly is about £80, if you already hav a Speccy Tx.



  Tom

She turned to me and said, i want a bigger helicopter!!

Thoughts of her chaseing my son around the front room with a helicopter on his tail with him screaming instantly flashed through my mind and i said not untill she can fly her bug type thingy properly.

So now she considers herself in " Training" and keeps asking if she is good enough yet to get a really really big one!!  

God almighty... what do i do??   She aint exactly a wall flower, she isnt exactly girlie like... more half girlie and half thuggy!!

So.. if im to allow her to persue her um... gawd.. wishes... is there a heli out there, very cheap.. that wont be as twitchy as this one.. thats small, plastic blades that wont maim or kill if she decides to chase people round the room with it?? I have a mini twister, but by eck she aint getting her mitts on that!!  

My lad was flying Picoo Z's and similar types at 6, he was about 8 when I let him loose with the mCX.

It sounds like a Picoo Insecta Heli she has - they do fly o.k, but are more of a toy with 'interferance' from the pilot on the sticks. One can get quite skilled with Picco Z's with practice. A combination of throttle 'blipping' and tail rotor can make for accurate Picoo Z flying. The Insecta has the added bonus of flashing eyes.

There are more Picoo Z types about , but since she has one of them and your posting looking for a 'bigger' type and I presume a better flyer is needed. Picoo Z can be had for £9.99 upwards now a days - genuine ones as well!

My 1st thought was the Micro Twister - the Ally framed models, they are very good and very 'cheap' as far as heli's are concerned, but you mention that she's not having yours, so I presume you want something better than a Picoo Z, but cheaper than a Micro Twister. Not an easy task. 

I was initially going to suggest the mCX or the Hughes 300 mCX as they are so easy to fly, but they cost more - good but more expensive.

The nearest one I've seen thats as stable and as easy to fly thats cheaper is a Micro Twister 'type' variant Amerang will be distributing to model shops in the near future. Probably £20 to £30 I'd guess. I don't know the price yet.

The Picco Z Tandems are more expensive than a Micro Twister and even harder to fly than a Picoo Z.

There is a model that behaves like the Micro Twister, but is as cheap as the Picoo Z - links posted below.

UH 60 Gun Ship - Servo Shop Here

and

AH 60 Here - Servo Shop


These three helicopters have a spares back up! and are distrubuted by J Perkins - very easy to fly, but in a more controlled way than a Picco Z - more  like the Micro Twister to fly.

At 6 years old - she should be able to handle one of those.

WITH PARENTAL GUIDENCE.

Picoo Z Tandem and Mini Cargo footage.

YouTube             - Pico Z Tandem Versus JP Micro Cargo at Steve Webb Models - England

Cheers

Steve
P.s I can vouch for these too, but they are a similar price to a Micro Twister -

The Mini Cargo
 
Here - Servo Shop

I have an MSR and it's very controlable, great fun flying around the house and winding the cats up although they have learnt they can just jump and grab it from the sofa when it's in the middle of the living room

I have an MSR and it's very controlable, great fun flying around the house and winding the cats up although they have learnt they can just jump and grab it from the sofa when it's in the middle of the living room

There's lots of parents wanting to buy MSR's for the kids, but I'd advise not too , unless they don't mind repairing and supervising. It's not that a 6 year old doesnt have the ability - they often can fly better than an adult - but they have no idea of cost and no fear of cost and usually at some point ( if a friend is around from school) crashing the model will be part of the 6 year old's demonstration. Then the frustrated parent comes into the room, gets told by the kids they havent 'done anything' and the model is returned to the model shop, where the model shop staff have to use tact to tell the 'mum and dad' they can't have a new mSR or compensation for the Flat Screen Telly and the repair is chargeable...

and defo no compensation for the Cat leaving home..

So...for 6 years old  - IMO - cheaper toy types and PARENTAL SUPERVISION at all times.

My sons now 9 years old and I still won't let him fly models - unless I am to hand to charge batts and trim and give guidence.

The MSR is an excellent heli - when all is said and done, but the costs of flying it are more adult orientated, than child orientated. I think the box says - 'ages over 14'

Steve

My daughter (7) is just moving up from her pink Pico Z which she loves  to my BNF Blade MSX, the biggest problem is my DX7 TX is perhaps a little big for little hands, to anyone buying for a child I would suggest the RTF version as the supplied TX is a lot easier for young children to use.

YouTube             - Köden flying T-REX 700N new servos 20-10-2008

Have a look at this video before offering too much encouragement

My daughter (7) is just moving up from her pink Pico Z which she loves  to my BNF Blade MSX, the biggest problem is my DX7 TX is perhaps a little big for little hands, to anyone buying for a child I would suggest the RTF version as the supplied TX is a lot easier for young children to use.

Good advice Andy regard the size of the Tx, but I think Maz was after a model that was cheaper than a Micro Twister and flew better than a Picco Z, it's a difficult call.

The mCX would be great, but I think thats past her budjet, reading the OP

Steve

With just moving, and all the malarky that goes with it.. budget is extremely tight. Plus i dont want to spend loads, to find that in a few months shes no longer interested like kids often do. Shes had the proper picooZ before, and loved flying that till it broke.And she does like RC things, as she still takes tranch for a walk.

with the eldest wanting to get into planks, which is no prob as she can use my trainer and my old 35meg gear, and now youngest wanting to get into helis.. im kinda thinking oh cr@p. But i dont want to stifle their growth, and if they are genuinely interested then i will do what i can... but with a tight budget.. im kinda limited, yet i know that what she has at the mo.. is definately not ideal as not a true idea of how a heli flies.

With three potential modelers in your family you may wish you took up knitting instead. 

There's lots of parents wanting to buy MSR's for the kids, but I'd advise not too , unless they don't mind repairing and supervising. It's not that a 6 year old doesnt have the ability - they often can fly better than an adult - but they have no idea of cost and no fear of cost and usually at some point ( if a friend is around from school) crashing the model will be part of the 6 year old's demonstration. Then the frustrated parent comes into the room, gets told by the kids they havent 'done anything' and the model is returned to the model shop, where the model shop staff have to use tact to tell the 'mum and dad' they can't have a new mSR or compensation for the Flat Screen Telly and the repair is chargeable...

and defo no compensation for the Cat leaving home..

Good advice, I only suggested it based purely on the ease of flying 

My pockets are very very shallow... and noooooooooooooooooooooooooo to the T rex. 

My Grandson Ben was flying Picco Z's at two and a half; now hes four, he has started on my BLADE CX and can put the indoor Minium Cardinal around the sports hall. In fact yesterday he said to me ' youre Rubbish Pops' when i bashed the Blade !.

His mother is not impressed   '... who got this boy into aeroplanes in the first place !'

quite a few suggestions and ideas here, many thanks for everyones input... I might just get her, her own twister in time.. will wait a short while to see how she fares.. or untill this insect thingy goes kaput!

quite a few suggestions and ideas here, many thanks for everyones input... I might just get her, her own twister in time.. will wait a short while to see how she fares.. or untill this insect thingy goes kaput!

HI Maz,

Those little JP Coaxials fly in a similar manner to the mCX, they are not as well made, but then they cost much less. They are also an infra red system instead of 2.4 ghz system.

What might be a good investment for all of you is a simulator? then she can get to fly 'real' heli's with no cost bashing & Crashing them and also 'real' planes and I'm sure you would find a use for the Sim also. With 3 budding modellers - a good Sim could save you a small fortune.

I intend to get a new sim myself to practive my aero's as I'm very rusty and also teach my son to fly - (everything he needs too know he can learn on a sim 1st), without crashing real planes.

Our GP Real Flight 2 is old hat now. I'm going for the Phoenix Sim, I had a 'go' in the SWM shop as they have it available for would be flyers to try! It's extremely realistic. I was very impressed.

I'm convinced youngsters make quicker learners than Adults, but they have no fear of the cost factor and often this is good for learning, but not good for costs!

Some parents don't mind spending £1000's on little Johny, but I'm afraid I'm not one of 'them'. My Fred is not flying expensive Heli's, Jets and Aeroplanes yet as he does not understand what has gone into buying such models and how they should be apprechiated.

When he has an understanding of how money works and that it's not a never ending 'stream he can dip into, I'll be teaching him to fly and buying him some nice models.

I have learnt a lesson in that when he was very young he saw me flying all types of models at home and to him - he thinks thats 'normal'.

He has to be taught the value of money ( I feel) and I feel the same regard most other youngsters.

In the modern age its so easy to spoil them and then when they are older they are 'bored' because they have nothing new to excite or interest them.

He still does O.K for goodies, don't think I'm too hard on him. I have been supporting his Lego purchases as he does seem to be taking 'care' of his Lego. If it was found 'buried' in the Garden or in the pond, he would not have had as much bought for him! I'm sure you know what I mean. Having said that - thats my experience with my son and children I have seen in a retail shop over the years. No one kid is the same as another.


Steve

Hi,

My 7 yr old (Jasmine) has an MCX, and is doing well with it so it get my vote. I've even convinced my air cadet unit to get one!! So I would say it scores highly for a really good balance of stability/control/durability/availability of spares.  I also agree with comments on the smaller Tx too if you can stretch to the RTF version. In fact for the cadets I got the RTF MCX Scweizer, mains charger (same as the one that comes with the msr) and 5 extra battery packs for just under 125 pounds on ebay. Well chuffed with myself!

Good luck, and keep em keen!

Rob.

Tried kids on the simulator, great for a short spell, then. . It's not the real thing I want the real thing The younger the kids the quicker it happens

quite a few suggestions and ideas here, many thanks for everyones input... I might just get her, her own twister in time.. will wait a short while to see how she fares.. or untill this insect thingy goes kaput!

I think you hit the logical note there maz, nice to have a child so interested at such a young age, I wish mine were that keen. Paula was realy good at RC cars, then Aaron decided cars were more fun than planes!!  he spent a years paper round money on ONE car...and now, is only interested in FACEBOOK! Don`t you just love your kids.

chaz@2b

thats nothing; there is a vidio somewhere on you tube with Justin doing that routine with the transmitter behind his back

also have a look at this vidio of justin, realey scarey

YouTube             - 6 year old Justin Jee - CornField Carnage - Crop Circle Attempt - June 6, 2009

he is also good on fixed wing freestyle