I am thinking of purchasing one of those mini radio controlled helicopters you see so often, along with having a landing pad on my layout. Has anyone here done this and what are you using? If possible some photos or videos would be great. I currently have a Postwar Lionel 494 beacon, which got me thinking of having a small airport or helicopter landing pad which takes up a lot less room. Thoughts or suggestions on this matter would be most helpful to me. Thanks!
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The same thought occurred to me a couple of ago, when my adult son bought me a mini drone. That one was inexpensive, I had difficulty controlling it, so I decided not to incorporate it into my layout. Didn't want to be crashing it into my scenery.
Also, it was a mini-drone, and only looked a little like a mini-helicopter.
However, having a mini remote control helicopter on a train layout could add a dramatic effect to a train layout, and could get young people and others interested in our hobby that otherwise wouldn't be interested.
I am also interested in knowing if other Forum members have done this, are mini drones easier to control know and, if so, what models do they recommend. Also, do mini-drones now look a lot like mini-helicopters, and if so, what are the specific models. Arnold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leu-kDkGD6o
In this short video I will fly a RC Helicopter in the train room, We will pick up people from an Amtrak Train and take them to their destination.
Gary
Very cool video and layout Gary. I noticed that the helicopter you have has twin blades, which I would think makes it easier to control and fly? There are not as many helicopters I noticed for sale offered with single blades.
I bought the Lionel First Responder set with its flying helicopter. Turns out it's best move was to lift off, turn nose down and crash. After a replacement from Lionel which did the same thing I bought a $20 replacement through Amazon which had a third channel for control stability. Works fine and fun, but I would be better if I practiced more!
I have the Lionel control tower with the chopper flying above. I replaced the stock Huey with the RAH-66 Comanche.
You can fly these outside but you will need, to have no wind. We have a landing pad and I need to cut the grass tomorrow.
To the left of the windsock there is an open area where we fly RC aircraft (Park Flyers), I am also a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) & belong to a local flying club.
Amazon has these indoor helicopters available.
Hope this helps: Gary
I ended up purchasing two completely different helicopters, one a micro drone helicopter that I am sure that it is about HO scale or even smaller. It vaguely looks like an older style Bell helicopter. I was not really satisfied with the decision of this purchase, but the price was right and I might have some fun with it. It is also small enough that any damage resulting from crashes should be minimal. The second purchase I made was a fairly nicely detailed Bell 47 helicopter in 1:43 scale which is slightly larger than O scale and this model does not fly and is just for show. I am waiting for both purchases to arrive.
The Bell 47 helicopter model just arrived and it is a beauty. Too bad it is not a drone too.😉
Hey N5CJONNY....nice topic! And TrainRoomGary.....I sometimes fly my small minidrone or my wife drives our little remote control tanks across the train tracks.....testing the trains "agility"....yet your helicopter video has it's moments...and up and downs...lol
I asked for one for Christmas a number of years ago and Mrs. Claus delivered. Flying was a bit difficult but before I could become adept at flying it, it disappeared into the abyss known as my teenage son's room. Never did get to use it with my trains.
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