Good thing I'm not your pilot
Several years ago I bought a nice (multi $100 dollar) remote control helicopter. It was small and light enough that it really could not be flown outdoors, but was big enough it was tough flying it in my townhouse. Eventually I just stopped playing with it after I broke the landing struts (again).
A few weeks ago I happened to be searching Amazon for "r/c helicopter" (dreams never die) and I saw a highly ranked miniature helicopter (the Syma S107) for only $21. I thought to myself "How could anything that cheap be durable and fun to fly". I took a chance though and bought two of them. In many ways this helicopter is more durable than my expensive helicopter, and so far much more fun to fly. I have had several hard landings, rotor blade bumps against walls, even some landings where it landed on it's side (after getting entangled in furniture I was trying to land on). I am having great fun buzzing around my house.
A natural pilot I am not though. The main reason I bought these was on the reasoning that I would learn how to control the helicopter, both while it was flying away from me (typical flight path), and flying towards me (where you have to reverse the controls in your brain). After I got good, I'd go out and buy a helicopter built for outdoor flight. I am getting a hang of that, but very slowly. I tried tonight to try to land on a 10" platform that's on a cat tree (that's about two feet high). I made multiple attempts but never could do it. In my defense though there are two sisal stalks that jut up near one side of the platform, so I needed to make sure the rotors didn't get close to them. Plus, when you get close to any "ground", the helicopter starts getting harder to control (ground effects from the rotor wash). I'll keep trying though.
So for now, if you happen to be on any commercial plane and the captain freaks out, rest assured I will not be one that jumps up to offer to help land the plane :).
A few weeks ago I happened to be searching Amazon for "r/c helicopter" (dreams never die) and I saw a highly ranked miniature helicopter (the Syma S107) for only $21. I thought to myself "How could anything that cheap be durable and fun to fly". I took a chance though and bought two of them. In many ways this helicopter is more durable than my expensive helicopter, and so far much more fun to fly. I have had several hard landings, rotor blade bumps against walls, even some landings where it landed on it's side (after getting entangled in furniture I was trying to land on). I am having great fun buzzing around my house.
A natural pilot I am not though. The main reason I bought these was on the reasoning that I would learn how to control the helicopter, both while it was flying away from me (typical flight path), and flying towards me (where you have to reverse the controls in your brain). After I got good, I'd go out and buy a helicopter built for outdoor flight. I am getting a hang of that, but very slowly. I tried tonight to try to land on a 10" platform that's on a cat tree (that's about two feet high). I made multiple attempts but never could do it. In my defense though there are two sisal stalks that jut up near one side of the platform, so I needed to make sure the rotors didn't get close to them. Plus, when you get close to any "ground", the helicopter starts getting harder to control (ground effects from the rotor wash). I'll keep trying though.
So for now, if you happen to be on any commercial plane and the captain freaks out, rest assured I will not be one that jumps up to offer to help land the plane :).