I don't know what size heli you have in mind to start with but I've got a Blade MSR. It's awesome! It fits in the palm of my hand and I can fly it easily indoors. It's survived dozens of bounces off the ceiling, chairs, walls, etc. I haven't had to replace anything so far. It's a perfect trainer in my opinion.

I got advice from a friend of mine - we used to do a lot of RC stuff together from cars to planes. He suggested getting the bind and fly (BNF) with everything apart from the transmitter then buying the transmitter seperately. He reckons the standard transmitter that comes with the MSR isn't too hot and that the LP5DSM transmitter is the one to get. you can be up and flying for less that $150 if you hunt around enough and you're prepared to loose a few auctions.

That's my 2c worth at least.

Sorry a little OT this thread reminded me of this vid.
Viewed this a few years ago...left me speechless!

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The nice thing about the dual, counter rotating type of heli is that you can learn to fly in all orientations (tail in, nose in and both sides in toward you) without the hassle of constantly playing with the sticks.

While I'm getting much better at tail in hovering and basic movements, I can not fly any other orientation yet. I went through three battery packs last night trying nose in but didn't get too far.

I really like the Novus line of helis from Tower Hobbies. My son has a CX (counter rotating) and I have the FP. The price is low and the parts are nice and cheap.

WOW Beyond impressive!

Well, I fly helicopters for a living and I watched that whole video with my jaw on the floor! I think if you could strap some weapons on a larger version of that thing, the military might be interested in introducing Alan Szabo to some Taliban targets.

Timely thread, my 6 year old son just told me that he wants an R/C helicopter for his March birthday. Can anyone recommend a simple, affordable, and durable helicopter? It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I don't want to waste money on a crappy Wal-Mart one.

YES ! Get a Esky belt drive deal....electric motor tail rotors suck!
The Esky has a gyro that wrks ! stay away from AX CP products
Been there done that
The cheaper the worse they fly.
Whoa.......
Just noticed he is 6.....
Get a tandem rotor copter.....(Two main rotors) one on top of the other.
Spend 30 to 70 bucks.
He will be happy !
A copter with one main rotor will be very frustrating to him.
KNS - i used to fly huey's once in awhile (nam) these little jobbers will probably always be able to out do the real, as the forces at work are so much lighter. (as you know)
But watching that video............H.S. !! I think a real person would just die in there!
In the end...I think coaxial will rule, it will become the every day flying machine everyone has dreamed about.
There are several companies that have kit builds and so on.
One is in Japan- 30000 bucks and you have most of a copter that ANYONE can fly !
No tail rotor or related problems............I know, takes the chalange right out of the equation, But that's where copters will be very soon

You will notice the larger the heli the easier it is to fly. I would get a good sim like mike said, find a club with an instructor through the Academy of Model Aeronautics and buy a quality machine. my favorite cheapy is the raptor .30. Here are some websites i used to frequent.
Biggest and Best RC Helicopter Shop on the Planet - HeliProz.com
Raptor Technique
Helifreak.com - Fun, Learning, Friendship and Mutual Respect

Bring a large checkbook!

I started with a Taymiya R/C car about ten years ago... couple hundred for the car... couple hundred for the handheld...

Upgraded this and that... $1000 later.

Thought about getting a R/C plane recently... run away... run away!!!!

Fun hobby, enjoy!

Just not for me... not on my budget. :(

I figure if I can fly the Esky....the LARGE Vario ought to be a Pc of cake....................LOL
Or a big mistake.........

I have a blade cx2 I will sell you.

might B purrrfect for onewhiped pup (if it is coaxial)

I have a couple of these:

SYMA S107 Mini Infrared RC Helicopter with Dual Propeller - $27.90 - Buy from China

Syma S107 - an excellent very inexpensive infrared controlled 3 channel bird. My 5 year old loves his and it takes a beating very well. We haven't had anything break yet.

Buy a few.

I've got a MSH Protos. Really nice italian made heli 500 size...full belt drive so it's really quiet..no gear wine. I'm really careful when I fly it :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1267123191.jpg

I did a little looking and am eyeing a Heli-Max AXE CX Micro Coaxial RTF. $100 at Tower. Any thoughts. Can a kid fly one of these?

A kid may be able to fly that Axe CX with a lot of supervision. At least with my boys, they enjoyed crashing their Airhogs Havoc as much as flying it. I would really think about starting a 6-9 YO on one of those first just to see how well its taken car of and how well he adapts to three dimensional controls. Once the child has shown he can take flying more seriously, then get the hobby quality heli. Just my $.02

The 4 channel birds a little harder to control than the 3channel birds. The additional channel is 'roll' to the left or right.

I fly the heck out of my Syma S107 and so does my son - the only down side is that it is infrared controlled so - at least with mine - they are all on the same frequency. You can only fly one at a time.

For $35 you simply can't beat them.

My Airplane club is going to be doing races in our meeting hall with the nano sized helicopters this year in June. I'm actually organizing the event. With the Syma birds we will be doing an obstacle course and with the Axe's and mCX's we'll be doing a 2 pylon race.

Obviously all of the Airhogs aren't bad? My little brother in law had one that was crap, but I think it was one of the cheap ones. My other concern with a cheap one is parts because I have no doubt that eventually something will break. I'd like to get something a little nicer than disposable grade.

I have had a couple..no problems

Go with the Syma I recommended - My boy beats this thing up - it comes back for more. Not a breakage yet on any single part. I did buy an extra though.

It has a gyro, it is inexpensive but surprisingly good quality.

It is a fantastic place to start them with little investment.