Well these are expensive toys compared to an advanced Helo, I have been flying RC planes for a while and I find these a fun distraction but I wouldn't know how to fly a full function advanced Helo nor would I try without an Instructor pilot and the Local RC club is where I would go to find them. The advanced types also require a decent radio and a fair bit of programming on the radio this much I'm aware of and it's not a cheap hobby and whatever you get in a good kit is probably less than the quality of replacement upgrades that can be found with the better models and to be quite honest that's where I would be lost and would be better off with the fixed wings. I've flown sport planes and scale, Piper Cubs and P-51's and I think I'm much safer with those to be sure.

Very cool - I think scale RC is the coolest hobby ever!! When it comes to helis, I simply do not understand the appeal of 3D flight.

I was looking at an easy to fly r/c helo for around the house here. Looked at the Blade mCX RTF, had not heard of the Syma s107. Is this one controlled by an app on a smart phone? We were given a AR Drone by Parrot for Christmas, which is contolled this way. We don't seem to have alot of range with it, and wanted to get something that would give us a more traditional radio. As I read in this thread maybe a 4 channel would be good for "thumb training". It seems that all this drone has done has made us want to get further into the r/c hobby. Thx

BF

I'm pretty sure there is no smartphone app to control the Blade mCX, but I could be wrong. The RTF package comes with a DSM2 TX.

Well, two things you want to consider, there are basically 2 types of minis - an IR controlled Toy and a 2.4 Ghz R/C. By and large you will get better range and functionality out of a 2.4 Ghz Radio but as to which model it depends on how much you want to spend,
this thread has some links and videos http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3470978.html
We have kind of covered the whole range of "beginner" models and I personally find even a 4 channel Co-axial to be more fun than a three channel. I have ordered a wall charger for my batteries from a place called www.HobbyKing.com and they have many different types but I found that what I ordered comes all the way from Hong Kong. I'll be careful to make sure that anything else I might order comes from the USA warehouse in the future but as soon as I get it I'll post about it.

I picked up a Syma S107G for my nephew's Christmas gift, and ordered a spare blade/body plastic kit at the same time. Total cost on amazon.com was under $40, and that thing is FUN! Rugged, too - all structural parts are metal, it's survived some fairly hard crashes and midair contacts. It's not "the best" but I couldn't find ANYONE who had anything bad to say about it on the web. Like was said above, it's a toy, not a serious bird. You can be a total noob with no manual dexterity whatsoever and be having fun with it inside of 5 minutes.

ETA nearly 3 weeks after Christmas the original blades are still on it and in good shape, despite the best efforts of my almost-8-year-old nephew, his 10 & 11year old sisters, and 39 year old father LOL

I ordered a wall charger and 2 160mah 3.7v lipos for my ProtoCX (Nine Eagles Pro) from Hobbyking.com it cost me about $17 USD and came all the way from Hong Kong to Florida in about 10 days. The charger will charge 2 batteries simultaneously in about 20-30 minutes Flight time is nearly doubled and even though the battery is about 1/4 in. longer it did not affect performance. I will probably order this one
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...Warehouse_.html
I can bind the transmitter I already have to it and save about $30 dollars. This site is awesome, there are all kinds of cool big boy toys and the prices even with shipping are unbeatable.

Think outside the box.

Get one of those big b*stards with an internal combustion engine that will deafen you and take your arm off if its rotor blades hit you.

Imagine the fun of your first flight. It's 0600 and your wife is still sleeping when you fire it up. She didn't even know you bought the damn thing!

She stumbles down the stairs in her nightgown, all bleary eyed just as it screams past, making the windows vibrate ominously in their frames. It shears off the chandelier over the dining room table, and you bank hard and knock over the china cabinet which contained her grandmother's priceless, heirloom dinner service and tea set.

As her eyes go from bleary to four times normal size, you misjudge another turn and it smashes through the bay window and flies across the street into the neighbors garage. You listen for a moment to the sound of rotor blades chewing through drywall, and then it stalls.

The last sound you hear from that direction is the neighbors' German Shepherd inside their garage, yelping as if it had been scalded.

There. Now wasn't that more exciting than some little thing with batteries?

Cheers!

Rick...

You're way out there in the boonies aren't ya Sauron?