HELICOPTER FAQ
  What is the biggest motor problem in electric helicopters?
Helicopters are "Rotary Wing Aircraft," thus, if the wing is not rotating, they will not fly. Turning the rotor becomes a full time job because there is no rest time for the drive system like there is in an airplane. The rotor must be turning 100% of the time.  Additionally, the only airflow to the motor is the constant load.  Therefore, overheating becomes the biggest concern for helicopter models. MEGA Motors are designed with air flow in mind ultimately keeping the motor running cooler, longer and more efficiently.  The MEGA ACn 22/30/3H has a motor shaft that goes all the way through the motor allowing an impeller to be mounted on the back side to blow air through the motor. Many helicopter enthusiasts have turned computer video card fans into impellers for motor cooling as a result of overheating.
  What helicopter works best with MEGA motors?
All to often, an uninformed helicopter enthusiast will purchase a MEGA Motor for his helicopter because he heard it would do wonders to his performance.  Ultimately he doesn't do the researched involved in transformation, and he crashes and burns his now expensive upgraded helicopter.  Working with a flying object is a science, and it is important to research all aspects of your helicopter.  When you make an alteration such as a motor, you must take into account the speed control, pinion, rotor, etc.  The most important thing to keep in mind for the best helicopter set-up is "proper set-up."  
  What are your recommendations for beginners?
There are three things you should consider before you spend all of your time and money on a radio controlled helicopter:

1.  Helicopters require significant time commitment:  It takes a tremendous amount of time to develop a good sense of balance and orientation.  In addition, helicopters require a lot of time to build, repair, and upgrade.

2.  Money:  No matter how good you are at flying a helicopter, you will eventually crash.  This hobby is not cheap.   Make sure that you allocate money for repairs and upgrades. 

3.  Safety:   The rotating main blades of a helicopter spins at 1500 rpm, with a blade radius of about 1 meter. The speed of the blade tip is roughly 200 mph! At that speed, it will easily cut thru grass, skin and bones. Never fly a model helicopter until you are completely and definitely sure that you will be able to control the helicopter.  And in the event that you loose control, no one, including yourself, is in the way of the ravaging loose runaway helicopter.
  How exactly does a helicopter work?
There are basically two different types of helicopters, those that have collective pitch and those that do not. Collective pitch is where the pitch of the main rotor blades may be simultaneously increased or decreased to change the amount of lift. This gives a quicker response to changes in vertical thrust as controlled by the pilot. On helicopters without collective pitch, the amount of lift is controlled entirely by the speed of the rotor blades, in other words, the speed of the motor (throttle control). The reaction time is longer and thus the control is less responsive.

There is a trade-off, however, and that is the cost and complexity of the rotor head. There are a great deal more moving parts in a collective pitch rotor head and thus, they are more expensive. Most current choppers are of the collective pitch variety.

  Do I need to purchase a special helicopter radio control?
Highly recommended, but not necessary. A helicopter radio has special throttle/collective-pitch/tail mixing functions that are not available on airplane radios. These mixing functions make the helicopter much easier to set up and fly. Special features such as "throttle hold" and "idle up" also increase ease of aerobatics. The helicopter will fly with a minimum number of 4 channels by directly linking throttle and collective pitch on one servo or channel. The minimum number of channels available on a helicopter radio is five: throttle, collective pitch, tail rotor pitch, fore-aft cyclic and left-right cyclic. More channels may be used for other purposes: gyro switching, lights, landing gear.
  Are rc helicopters much harder than planes?
I think most people would agree that helicopters are more complicated to fly than airplanes, however it is possible to learn to fly a helicopter by yourself, which is difficult to say for rc airplanes.  With helicopters, you can test fly, (fly just 2 inches off the ground and land safely) but with an airplane it's either all or none. Helicopters become more complicated because of the numerous flying variations and orientations you become accustomed to.