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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!

Last edited by N5CJonny
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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

 

From my YouTube Channel

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

Last edited by trainroomgary

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!

 

IMG_4044

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Images (1)
  • IMG_4044

How to operate a RC Helicopter for your model railroad

1 Helicopter2 Landing pad3 Charging4 Windsock

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

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Images (4)
  • 1 Helicopter
  • 2 Landing pad
  • 3 Charging
  • 4 Windsock

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.

 

Last edited by N5CJonny

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