R/C Drone or Helicopter

[jhc77]

My 6 year old wanted a drone. Stopped in a local big box store to return a few things and they had a two pack of helicopters for $17. Of course they retail for $90 so I thought they were a steal. Wrong. Awful tail spin, turned over sometimes before getting off the ground. Trim is awful. Just going to trash them instead of hassling with returning them to the mfg.
But it was fun. Drone drawback is "the license". Wondering about ease of flight.
So if I were to pick one for zipping around the house would a drone or helicopter be better for a 6 year old?

[Dustbuster]

Drone as rc helis require proper setup and good manual dexterity to fly safely. The small blades of a drone will do less damage than the heli. Hth

[10-Ring]

Drone, way easier to control. Still probably too hard for a six year old though.

[abusfullofnuns]

My three year old controls a helicopter just fine. Some have a self righting gyro. The Syma ones from Amazon are awesome and easy. Best $15 spent in a long time. They work great indoors and I take them into the office for team building obstacle course races. They are breakable, but a parts kit is cheap. 

[jhc77]

My three year old controls a helicopter just fine. Some have a self righting gyro. The Syma ones from Amazon are awesome and easy. Best $15 spent in a long time. They work great indoors and I take them into the office for team building obstacle course races. They are breakable, but a parts kit is cheap.

I noticed the Syma brand this morning. I'll most likely pick up one of those and a drone and see what works best. My son is getting used to the "easy on the throttle" phrase now.

[Omega]

My 6 year old wanted a drone. Stopped in a local big box store to return a few things and they had a two pack of helicopters for $17. Of course they retail for $90 so I thought they were a steal. Wrong. Awful tail spin, turned over sometimes before getting off the ground. Trim is awful. Just going to trash them instead of hassling with returning them to the mfg.
But it was fun. Drone drawback is "the license". Wondering about ease of flight.
So if I were to pick one for zipping around the house would a drone or helicopter be better for a 6 year old?

As I understand it, even helicopters have to be licensed.  But you only need register once, its you that are registered really as the number is there to identify the pilot not the drone.  I got one early on since they refund the $5 you are charged, may still be that way.

[peejman]

The license isn't for the aircraft, it's for the pilot.  If you fly it outside, you're required to have a license.  

 

My 8 yr old has a helicopter that's listed as for indoor use only.  The only time he flew it outside, I had to retrieve it from the roof.  It doesn't have enough power to deal with any sort of breeze.  That said, it's pretty easy to fly around the house though a gym or other large room would be best. 

 

The controls on the quad rotors and the helicopters are basically the same.  We had the same problems as the OP at first with it, and a trip back to the store found that it had been assembled incorrectly at the factory.  Seems the blades are different and if they're in the wrong place, it won't fly at all.   Once we got that sorted, it was still waaaaay too touchy and the battery life was a joke (like 90 seconds).  So we traded that for a helicopter and he was much happier. 

 

This is what he has: https://www.hobbytown.com/Shop/AZSH1350-Ares-Chronos-CX100-Ultra-Micro-RTF-Heli-w-Camera/

 

The bigger single rotor helicopters are a whole different animal from the twin rotor type. 

[xsubsailor]

You only have to be licensed if you are going to fly the ones that weigh over 1/2 lb. 

[Dustbuster]

Academy of model aeronautics has a load of info on drone registration fwiw

[jhc77]

Thanks for the info on the registration. I'll probably stick to the inside versions to figure it all out then step up to outdoor models if I want bigger toys.

[Monkeybat]

Syma X5C and Hubsan with HD camera are good starters. You will break props. You will need more batteries. They require much practice to fly. I think quads are far easier than copters. Both are tough for a kid to fly.


Sent from the Fortress of Solitude.

[Danger Rane]

I got my 12 year old a $50 quad style for Christmas and he has really enjoyed it. It was larger than I was expecting (24"x24"x1.5") but surprisingly maneuverable, probably due to the quad mechanics. It is shaped like a square and has foam all around so the house and cars haven't been too banged up yet. I opted not to get one with a camera.....as I know exactly what I would have been trying to do with it as a preteen boy.

[jhc77]

Received a pair of Smya S107's. These are far above the junk set I bought earlier. Extremely easy to control with the "active" tail rotor. Bought 2 S107's and 2 replacement parts packs for $40 delivered.
The other set went up and down pretty much. These can do all ranges of motion. They charge off USB or the remote. Wondering what the charge time would reduce to off an iPad charger(2.1 amps). Not sure what a computer USB output is.
Fly on

[Capbyrd]

I've run a number of Syma S107s before I got into bigger helis.   They are great beginner copters and can be modded.  Lots of fun.  

[R1100R]

Both of my kids have had Syma x1c's quadcopters for a couple of years. Can't kill them. They both started out on 107's that can break though. Main issue is the main shaft for the rotor.