Easy Way to Happiness

If you want a radio controlled helicopter that’s trouble-free, basic, and ready to fly, check out Venom’s Night Ranger 3D.

Radio controlled helicopters come in three forms. They are: “Almost Ready to Fly” (ARF) kits, Ready to Fly (RTF) kits, and build it yourself kits. Their flying abilities are basically of two types; either it’s a more basic board flight only design, or in aerobatic, 3-D-capable machine. Helicopters that use a fixed pitch blade system that relies only on throttle inputs to control descent and lift are the more basic design, while collective pitch helicopters can alter the blades’ pitch as they rotate to create lift.

The Night Ranger 3-D is in the “ready to fly” category, and is actually a pretty utilitarian helicopter, suitable for a broad range of people. Anyone from a novice to an experienced 3-D pilot can use it. Because it’s a collective pitch helicopter, it’s a bit of a handful when it comes to novices, but it can perform at just about any level very capably, meaning that even advanced 3-D pilots can have fun with it in the air. However, because 3-D flights are pretty rigorous, the helicopter itself has to be much more stable, which is certainly true of the Night Ranger 3-D

This helicopter’s molded parts fit very well together, and there’s not much to do to simply get it going except take it out of the box. Its 3-D control unit is the electric system’s heart, and handles the CCPM controller, the gyro, speed control, and the receiver, all in one. This package also includes a 650 mAh NiMH pack, six channel FM radio, eight prepackaged AA batteries for the transmitter, and a wall charger.

The instructions tell you mostly how to set up the helicopter and perform a variety of flight maneuvers, from the fanciest of 3-D moves like inverted flight and loops, to basic forward flight. It also leads you through checking the blades’ tracking, adjusting the trim on the transmitter, balancing, and other preflight suggestions.

One of the “tricks” that allows 3D flight is a separate “Flight Mode” that holds the motor at a constant RPM to keep the heli in the air. When this mode is active, moving the throttle stick to the full down position has the same effect as full throttle, but while applying negative pitch. This is the key to inverted flight, where negative pitch creates lift when the heli is upside down. Like most helis, once the Night Ranger 3D is in the air at a comfortable altitude, the pilot can flip a switch on the radio to change to Flight Mode 1, and initiate 3D flight.

If you’ve never flown a helicopter before, it’s recommended that you practice first in a simulator so that you get familiar with the controls if you can. If you want to start slow, this helicopter will give you what you need right away. If you’re an intermediate pilot and you want a first acrobatic helicopter, or if you’re typically used to nitro and you want to give electric helicopters a try without putting a considerable dent in your wallet, try that Night Ranger. It’s the perfect helicopter to buy.