Model R/C helicopters, the're not toys.

I got my first real chance to see & shoot radio control helicopters a few days ago, and it was impressive. I saw one being flown many years ago when they first came onto the scene, and they have evolved in giant steps. This was a first time & I wanted rotor blur so picked 1/320 as a shutter speed, and in the LCD things looked OK but I now wish I had used around 1/500 for a bit sharper image of the heli. I did OK, but do think I can do better next time.
Sp00ks, if you are reading this your warning was a bit soft, they did amazing things with absolutely no warning. Trying to follow them through a viewfinder was readdy difficult since they can reverse direction almost instantly. The on line album is here.
http://picasaweb.googl​e.com/cicopo/Helicopte​rFunFly

I like the Trex 600 pic... R/C Heli's have been my passion for almost 30 years now. I built camera rigs for my fleet and started an aerial photography business www.rceyeonline.com The biggest misconception is that these machines are toys.

First one looks like a good lawn mower on remote control!

Love the second shot!

Awesome shots, I must say coming from the RC Heli side into the photography its much easier flying Heli's than taking photo's

We had a guy come into the ER with a partial amputation of his arm from an R/C helicopter. They're dangerous in the wrong hands. Especially, if there's a beer in the other hand.

Is pic #1 about to crash or is someone doing that as a trick?

# 1 was a stunt or aerobatic manouver, whichever term you prefer. If you go to the album he did that one several times including in much deeper grass. He was flawless at that & some others he did repeatedly. There were 2 flyers doing that stunt, but the other didn't get right down to just above the grass in the mowed area. He did do it into the tall grass.
As for the idea that one could be dangerous I have no doubt about that, and at the 3 events I have attended there are warning signs that you must pass to get to the viewing area. Spectators don't get close to the flight area, and so far that includes me although I think I am going to be granted flight area access from now on, thanks to the fact I give copies to the host club holding each event. When I first decided to switch from free flight planes to RC (about 34 years ago) I thought it would be easy, so launched my first flight from the front yard (rural area) and almost immediately hit the house, but luckily crashed short, but right under the livingroom window. I got instruction before my next try.

That's cool!

Yea that stunt is called Inverted Hovering.

Just talk to the Pilots they are very friendly and will let you stand behind them if its not a big event etc.

The one thing we have on our minds at all times is safety. The blade tips are moving at about 250 miles per hour and those are carbon fibre blades, so yes they will make some serious dents.