If you are newbie of RC helicopter, you may have the question on how to choose between 3CH and 4CH, or don’t know the control and structure different between them. Let’s see more about them.
What the 3 channels and 4 channels helicopter mean?
3 channels RC helicopter means you can control the forward/ backward, clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation, up/down.
4 channels RC helicopter can control forward/ backward, clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation, up/ down, also it can perform left/ right drift.
Forward/ backward movement:
3 channels RC helicopter use the tail rotor (Horizontal) to control forward/ backward movement.
4 channels RC helicopter use the servos control the swashplate direction to perform forward/ backward movement.
Clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation:
3 channels RC helicopter use the speed different between upper and lower blade to generate the torque to perform clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation.
4 channels RC helicopter use the tail rotor (Vertical) to control clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation.
Left/ right drift:
Since 4 channels RC helicopter’s servos can change the direction of swashplate, therefore it can control it to perform left/ right drift but 3CH helicopter cannot.
Transmitter different:
If you already own a 3CH RC helicopter, and want to upgrade a 4CH one. Something different is the controlling method, the right stick of 3CH helicopter is to control the forward/ upward movement and clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation. But the right stick of 4CH helicopter is to control the forward/ upward movement and left/ right drift. The clockwise/ anti-clockwise rotation is done by the left stick. Therefore it is a little bit different on controlling.