You will require several bits of electronics to control your helicopter, as a minimum you will require a 6 channel setup however a 7 channel setup provides far better scope for the future allowing you to control additional items such as a governor.

In recent years  2.4GHz systems have come onto the market, these have the advantage of not clashing with other models on the same frequency, the transmitter is "bound" to the receiver and will then not receive signals from others.

2.4GHz is now widely used and is a good choice if purchasing new equipment, we still have many members still flying on 35MHz and if purchasing 2nd hand equipment don't be put off that its not 2.4GHz.

We have had several members experience problems with 2.4GHz with something called "brown outs" this is where the voltage drops below a set level and the system "reboots" it is recommended you install a capacitor on nitro models or a separate receiver battery on larger electric models.

The Transmitter & Receiver- The sexy box with all the knobs and switches used to control the model and the little box in the helicopter that receives the signal, as stated above it's worth spending a little bit more on a 7 channel transmitter as it will last you in the long run as you upgrade you models. The Spektrum DX7 & AR7200 and Futaba Field Force 7 (FF7) & R607F make an excellent choice.

Don't get too blinded by expensive 10 or 12 channel sets with lots of knobs, switches and big LCD screens, the only reason you would need more than 7 channels is for retracts on a scale model, flaps and air brakes on a plane or rocket launchers.

Most club members are knowledgeable in setting up Futaba, JR and Spektrum radios so can help you through the menus and settings.

Servos - For electric helicopters you will need 5 servos, Nitros require 6, most manufacturers supply "combo" sets including a Transmitter, Receiver and 4 servos. These combos tend to offer basic servos which are fine for models up to 30 size, if you are looking at larger 50 or 600 size models, more powerful servos are recommended.

Servos are available in Analogue or Digital however unless you are on a really tight budget use digital servos in helicopters as they are fare more accurate than analogue servos.

You should look to purchase a different fast servo for the tail to work with a Gyro, Futaba's S9254 or JR DS8900G are very good for 30 - 50 size models or the Futaba S9257 for 500 size.

Gyro - The gyro is a small device that detects any yaw (left or right swinging) movement of the helicopter and automatically sends a command to the tail rotor servo to correct and stop the movement. traditionally model helicopters used to use a "yaw rate " gyro, a yaw rate gyro act as a dampener, dampening the amount of tail movement to the RC helicopter from main rotor speed, pitch, and cyclic are adjusted or a gust of wind blowing the tail around.

Nowadays a "Heading Hold" gyro' is an absolute must as it locks the tail to a constant heading no mater what head speed or wind is received, its worth spending a bit more money to get a good one, the Spartan DS 760 is an excellent choice.

Governor - Governors are generally used on nitro helicopters, they are used to maintain a constant rotor head speed by automatically adjusting the throttle, although not essential a governor is a worthwhile investment, as you are flying the helicopter just on pitch. A lot of beginners complain of problems maintaining hovering altitude, this can sometimes be down to poor throttle curve setup, a governor takes that setup problem away

Flight Battery / Regulator and Lipo - You will need an electrical power source on the helicopter to power all the electronics there are a couple of options for this, the first is a basic 4 cell ni-cad or ni-mh 4.8V battery, there are a very inexpensive battery solution however they do need to be charged before every session and can be quite heavy.

More so now pilots are opting for an on board voltage regulator and a 2 cell li-po battery, li-po hold there voltage and are a must for high powered servos, there are several good regulators on the market, most of us use the Align 2 in 1 regulator that has the added advantage of providing power to the Glow Plug.