floepie

I know most of you may think that a 9 yo may be too young to start out with this hobby, but I think he can handle it. So, I've pretty much narrowed it down to two very different choppers, both of which are co-axial, probably a requirement at this age. The first is a 4ch. Avatar mini heli that appears to be extremely stable with its side rotors and yet fun with its 4 channel capability. It has an IR remote appropriate only for indoor use. The other is the Syma S32, a larger 3 channel coaxial with 2.4GHz rc, probably not as fun as the other 4 channel, but at least you could take it outdoors.

What would you recommend for someone of this age, and would the larger, outdoor heli be more prone to a fatal crash necessarily? I'm leaning toward the larger S32, because I can imagine he wants to show it off to friends in the neighborhood.

Real2You

I think any coaxial helicopter would be OK for a 9 year old. I will say though....safety is of utmost importance regardless of the size. Make sure your 9 year old understands the safety aspects before showing it off to his friends. To my knowledge any coaxial will be more prone to crashing outdoors if it is breezy. If your son(or daughter) if serious about learning to fly heli's...I would get them a durable indoor heli where they can practice with good conditions and not have to battle wind. Then after learning the basics they could move up to an outdoor heli.

floepie

Thanks, I ended up going for the MJX F29 - a bit bigger than the micros at 43cm but not too long for indoor use, 4ch, coaxial, and 2.4 GHz. I think these 4 traits put together offers the most flexibility, albeit with some required conditions outdoors and of course just fine for indoor use. And, there are several vids of this chopper outdoors and it seems to fly quite nicely, even with a bit of breeze.