What i would suggest to you is to but a electric Ready-To-Fly Helicopter and Rip it apart to get all the peices

A brushless motor - To turn your blades or whatever else you will use
A brushless ESC - Electronic Speed Controller, This way you can control the speed of the motor
A gyro- This will mix the tail rotor or opposition so your VTOL doesn't just spin around in circles
A receiver- this will accept the radio signals and convert them into electrical pulses to control things like the ESC, Servos, etc.
Servos- These are little geared motor used to move linkages for pitch and other things
A Transmitter- 4 to 6 channel , this is what you hold in your hands to control your VTOL. More channels means mor things to contol.

Hope this helps a little. But i would suggest you go to your local rc hobby store and maybe grab a few magazines just to get up with the lingo.

Good Luck