Part of the tension between heli pilots and plane pilots is that helis can get in the way of planes when they have an emergency or are just trying to take off and land due to the nature of flying helicopters (close in, largely over or near the runway). Another reason is that to many fixed wing pilots who are not around helicopters much, the large rotating main blades are very intimidating. Just the thought that one of those blades could theoretically break loose scares many of them. A propeller on an airplane, even the largest airplanes, are much smaller than the main rotor of anything over a a 400 sized helicopter. Plus the blades on a helicopter are held on by a small (in comparison) screw, while a prop is clamped down to the engine of a plane with 1-2 nuts, plus a washer, and usually a spinner with 2-4 screws. Even if the blades don't come off, they have a fear of getting their head chopped off (or at a minimum a large chunk of flesh taken off) by an out of control helicopter screaming into the pits (even more so with the larger helis). Many plane pilots also know that a helicopter is a complex machine (much more so than an airplane), and there is more to break. They also know that helicopters are more difficult to fly than a plane. As a helicopter pilot, their safety rests entirely in your hands while at the controls of your helicopter. As soon as you take to the air, they are relying on your setup and flying skills to keep them safe.

You don't have to like one or the other. That's the great thing about this hobby. You can enjoy it all, planes, cars, boats, helis, and/or whatever peaks your interest. Heck, there's even radio control skydivers. Many airplane pilots just don't want to mess with the complexity of setup, nor the steep learning curve of flying helis.

As for the number of different models, there are probably hundreds of different models. You have some retailers that sell imitations of more popular and expensive helis, as well as some that sell more expensive versions of cheaper helis (Venom). Then you have all of the "mainstream" helis from brands such as e-Flight, Align, Thunder Tiger, Hirobo, etc... Then you have helis that fit in somewhere in the middle, that make good/decent helis, that are not cheaper complete copies (though they actually may be cheaper, but not a very close copy), nor are they a "mainstream" heli, such as the Ghobee line. Not saying any are better than the others, just to show what types are out there, and the possibility of a very large number of brands. That's just the "hobby grade" helis, not counting the seemingly infinite number of "toy" helis out there that would be sold in a mall kiosk, toy store, Radio Shack, etc...