Build kits for noobs
 

Hello! My boyfriend has expressed an interest in receiving an RC helicopter as his holiday present and I have now dived head first into research. He's a builder and I think he would want to build his own helicopter and not do RTF, but it seems like that's not the best choice for beginners. Is this a correct assumption, and is it best to just have him start out on a MCX and work up to building his own while learning via SIM? A lot of the build kits seem to need a lot more additional parts than what is included in the kit, what is the best build kit for a beginner and is there a place that is a one stop shop that should have all parts? Thank you in advance.

This is pretty late but hopefully still helps lol. Most kit helicopters are 450 size and up, which is a very large and intimidating size to start with that will have a high cost for repairs when crashed. Not to mention a massive learning curve with a lot of research required. Micro helicopters, which he should start with imo, come prebuilt with either RTF version with everything or a BNF version with just the helicopter and nothing else (no batteries, charger, transmitter). I started on an MCX and worked my way up, but to be honest the MCX sucks outside of learning the bare minimum and then it will sit on a shelf forever. I'd start with a 70 S RTF or the 120 S RTF, which is something you can have fun with after learning the basics of flight.

If you have a bigger budget and want to go for a really great intermediate between tiny and large, while still being fairly easy to start with (especially if you get a sim) then the 230 S v2 RTF would be an amazing heli. The only thing is if you crash a 230 S chances are you'll need to buy parts and repair it. Where as a 70 S will likely be just fine after a crash, or maybe need a tiny bit of super glue. It is also a collective pitch which will be a bit more difficult to learn on, but again that is where a sim can help a lot.