Radio controlled helicopters aren’t just for recreation and entertainment uses. In fact, they’re commonly used for reconnaissance, observation and security. A new spy copter, named the Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter, has just been developed and introduced by Draganflyer Innovations.

The new RC helicopter is a mini copter that is to be used for commercial and industrial photography and video recording.

The look of the helicopter is quite staggering, not resembling any other form of helicopter currently on the market. It uses six rotor blades that enable the copter to move around rapidly. In addition to this, the RC helicopter also flies autonomously.

The helicopter uses six carbon fibre rotors which help to keep maintenance costs down. It weighs just 1kg and is able to carry up to 500 grams. The helicopter also comes equipped with an onboard video camera, which is capable of recording video footage and still photographs that can be transferred wirelessly.

The best part is that the helicopter can fly by itself, or it can be powered by radio control if need be.

Radio controlled helicopters are the latest recruit to help transport police in the North-East to deal with crime. Thieves have been targeting train tracks in order to steal clips for scrap metal. Police have found that almost 500 clips have been stolen from a train track line near Stockton. The theft of clips could cause a derailment, according to police.

Luckily the theft of the clips was noticed before a train went past, however hours of disruption were still felt by passengers.

In an ironic twist, the theft of the clips wouldn’t have netted the thieves much as the current financial climate has left the clips virtually worthless.

Owen Hanratty is a local scrap dealer:

“Whoever it was did it at the wrong time. The scrap metal market has collapsed with a real nosedive. Anybody bringing it in would be lucky if they got £25 or £30 a tonne.”

Now police have reacted to the dangers of thefts from rail track lines by introducing a radio controlled helicopter named the Microdrone. The copter hovers 350ft above the train track and is able to beam live pictures, and even infrared imagery to police officers.

It is hoped that the RC Microdrone will help to curb thefts of this nature, keeping passengers on trains safer.

There was a time when radio controlled helicopters were for adults, adults with a lifetime’s experience of both model building and RC piloting. You’d have to spend hours putting together your model in a shed, using tweezers, glue and paints, paying very careful attention to a myriad of instructions.

Then, when you’d finally finished piecing together the model, you’d have to slowly and painstakingly learn to fly the RC helicopter. This wasn’t a simple matter of switching it on, grabbing the transmitter and moving the throttle. No, you’d have to be very careful to take small steps, learn to hover just inches off the ground and then land again.

Mistakes at this stage could prove very costly.

However RC helicopters have moved on considerably in terms of ease of use. These days you can fly an electric radio controlled helicopter without spending any time learning to fly, without piecing it together and without ever having been inside a shed. Today’s electric RC helicopters can be used straight out of the box and flown by anyone, of any age, with any level of experience. This makes them perfect for children of all ages or for experienced RC experts if they’re just lost their shed!

Flying RC helicopters can be a very relaxing, joyful hobby. Man and machine coming together to create a beautiful flight of fancy. Of course it doesn’t always have to be this way, flying radio controlled helicopters can also be an exercise in destruction, sometimes unexpected if you have a nasty crash, but sometimes intentional.

The Salvation 12 battle helicopters for example provide you with the perfect opportunity to vent the frustration you’ve built up throughout the year, and take down your opponent. They come in sets of two, and allow you and a friend (remember there are no friends in war) to battle it out for the supremacy of the skies.

They’re micro helicopters, so are best used indoors, meaning that you can vie for the airspace in the kitchen, living room or bedroom. It doesn’t matter where it is, it’s your airspace!

The helicopters come with infrared missiles and sound effects, allowing you to battle it out against each other, looking to take down your opponent’s RC helicopter.

You’ll have to be quick though as they only have around 8 minutes of flight time each, but that should be enough for you to blow them out of the sky.

If you’re looking to buy a Christmas gift for someone this year and you’re uncertain of what to buy then an RC helicopter might be a good idea.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that radio controlled items are toys, and are only suitable for children and adults who haven’t grown up. RC models are very specialist, and require a very mature hand to build, craft and then control.

You can buy cheaper, 3 channel RC helicopters (which start at around £25) and are very easy to fly. They can be flown indoors, around the living room, kitchen or office, and require no experience or training to be able to use. They’re the perfect starter RC helicopter.

If you’re buying for someone who’s a more experienced RC enthusiast though, you could go for the 4 channel RC helicopters, which start around £60, and are much bigger than the 3 channel models. They take more practise to fly, but afford you more control when in flight.

For the expert flyers you could opt for the 6 Channel RC helicopters. They start at around £90 and offer a much more complete flying experience.