Definitely a decline in the RC Heli Market, there can be no doubt.
The reason is multi pronged - not one cause but many combined all coming together to form the situation we have now. So these are the reasons IMO.

MultiRotors
Those who would have tried RC Helicopters are now trying drones. Often they will never go past the drone hobby - ie try it for a while then dump it - thinking that's all there is to it. If they do pick up an RC helicopter i believe most will think its too hard and think the flying experience is similar (which it is not - nothing like it).

Cost
No doubt helis can be expensive when you crash. A drone costs you bugger all. So those who cant really fly are attracted to drones. With costs in Australia spiraling out of control (ie electricity/gas/water) its becoming harder to actually spend money on helis. I think as well batteries are too expensive and the new litigation makes them harder to aquire. Its one of the main reasons i fly a smaller heli. Also with our dollar declining its made it even harder to justify a purchase.

Culture
Our youth mostly has a culture of instant gratification. You are NOT going to get that from RC Helis. Its a discipline, takes time to master and the gratification builds over time in my opinion. Its very similar to a martial art.

Difficulty
Yes it is bloody hard to learn to fly RC Helis proficiently. And with the current youth culture (not all of course) it makes it hard for people to discover the joy of RC Helis.

SO the question begs.. What would it take to turn things around.


1) NEW Battery technology making the batteries cheaper and better. Most definitely would attract more people to bigger helis.

2) (impossible i know) A design that resists crashing

3) Auto-stabilisation for beginners at a resonable cost.

4) our dollar being worth 1.50 USD (LOL)

or a combination of these things...

 

I see a lot of the younger generation going to ALDI and buying their drones. I also see a lot of pamphlets in the mail box, asking have you seen my drone? lol

Yeah it's tough times, I hope our heli hobby will pickup again, but a part of me has the reality check and yeah smackmeharder has said it already.

Due to the amount of drone pilots growing in their numbers, anyone with a heli or flies helis I give them the full encouragement, regardless what heli they fly. As long as it's a heli.

I'm the same as smackmeharder, the largest helis in my fleet are 380s, tough times, hoping for the best.

 

Just come back from the club... and a little tacker (13) and his mum - were asking about RC-Helicopters. Her son was flying drones and he wondered what helis was like. I took him out to the flight line and lets just say the kids eyeballs were as wide as dinner plates - he saw my heli move and was blown away - full of questions. He was bored with drones but was totally infatuated with what he saw. Most people have never seen an RC Helicopter fly 3d. Maybe there is hope yet!.

 

big helis are high maintenance, cost, big boys toys. Little helis for smart dudes on the cheap. Quads for the masses cheap and accessible and as soon as any retailer smells sales they stock up for the fad phase of interest. Media has focused on "drones" and that's what the public knows only. it's an rc flying something. The rc heli craze happened 4 years ago and back to 2004 with the Airhog. No one supported the Airhogs and Symas so they often got crashed early and tossed aside. Some guys got in deeper with Blade product, some are returning to rc with a quad on the cheap and maintainable to a greater degree than the helis of past. When a local hs team member told me of Raptor and Century 30/50 sales between 2006 to 2008 (pre recession) and a flea market vendor of syma/airhog slaes about the same time, they made fortunes.

 

Righty oh I’m gonna get flamed for this!!

Well if we keep to only the RC heli market in AU here’s my view:-

1. Start by supporting your local hobby shop! But the fact is it’s too late!
   
   
2. Most of you forgot about them as you’re purchase are now online by non-brick and mortar online stores in AU and overseas.(cheap = no duty and tax = no RC hobby shops)
   
   
3. The fact is you are unlikely to be introduced to the hobby by chance as all fields are located off the beaten track so the introduction is nearly always at the LHS. This is where you purchased a counter rotating craft and mastered its flight and your thirst for more ended up with a variable pitch heli which you tried to fly in your backyard only to end up at a park. At this point many simply gave up and threw this UN tamed mosquito in the bin. A select few persevered perhaps got help and continued on found others with the same interest joined clubs and continued to the point where their hobby exceed their means as when you’re hooked the thirst for more can’t be filled. Reality set in for some and the never ending expense to keep the maintenance up on your heli combined with your job and family commitments took its tole
   
   
4. Anyone can start an RC heli online store here in AU, all you need is money as every heli manufacturer world- wide wants a presence of their products even in our tiny country.
   
   
5. The fact is that 10% of all RC Modellers depart from the hobby for various reasons on an annual basis and their places are not taken up by newbies as in my view the only source of introduction to the hobby is by physically being introduced to it through the LHS, shore the internet is vast but at the moment drones and quad copters are the go for the time being as even local councils are actively helping this new phenomena.
   
   
6. Stats indicate that the majority of RC heli enthusiasts are around 30+ age group as everyone knows that the younger ones are supported by their parents and once they find out that a Pusey isn’t necessarily a cat there gone for a while so seriously around 25+ is the emergence of re-interest for them in RC helicopters!
   
   
7. I remember that only a few years ago there were around 120 + registered pilots at big open events like “Coffs” with numerous sponsors and vendors supporting the event, where are they NOW? Even ARC Heli has lost ALL its support from shops because the fact is if you do not support them they will not support YOU. Sure we still have major events here in AU but numbers a vastly down to what it used to be. It seems that we have to import big name talent to our shores in the hope to have an acceptable turn out of over 30 registered pilots.
   
   
8. So what’s the solution? God only knows as the younger generation are too lazy to even play sport yet alone to get off their play-station or phones.
   
   
9. Just for curiosity when was the last time your club organized a display or promoted the RC helicopter hobby to the Public?
   
   
10. Another curious question? . How many active RC helicopter hobbyists do you think are in AU , According to the MAAA there is well under 10,000 registered aero modellers in AU and at 10% to the RC heli community this would equate to around 1000 give or take?
    

 

I'm all for the Local Hobby Shop. One thing some LHS tend to lack is consistency, having the latest in parts supply, and most importantly having stock available would be nice. Take for example I have an Align Trex, I need some of the latest parts which I can't find anywhere here in Aus. So I'm forced to look online to find a part for my heli. So in the end it's a mix mix situation.

8. So what’s the solution? God only knows as the younger generation are too lazy to even play sport yet alone to get off their play-station or phones.

This is the major issue ^. Unfortunately gaming is a very big industry and it's getting bigger as we speak.

 

Yes... alot of truth in what you say @Fredo . Unfortunately our moral compass is often compromised by savings. And you raise a good point about public displays - i have not seen any. Is there a solution?

How about this!

Australia adopts Donald Trumps policy and puts a tax on overseas importing. This helps create manufacturing of RC products in our country - including batteries! (no more transport costs). We then have our own brand of heli (we shall name it - the BOOMERANG) and our own batteries as well! We buy locally because its too expensive to buy overseas!

LOL only a pipe dream but worth a shot.

Honestly, I just dont know. I was thinking that if there was a battery breakthrough - ie packs became very very cheap and powerful - this would help tremendously. If models could be made to survive a crash - almost impossible. We shall just have to wait and see i guess.

As for gaming and xboxes etc. This industry has only began - wait for better vr. What we see now is only the start.

 

Well funny about the tax.. Soon anything imported will attract gst... And personally I think that may be a death Nell.. Seeing you can't get support for many brands or parts in Australia.. When you ask you get told it's not worth stocking or getting parts in.. Then you go os to get the part you need and you get flamed for it... I always support the lhs where I can.. I went to arkrc for years.. I even go to another lhs that doesn't sell helis for bits and pieces....

And yes anyone can open an online store.. And sometimes I think they take the piss with pricing... Some bump stickers they wanted $20 for 6 and you get 20 for $30 and they wanted $15 shipping... It cost the same to me either way so went should I support platent price gouging? Sell it at a reasonable price and I'll buy local all the time...

I'll probably get flamed for the above..

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

Actually you walk the talk @Manyc , you do support local and I have seen that many times when you make a purchase - muchos respecto. People who set up small shops normally dont last - for a variety of reasons and for someone to survive in a hobby shop today, helis will rarely cut it. It has to be supplemented by a variety of higher volume components (cars? drones? Boats?) or the business will remain at best a part time commodity.

I have a gut feeling helis will allways be around. They are just soooo unique. I dont know if they will ever become hugely popular though - because they are just so hard for the average person to learn. Dare i say it... should we be chanting "heli lives matter!"

 

Hello Smack me Harder I was reading what you guys were saying in the above comments and its so true. The rc
heli world took a plunge for the worse.
About 4-5 years ago it picked up and there seemed to be hope but slowly went down hill because of a number
Of factors. #1 being the obvious Drones are much cheaper and easier to fly. Like someone said above kids today want instant gratification with rc helicopters thats a no no it takes time , practice, patience, money, discipline and guess what? More practice. Kids today dont want to hear that.
#2 Cost of Lipo batteries is high. Even though the price has dropped alot their still considerably expensive.
#3 Time Consuming Takes alot of time to build learn and practice .

 

I drift in and out of heli-flying as my job wont allow fulltime commitment. But it is always there and i am always interested - just not infactuated which might be a good thing.