When buying an RC helicopter, it's important to have a few spare parts available in case something goes wrong either during flight or during the downtime between flights. When making a list of spare parts to purchase, you should plan for two categories. The first consists of parts to keep you up and running during flying times. The second is a set of parts to provide necessary maintenance and repairs between flights.
Flight Parts
When enjoying flight time with your helicopter, there are certain parts you should keep handy to ensure a favorable experience. These are primarily the easily replaceable parts that are most subject to damage. For all helicopters you should keep an extra set of rotor blades on hand, both for the main rotor assembly as well as tail rotors. These can become damaged easily even when minor crashes leave your helicopter otherwise unscathed. Changing the blades is a quick job that can be done on-site and have you back flying that same day. For electric helicopters, an extra charged battery should also be kept on hand to increase flying time.
Any replacements necessary other than the blades and the battery will likely require a workbench and extensive work in disassembly and reassembly. As such, they're best kept for the downtime between flight days.
Maintenance and Repair Parts
In between flight times are the best opportunities to repair and maintain your RC helicopter. To cut the downtime before your next flight, there are a few parts you should have on hand for anything but the most serious of overhauls for your aircraft. When looking to increase your spare parts supply, you should go with those most likely to get damaged during flight operations.
Second in damage probability only to the blades themselves are your helicopter's rotor heads, which hold the blades. You should keep an entire rotor head set on hand for repair purposes, replacing the spares as soon after use as possible. Also likely to take damage in a crash is your rotor shafts. Balanced and trimmed blades are necessary for stable flight, and a shaft that's been damaged in any way will leave your helicopter unstable at best, and in the worst case, dangerous to operate.
Some parts are likely to receive damage more from use than from a crash. The gear set is one of these, as the constant rotation of the blades can wear the gears down to the point of needing replacement. Keeping a spare on hand can save you time as specific gear set spares can be difficult to find. Motors can also take damage from wear and should be kept in your collection of spares as well.
All parts of a RC helicopter can actually be replaced with a little work. As such, you may consider keeping an entire replacement kit on hand to save yourself shopping time when a part may need replacing.
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