Comparison

RC Helicopter 3D Lite vs RC Plane Explorer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RC Helicopter 3D Lite

Pilot a combat helicopter in a 3D city environment, completing missions and engaging in aerial combat. Master helicopter controls to navigate complex environments and destroy various enemy targets. Compete with global players for high scores.

Highlights
  • 3D city flight simulation
  • Combat missions
  • Machine guns and missiles
  • Destroy enemy targets
  • Global score comparison
  • Configurable graphics
Features
Read full description

Fly over the skies of the city with a combat helicopter, in full 3D, fulfilling mission objectives. The less time, more score. Compare your score with pilots around the world through Game Center. Driving a helicopter is even more complicated than a plane, but once you master it you can enjoy the wonderful flight of a helicopter. Your helicopter is equipped with machine guns or missiles that veer toward the enemy. Destroy aircraft, enemy helicopters, antiaircraft, ground targets, vehicles in movement. See how they fall in flames when they are destroyed by your powerful helicopter. Move between buildings, taking care not to collide with the blades. Total freedom of movement around the city, mountains and rural areas. Recreation of several real buildings. Graphics configurable to play fast on all devices. Challenge: Get land on the roofs of the narrow skyscraper and observe the movement of the city at your feet. Only for advanced pilots. RC Helicopter 3D is a game that can give you great satisfaction once you master it. Landing a helicopter on the roof of a skyscraper at the first attempt is a joy, makes you feel proud of yourself.

About

RC Plane Explorer

Explore vast, procedurally generated landscapes with realistic RC plane physics. Discover hidden secrets, collect coins, and document your adventures with a new photo mode. Enjoy a vast selection of aircraft and dynamic environmental conditions.

Highlights
  • Realistic RC plane physics
  • Procedural terrain engine
  • Vast explorable scenarios
  • Real-time day/night cycle
  • Customizable wind and thermals
  • Photo Studio mode
  • Test planes with reward videos
Features
Read full description

From the creators of the RC Plane and Heli series, RC Plane Explorer brings : Realistic RC Plane physics, huge scenarios (8X8 Kms) to explore and generate, a vast selection of planes and quadcopters, realtime day/night cycle, customisable wind and thermal currents simulation, and graphics pushing the limits of iOS devices are the signature elements of RC Plane Explorer ! Built over the solid physics simulation of RC Plane 3, and sharing all vehicles with it, RC Plane Explorer introduces a whole new and fully custom procedural terrain engine allowing virtually infinite scenarios for you explore and customise. Free Flight and exploration are the core elements of the gameplay, and while more adrenalinic game modes will come in the near future, RC Plane Explorer already rewards players with score for the each area of the map he explores, each animal species he discovers (tap on an animal to “discover it”) and each “secret coin” he collects (a few will be hidden in each scenario you generate). Large score bonuses will be granted for competition of some exploration aspects (EX: reveal 100% of the map, discover all animal species etc) . Scenarios are fully procedural and biome based with more biomes coming in the future. One of the many goals of this project was to reduce the very large download and install size of RC Plane 3, and we are happy to say that RC Plane Explorer is less than 1/5 the download and install size of RC Plane 3, while bringing larger scenarios to fly over, more animals, more biomes , denser vegetation and a much better performances. We have been working on, thinking about, planning and finally implementing our new Scenario/Terrain engine since quite a few years, and while already impressive, we have many plans to extend and improve it in the future, so expect a constant stream of improvements both in current biomes and in future ones. Debuting in RC Plane Explorer, and suggested by many users, is the possibility to “test” a plane without the need to purchase it, as long as “reward videos” will be available you will will be able to try all planes that previously required an in-app purchase. Now with "Photo Studio" mode: freeze time, tweak camera settings, customise effects and save or share gorgeous high rest screenshots of your flight adventures ! *** We hope you will enjoy RC Plane Explorer, and please don’t be shy, we immensely appreciate any suggestion, feedback, comment, idea, bug report, critic etc… email us RCPExplorer@frozenpepper.it, contact us on our Facebook page (FrozenPepper), Twitter (FrozenPepper), via the comments on our website or any other way you prefer.

Screenshots

RC Helicopter 3D Lite4 screens
RC Plane Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RC Helicopter 3D Lite at none against RC Plane Explorer's 10. RC Plane Explorer's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 14 months) and review sentiment (40% vs 19%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RC Plane Explorer sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. RC Helicopter 3D Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for RC Helicopter 3D Lite against 3.9 for RC Plane Explorer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 57 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 19% of RC Helicopter 3D Lite's written reviews are positive against 40% of RC Plane Explorer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RC Helicopter 3D Lite ships an update every 14 months, RC Plane Explorer every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RC Helicopter 3D Lite versus RC Plane Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRC Helicopter 3D LiteRC Plane Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (25 ratings)3.9 (57 ratings) — better
Positive reviews18.5% of reviews40.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2557 — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB383 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLuis Evaristo Rodriguez CamposFrozenPepper

Customer experience

RC Helicopter 3D Lite

All ratings25 ratings
Positive64.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative28.0%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive18.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative74.9%

RC Plane Explorer

All ratings57 ratings
Positive70.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative19.3%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative56.0%

Bugs and requests

RC Helicopter 3D Lite

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Camera stays fixed while helicopter moves out of view
  • Helicopter controls are unresponsive or overly sensitive
  • Game crashes when helicopter tilts upward
  • Helicopter disappears off-screen making it unplayable
  • Controls cause helicopter to move unexpectedly
Show 1 more
  • Game crashes frequently during gameplay

Requested features

9 requests
  • Follow camera that tracks helicopter movement
  • Third-person camera view option
  • Multiple helicopter models to choose from
  • Different maps and environments
  • Better camera controls and angles
Show 4 more
  • In-game instructions and help system
  • Joystick control option
  • Auto-stabilization for beginners
  • Gauges and flight instruments display

RC Plane Explorer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

RC Helicopter 3D Lite

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

RC Plane Explorer

One-time10
  • F 181 - Carrier King$0.99
  • Mountain Biome$0.99
  • Airbus$1.99
Show 7 more
  • F-53B$1.99
  • Stealth$1.99
  • Canyon Biome$1.99
  • Tropical Biome$1.99
  • C-310$1.99
  • F 141 - Combo$2.99
  • Flying Fortress$2.99

Questions

Is RC Helicopter 3D Lite free?
RC Helicopter 3D Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RC Plane Explorer free?
RC Plane Explorer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RC Helicopter 3D Lite or RC Plane Explorer?
RC Plane Explorer is rated higher. RC Helicopter 3D Lite averages 3.8 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while RC Plane Explorer averages 3.9 from 57 ratings.
Do RC Helicopter 3D Lite or RC Plane Explorer have ads?
Neither RC Helicopter 3D Lite nor RC Plane Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RC Helicopter 3D Lite or RC Plane Explorer?
RC Helicopter 3D Lite ships an update every 14 months, and RC Plane Explorer every 10 days. Most recently, RC Helicopter 3D Lite was updated on November 1, 2026 and RC Plane Explorer on November 2, 2026.

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