This is my first remote controlled helicopter. I'm almost 40 years old and have nurtured a dream of flying a remote controlled helicopter since I was in gradeschool. I had given up on this dream for several decades due to the extreme cost, complexity, and risk of property damage that was associated with "real" outdoor RC helicopters. I discovered this helicopter quite by accident when it was listed as the "Amazon Deal of the Day" on one of my RSS feeds. Seeing it's incredibly low price, I decided to purchase one for my brother as a Christmas gift and then pick one up for myself (why should he have all the fun!) I honestly had no idea just what I was getting myself into...The first time I powered it up and flew it, I swear I was transported back to when I was 11 years old when my head was full of dreams and fantasies about flying. If you ever have had any such notions, I can tell you that you will NOT be disappointed in this amazing device. Now, all gushing aside...
This helicopter is engineered amazingly well. The first thing I was worried about was how it might be damaged if it were to collide with something and fall to the floor. I was also worried about what kind of damage it would inflict on my house were it to hit something (not to mention incurring the wrath of my wife...) It turns out that the light weight of the copter keeps it from generating too much momentum, the sturdy metal frame keeps it from breaking itself in a fall, and the very lightweight but sturdy blades are mounted on pivots which help them "collapse" during a collision to avoid damaging whatever they hit. This isn't to say that you couldn't severely hurt your eyes or other sensitive body parts (or that of a pet or family member) if the blades were to hit them, but a strike on your hand or arm will sting but not do much damage otherwise.
The controls for this kind of helicopter are extremely easy. First, it's a marvel to see the coaxial rotor design implemented in such an elegant way. This helicopter hovers by default and you only have to control the main throttle speed until it's "balanced" in the air. Adjusting the trim so that it doesn't rotate left or right is trivial to do and takes only seconds after you power it up. You can control it going forward/backwards (a tiny bit of pitch), up/down (vertical), and left/right (yaw) but you have no ability to go sideways or in any way affect the roll of the helicopter. This makes learning to fly the helicopter a real breeze (pun intended) and you'll very quickly start learning to push the performance limits of this little helicopter. This is definitely a departure from "real" helicopter models which have only a single main blade and a vertically-mounted tail blade. The difference is that those cost several hundred dollars and are very easy to crash until you master the much more complex controls.
Battery life is around 5-7 minutes on a full charge and it takes about 40 minutes (avg?) to charge it from the USB charger. I'd recommend buying a little plug-in USB adapter (like you get for your cellphone) and use that rather than worrying about powering your computer on. Charging from the controller is a little less reliable and seems to take longer while not providing a very good charge. I'm seriously considering picking up a few more of these little helicopters just so I can have more continuous fun flying my helicopters while chasing my kid's RC cars around the house (fun for the whole family!!!) :)
You can control 2 of these helicopters at the same time from the controller that came with my package. I've heard rumors that there exist 3 frequency controllers on the forums that exist for this helicopter but it doesn't seem likely that you'll be able to find one very easily (assuming they exist...) When you first power on the helicopter, it needs to be told which frequency to use. The first controller to start transmitting to it (be it on channel A or B) will be the channel that the helicopter "pairs" itself with. From that point, you won't be able to change frequencies unless you power cycle the helicopter.
The other really neat thing about this helicopter is that there seems to be a vibrant user community on the web. Just Google "Syma s107" and you'll find a lot of fans both in RC forums as well as rabid fans who have made entire web pages devoted to this helicopter. Go to youtube and search for "Syma s107" and you'll find dozens of fan videos that show this little helicopter in action. There are also numerous hacks that people have posted to improve the forward/backward speed (swap the rear propeller with one with a larger blade pitch), increase battery life (with a new battery pack), make the controller more "advanced" by removing the spring that resets the throttle controller, and even some crazy guy that made custom pontoons for this helicopter and landed it successfully (with takeoff!) from his swimming pool!!! It's also possible to mount a camera--either a recorder or a live transmitter--to it but you'll have to carefully dissect the copter to remove weight and/or do the battery hack to increase its lifting power.
You can buy packs of spare parts for this helicopter so if you have a bad crash and break something you can easily take it apart and swap out the parts. You can also (if so inclined) buy different color replacement packs and make a truly multi-color custom helicopter if you want. Just do a search for "syma" here at Amazon and be marveled at all the things that come up--including all of the many different models of helicopters that Syma makes. Just be careful and thoroughly read all the reviews when looking for spare parts. There seems to be quite a market for cheap "clone" parts that people in Asia(?) are trying to pass off on unsuspecting consumers. This is a price that we pay for globalism, so make sure to be an informed consumer.
One word of caution. This helicopter uses infra-red (IR) light to be controlled. It does NOT use radio frequencies like more traditional RC cars and planes. What does this mean? First, this means that you should always try to point the blue top of your controller at the helicopter at all times. When using your TV remote control (which also uses infra-red light!) just think about how well that works when you aim the controller away to the TV--the same principle applies to this helicopter. This means that your controller must be pointed at the helicopter at all times and you cannot block your line of sight. I've found that the helicopter "buffers" the last commanded throttle command for a second or two so if someone momentarily blocks your controller you'll be okay. However, if you stuff the controller into an IR-opaque bag your helicopter will drop out of the air like a brick. That being said, most wall paints in houses are pretty IR reflective so I've been able to control my helicopter purely by the reflections of the IR light off of my walls but I wouldn't push it too much as I don't want to drop the helicopter TOO many times. The further the helicopter gets from the controller, the more you'll want to aim the controller straight at the helicopter. I once flew it in a large two-story atrium where I worked and I had a few moments when the helicopter dropped about 12 feet before catching itself because it was too high in the air. That also means that you cannot use this in direct sunlight outdoors. This helicopter is an INDOOR toy and you need to respect that. The sun is a massive source of infrared radiation and any transmission range you were used to indoors will be greatly diminished if not lost completely if you try to fly outdoors. Also, this helicopter is so light that the slightest breeze will completely blow it away so be careful if you try to fly outdoors at night.
I've heard that this toy was awarded an award for "hottest toy of the year" in 2010. As an entry-level helicopter, this model CANNOT be beat. I don't consider it so much an entry-level device so much as a "gateway" into more complex and interesting models. I've flown it at least twice a night since I bought it a month ago and I don't see that letting up anytime soon. I've got my eye on a number of the different indoor IR helicopters made by Syma as well as a few from other manufacturers now. I am extremely happy and satisfied with this purchase and would recommend this to anyone who has any remote interest in RC flying but has never done so before.
ps, here are a few fun games that I've learned you can play with this helicopter
- Swimming upstream : I have forced-air heating/cooling in my house and so when that turns on, I'll direct the helicopter towards the vent and try to get it to push itself closer. This is very technically challenging and a lot of fun. Besides, when you've gotten as close as you want, just turn around and "surf" the tailwind to get a huge boost in speed!
- Skimming the floor : while the in-air top speed of this helicopter isn't great (that's why people sometimes hack the tail rotor and replace it with a bigger one) you can get some amazingly fast speeds if you power up the main rotor *just* enough that the helicopter is still just barely touching the ground. Then you push the forward/backward stick as far forward as you can and you'll rocket along the floor at least twice as fast as you can in the air. You can then turn the chopper around and "drift" around corners and the like. It's a challenge to keep the throttle balanced just perfectly that you stay on the ground but get enough "ground effect" turbulence to shoot you forward at a high speed. Great fun!
- Low-altitude obstacle course : once you get confident with maneuvering the helicopter, you can fly it at around shin height and dodge it between chair legs, under tables, and slalom around furniture. Caution: do NOT do this in the presence of pets or children--please!
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Helicopter addiction, thy name is Syma.
First and foremost, let me dispel some of the negative reviews on this "toy".1. This is not a toy for 6 year olds. I believe the recommended age was either 8+ or 14+.2. This is an IR (infrared) controlled helicopter, not radio controlled. It works just like your TV remote. Bright lights affect performance and interfere with the signal. That's just the nature of the technology. So if your heli is flying funky, try dimming the lights in the room. Maybe try turning the LED lights off on the Christmas tree. I've seen that affect calibration on the Wii, I'm sure it would affect a helicopter, too.3. Someone complained about their USB charger overheating and melting, which had me worried. I've checked my charger every time, and not once has it been even slightly warm to the touch. Also, the picture of his charger does not look like my charger - so I am inclined to believe he was using a charger not designed for this heli.4. This is a recreational helicopter designed to handle a few minor bumps and bruises. It was not made by Nerf. If you let your 6 year old play with it, it's going to get broken.5. This is an indoor helicopter. Don't take it outside. The slightest cough of a breeze will send you chasing after it. Also, the sunlight will drown out any signal coming from the controller.Now that's out of the way, all else I have to say is wow. This is a great helicopter. It's priced right and easy to fly, especially with the on-board gyroscope. I have become obsessed with helicopters now that I have this one. Prior to this I had an Air Hogs Havoc Heli (2 channel). The difference is night and day. I have so much precise control with this heli that I'm able to land it anywhere I want, while the havoc heli landed where-ever/when-ever/how-ever it wanted to. Also, let it be said that this heli is very open to modifications. The simplest Google search will help you find how-to's on making the battery last longer or making the heli fly forward faster.This is a great buy for any [responsible] kid over 10, or any kid at heart, or anyone who loves to tinker.
