Syma S107

Best Review on Syma S107 S107G Helicopter Colors

OK, this is the best $35 I ever spent. Er, should I say my kids ever spent for me for Christmas.

So, the good, the bad and the ugly. OK, so, I don't believe there is an "ugly" for this helicopter.

Stability:
For such a small helicopter this thing is incredibly stable. If you are a first timer you really need to get a helicopter with a gyro. The gyro is what stabilizes the "spinning" action or rotation of the helicopter in flight. I have tried helicopters without gyros before and believe me, you spend all your time just trying to keep the thing straight that you get frustrated and never learn to fly or have fun with it. Now, as you advance I can see the desire to not have a gyro to hone your skills. But, not as a beginner. At least not in my humble opinion.

Control:
The controls are precise. The helicopter responds instantly to every command. This is crucial for avoiding the ceiling or other objects. Now, for such a small helicopter it does tend to drift just slightly when trying to hover. Since you can't "lean" your helicopter left and right you have to rotate it to make corrections while hovering. But, again, for the price it still hovers amazingly well.

Takeoff's and Landing:
Hmmmm. Well, when you learn to fly a real helicopter you first spend several lessons just learning how to take the helicopter a few inches off the ground and keep it from rotating. With this helicopter I thought I would try the same, ease it up slowly and try to hover a few inches while I got used to the controls. This won't work. As you spin up the throttle you see the helicopter get "light" and ready to take off. As you reach optimum lift it will start to lean one direction or the other and if you continue just easing up the throttle it will slide one direction or the other and be out of control right from the start. Probably the only real negative of this helicopter. But, again, what do you expect for $35. The solution, spin it up slowly at first so that the helicopter gets "light". As soon as you see it ready to take off you need to gun the throttle. This will cause it to take off quickly and much more straight up. But, beware, be ready to ease back on the throttle as soon as it takes off or you will drill a hole in your ceiling. This isn't as tough as it sounds but I found this method necessary for a "smooth" take off.

As for landing, this is a little easier than take off but again, as you approach your target landing zone and try to hover it will tend to drift. I believe this is due to the air current put out by the rotors. It is over powering for the light weight of the helicopter as the air bounces off the surface and affects the ability for the helicopter to hover near the ground. So, at this point you need to just let go of the throttle and let it land.

Now, I will be the first to admit I am not an expert with this helicopter. I would guess you can perfect your takeoff's an landings and that's what makes this thing so much fun.

Battery Life:
Pretty much dead on with what the book says and what everyone's reviews say. 40 minutes to charge and 7 minute flight time. Yes, 7 minutes seems short and is a little short but it gives you a good flight time. It will leave you wanting more. I kind of like that so I don't burn out and get bored after one flight.

Tips:
Don't try to do too much on your first flight. I keep reading about people breaking their rotors right off the bat. No doubt easy to do and based on my near misses something I am sure to do also. But, I don't have any spares right now and I would guess you won't either when you first buy it. So, go slow. You will have fun just mastering the controls and it's flight.

Going backwards full tilt helps avoid crashes and stabilizes the flight to regain control.

Try to avoid hitting yourself with the blades, they hurt. Yes, I am speaking from experience. :) But, they didn't break nor did they cut me.

Well, that's it for now. Hope this helps. I will post more tips later as I get better. Have fun!

Get your Syma S107 S107G Helicopter Colors Now!