Read First Before Buy Syma S109G Apache 3 5 Channels Helicopter
These little Helicopters always amazed me! I always wanted one. Expecially now that my kids are a little older (10). Sorry for the lengthy review! Just trying to help the skeptical shoppers based on my personal experience.
All Helicopters are flown indoors with 8 foot ceilings.
Helicopter 1 - Rating 0-5 Stars - $25
Christmas 2010 I finally bought one, it was from Kohls for $19.99. I was excited and couldn't wait to try it. I put fresh batteries in it and away it went. Right into the wall. I tried to calibrate the trim, but still no luck. This thing was out of control! I inspected everything. Nothing was bent nor misaligned. I tried, and tried again. It never flew with complete control. Kept crashing. Needless to say, it went back to the store.
I was discouraged and thought that all Helicopters were designed the same and that they had an extremely difficult learning curve. I knew spending $50 or more they would be easier Heli's to fly. (At least that was what most of the reviews said.) And I wasn't about to spend that much money on them.
Helicopter 2 - Rating 4-5 Stars - $24
Earlier in the year I picked up an Air Hogs Sharpshooter with the firing missiles. I thought it was cool and got it on sale for $24 at Target. Couldn't wait to give it to my kids for Christmas. Yeah it was a long wait, but my patience paid off Christmas morning 2011 when my kids opened the gift. They were excited and wanted to try it that second. We put batteries in it and charged it for the 45 minutes. It took a few tries to adjust the trim, but I was instantly surprised at how easy it was to fly! Even my kids learned after a few tries. Yeah it hit the wall or the ceiling about 50 times. But is durable and like a Timex, it keeps working. My kids love it and have fun shooting at targets and of course - each other! The only downside to the thing (other than the obvious charging time vs. flying time) is that the trim has to be adjusted after -almost- every flight. We all learned to trim the thing in seconds and it still maintains their interest.
Helicopter 3 - Rating 5-5 Stars - $25
Went to In-laws the same day and the kids told Grandpa about the Air Hogs Helicopter they got for Christmas and how much they liked it. Grandpa was surprised at how fast they learned and brought out a Syma 107 as a challenge to them. He wanted to see how good they were for himself. And they showed him just that. I also took notice of the ease of use and the "Gyro" action it had that the Sharpshooter did not have. I tested it thoroughly and was impressed! I want one now! The L.E.D. lights were very colorful and added to the "coolness". Then, as I was flying it, one of the Nephews walked up to it while it was in the air, and with his plastic hammer "WHACKED!" it out of the air! He hit it hard! I was mad for my Father-in-law. I thought for sure this thing was a goner! Especially how fragile they are with all the tiny moving parts. I picked it up and inspected it. No notice of bent, broken or damaged parts. It flew just the same, and didn't even need a trim adjustment! I was convinced and wanted to buy one to compete in arial games with the kids. Went home that same evening and shopped Amazon.com for the same model. Reviews were great! And then I noticed other models that MIGHT be better, which made it difficult for me to make up my mind. I held off from buying one for now and didn't want to make a hasteful purchase wishing I had waited and bought a different one for around the same price.
Helicopter 4 - Rating 5-5 Stars - $50
A week after Christmas I took my kids to get haircuts and afterward, went next door to check out a Toy store that sold developmental and educational toys. My kids love to go in there and browse around. Then we seen an Iron Eagle Helicopter. They had one on display to try and I gave it to my kids first. They loved it! Very similar to the Syma 107 and I would definitely recommend it if willing to spend the $50. I wasn't. I told the storekeeper, after I tried it, that I would buy it for $25, but she declined the offer. The "Gyro" on it worked great and hovered the same as the Syma 107. Just couln't justify the $50. But instead I went home and checked out prices here on Amazon.com and seen it there for $30. I wanted it and compared it to the Syma 107 having similar reviews.
Helicopter 5 - Rating 5-5 Stars - $29
Then I noticed what others were looking at. They were buying the Syma S109G Apache AH-64 3-Channel Mini Indoor Helicopter. With only 146 reviews vs the Syma 107 with 435 at time of writing this review, I was hesitant, but took a gamble at the new model hoping for better upgrades and ease of use.
I ordered it 2 days ago and got it in hand today. Super fast shipping from Xheli on Amazon! Brand New and ready to fly with a full charge. Of course I needed batteries for the controller. And it came with a USB charger preventing from replacing the 6 AA more often than you should in the controller. I had my kids try it out first and they were amazed at how easy it was to fly. Just like the other 3, they found the controls easy. There was a slight learning curve from the Air Hogs unit to the Syma because of the "Gyro" technology. They weren't used to the forward/backward control on the Syma. The Air Hogs unit flew forward naturally, but not backward. They liked the Syma alot, but gravitate to their Air Hogs Heli. We fly both simultaneously and have fun racing from point A to point B.
Overall I am happy with both the Air Hogs for my Son and the Syma S109G for myself. The pros are that they are both VERY easy to fly right out of the box. And the Syma S109 has a USB charger plug which connects to the computer to avoid draining battery on the controller (Air Hog unit does not). The Syma also doesn't need the constant trim adjust seen in the Air Hogs controller. The cons naturally, arecharging time of 45 minutes on both and battery replacement on the Air Hogs controller. The Heli's both have a permanent, Li-polymer battery which have 4-10 minutes flight time.
Recommendations: Iron Eagle or Syma (Either one) with advanced Gyro technology and Air Hogs
Sharpshooter for firing missiles. All super easy to fly!!! Take your pick.
I thank God that I don't fly anything with me in it because I crash this helicopter about a thousand times. I tell you this helicopter is extemely fun to fly, albeit a little slow. It was amazingly stable when it is hovering. Here are some of the things I notice about this toy:
BalasHapus1) battery life(per charge): it last about 5 to 6 minutes, which is long enough for cat harassment. I have since bought other RC helicopter to keep me occupied. The charge taking about 30 to 40 minute. After reading other reviewer regarding overcharging, I am now more diligent and unplug the charge whenever it is done charging.
2) operation: I like the simplicity of the control. The "drift" capability in other helicopter makes it more complicated to control. one thing I noticed is that as the helicopter flys toward you, it begin to slow down. Not sure why. I thought it might be due to the angle of the IR emitter. When it flys away, it picks up speed.
3) durability: ultra, ultra durable. I crashed in the ceiling, curtains, walls, cats, more walls and still flying. The rotory blades are a bit worn but still holding up. I have nose-dived 20 to 30 times and nothing broke. On the contrary, I broke the landing skid on the new V911 in the first 30 seconds of flying. I have this helicopter for a month now and am still loving it.
4) modification: the slowness of this helicopte annoyed me a bit so I decided to lop off the two side wings with the missiles and the two tail wings. It did make it fly faster, a lot faster. This translated into more furious crashes. I had to tape a penny on the back of the helicopter to balance it so that it hovers right. Also, remove/disengage the spring for the throttle so you can hover without actively pushing on the lever. That's a crash preventer!
Summary: I love the way this helicopter banks and slides through the air. I also love the way it flys straight at you at eye level. It is like having a duel with yourself and see who flinches first, you or yourself. It makes a very good cat toys (for the human). The cat smacked at it a couple of times but the rotor wind and noise scared him.
If you are looking for a cat toy, or a toy for your kids, this is the one to get. It looks mean, like a giant flying locust. I didn't think the coast guard version was as cool looking.
I purchased two of these Syma helicopters (one Cobra and one Apache) for my kids. I have tried several other remote control miniature helicopters before, but they were all almost impossible for the kids to fly. This one had the kids flying them around the house on the first charge. There have been several hard landings and wall impacts, but there is no visible damage so far. After a long evening of flying, and the kids getting up early to play with them before school, they are doing fine. We are seeing a longer flight time per charge than advertised, though I have not timed it. Overall, we are very pleased and satisfied.
BalasHapusValue ladies and gentleman, value. The short comings of this little copter such as short flight time and... well... that's all I can think of, are SQUASHED by the absolute ease of use, fun, durability and most of all the tiny price tag.
BalasHapusWe have a blast with this thing in the office, people laugh and marvel. Everyone flies it and gets the hang of it fast.
I take it home and my 5 year old flies it around, that's how easy to use it is and says a lot about it's durability. This little thing has been in some nasty wrecks and continues to fly well.
Great fun!!!
I own all the Syma Mini Military helicopters. Here is my review for all 5.
BalasHapus1. S108G Cobra. By Far the fastest and the most aggressive of the helicopters. This one takes a little bit of time to get used to and is for the more experienced flyer. Its super fast and super durable.
2. S109G Apache. Another good helicopter from Syma. Runs the same as the Cobra. Fast and swift.
3. S026G Chinook. A good beginner helicopter. Very stable in flight. It can be fast if you want it to be or it can be slow. This is one of my favorites out of the series.
4. S102G Black Hawk. My brother has the S107G and this flies just like it. This is probably the best helicopter that syma makes. Extremely stable and can take a serious beating. (But so can all the others.) It will fly at the speed you want it to from slow to fast and takeoffs and landings are extremely smooth.
5. S111G Coast Guard Rescue. This too is a fine product from syma. Super smooth flyer and very stable when hovering. And yes, this one wins in the looks battle. It works just like the S102G Black Hawk.
6. And last but not least, the S023G Big Apache. This is a massive outdoor version of the S109G Apache. But this one is meant to be used outdoors. This one is not infrared like the little ones but is a 27mhz radio control helicopter. This guy has some serious power to it and boy does it fly. Very fast and extremely stable are how I would describe it. It is also very easy to control.
All in all, Syma gets a 20 out of 10 stars on their helicopters for the price. And when you do buy one from them, MAKE SURE IT HAS A G AFTER THE NUMBERS. LIKE S109-G-. The G stands for Gyro. The Gyro makes it twice as easy to fly.
This is my 3rd Syma Heli, and another example of a perfectly-flying micro coaxial heli that works flawlessly out of the box. Hovers like it's hanging from a string, very steady, nice forward and reverse flight. I can't say that for most other inexpensive micro heli's out there, but this thing is as good as, if not better than, a $100 Blade MCx micro heli. Great Apache scale looks, a nice gift for any RC helicopter enthusiast. Quite durable, can smack it into walls and ceilings without breaking it.
BalasHapusA great buy, perfect gift for anyone into RC heli's or planes. Excellent for indoor flight, can easily maneuver through small rooms. Best heli in this price range, by a long shot, I'd say that it's better than most coaxial heli's at 3-4x the cost.
One of the best features of the S019G is the horrible Chinese-English Warning translation on the blades: "If blade damage, don't be fly. otherwise it will create the human body or blame damage". Classic.
I own two other indoor helicopters that I purchased for three to four times as much money at the mall. This is the helicopter that has the best control out of all of them. I can land this thing on a soda can and fly circles around my wives head (my favorite part, especially when she is watching stupid tv shows like the Kardashians). This is the absolute best gift for any male you know. My 8 year old can fly it. Cant say enough about what you get for the price. I also love the silly Engwish warnings printed on the props.
BalasHapus