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.
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Reviews with images
Easy to fly
I have never owned or flown a heli before, I had no problems hovering and flying around on my first attempt, on my second charge I was flying all around the house with no problems, I then removed the guns and wings letting the lights dangle, this improved my flying time by eliminating the extra weight, once I lightened it I moved the battery a bit forward and now it hovers in place, for $20 u can't go wrong.
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just browsing
Small but perfectly formed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2019
just browsing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2019
Anyway, the smaller box arrived and this turns out to be almost identical to the larger model (apart from the style) with the same great build quality, just smaller. So small, in fact, that the on/off switch on the fuselage is almost invisible (but still operable with an adult fingernail). I've attached a photo to show just how small this thing is, since it's hard to appreciate scale from adverts.
For indoor use this is ideal. The mechanical (rotor) gyro and electronic heading gyro make this really easy to fly. Well, easy in comparison to some others! Coincidentally I am reading Chickenhawk, by Rob Mason, about helicopter flying in Vietnam (so the bodywork on this is apposite), and naturally I try to take off by going light and then hover a half-inch. This is pretty easy but doomed to failure - when it goes light, some part is still holding it up so the bodywork tips slightly, and then when you do get fully flying you're crabbing into the furniture. N00b tip: take off quick and clean, then you can achieve a static hover.
The USB charger plugs into a really tiny receptacle and takes about 40 minutes to fully charge, after which there is 5-6 minutes of flying (or hovering!) time. Everything seems to be crash-proof with the rotors being extra flexible and the bodywork deformable. There is a spare rear rotor (presumably this is too small to be made flexible), and a screwdriver to access the batteries in the controller is provided. Usefully, there is also a charger lead hidden behind a hatch in the controller, so you can recharge the chopper even without USB access - neat, and indicative of the thought that's gone into this product.
Speaking of the controller, despite half the advert, this is an infrared job. Perhaps the chopper is just too small to include 2.4GHz radio kit. There are a couple of 'gotchas' when using infrared, but so long as you remember to point the controller at the chopper you would probably forget how it communicates. The most obvious is that the controller takes six batteries (not supplied) since throwing IR over a distance takes power. And strong sunlight can overwhelm it (so if you do go outside, choose a dull day). There are apparently two channels available, so you can have two choppers flying at once, and although the controller can select which channel to use, the chopper seems to be fixed (it has the channel number embossed on the fuselage).
Apart from the slight increase in weight from the extra batteries, the controller is just like any other Syma one. The controls are light without feeling fragile and just the right amount of sensitivity, and no noticeable play.
If push came to shove, my preference would probably be for a radio controller but, nevertheless, this model is going to get a lot of flying hours on it.
Images in this review
Antonino
Mini elicottero indoor telecomandato a raggi infrarossi
Reviewed in Italy on January 3, 2019
Onlineshopping4Life
Macht kleinen und großen Kindern Spaß
Reviewed in Germany on October 26, 2018
Onlineshopping4Life
Reviewed in Germany on October 26, 2018
🚁 1 x SI096 GIRO System RC Helicopter
🚁 1 x Fernbedienung
🚁 1 x USB Ladekabel
🚁 1 x Bedienungsanleitung
Zusätzliche Daten:
🚁 L: 220mm, Breite: 70mm, Höhe: 95mm
🚁 Ladezeit: 40 Minuten
🚁 Flugzeit: 5-8 Minuten
🚁 Flugdistanz: ca. 8 Meter
Testbericht:
Der Helikopter wird mit der entsprechenden Fernbedienung und einem USB-Kabel geliefert. Für den Betrieb werden 6 Stück 1,5 AA Batterien benötigt, diese sind nicht im Lieferumfang enthalten. Eine Aufladung kann über die Fernbedienung oder auch über den PC-erfolgen. Die Bedienungsanleitung ist sehr gut gestaltet, die Inbetriebnahme und die Benutzung des Gerätes sind damit kinderleicht. Für den Flugbetrieb ist ein wenig Übung erforderlich. Aufgrund der überraschend hohen Stabilität der Rotorblätter ist der Helikopter aber durchaus auch für jüngere Kinder ab ca. 8 Jahren schon geeignet.
Das Gerät macht insgesamt einen sehr stabilen und gut durchdachten Eindruck. Die Lautstärke hält sich im Vergleich zu ähnlichen Geräten absolut im Rahmen und auch die zu erreichende Flughöhe und die Flugdistanz machen den Hubschrauber zu einem tollen Spielzeug für Groß und Klein. Auffällig sind ebenfalls die sehr gute Beleuchtung und die Möglichkeit, Ersatzteile bestellen zu können.
Vorteile: Gute Verarbeitung + Ersatzteile bestellbar
Nachteile: Keine
Fazit: Macht kleinen und großen Kindern Spaß und ist für den Preis absolut empfehlenswert.
Images in this review
