SYMA S107G 3 Channel RC Helicopter with Gyro, Blue

Overview:The Syma S107G is a great indoor rc helicopter. I personally did not expect much given the heli's $15 price tag yet I'm blown away by the amount of small moving parts and surprisingly decent quality it has. While I can't say that a mini RC helicopter has many practical uses in everyday life, it sure is a great little gadget/toy to have around the office or your room if you are looking to kill a few minutes everyday piloting your heli through various obstacles such as furniture, family members, or coworkers.AestheticsThe Syma S107G is a rather slick little rc heli. The helicopter is built on an aluminum frame and is shelled with colored plastic parts. The interior appears to be composed of white plastic gears that move when the heli is in operation. The rotors are made of a durable feeling plastic attached to an aluminum rotating shaft. Although the rotors feel of decent quality, they are quite thin so I'd recommend purchasing extra just in case. The rotors on my heli have not broken yet even though I have crashed it several times but only time will tell how it will hold up. The receiver looks rather cheaply made plastic upon first glance but upon getting a firm grasp on it, it is actually pretty solid and has some weight to it. The heli is around 7 inches in length, the rotors from one side to the other when fully extended are around 7 inches as well, and the height is about 3.5 inches. The controller is roughly 4.5 inches by 6 inches with a depth of 1.75 inches.ChargingIt takes anywhere from 30 min to an hour to completely charge depending on how dead the battery is in the heli. Flight time is probably anywhere from around 10-15 minutes Charging is done via a charging cable that comes out of a bottom left slot of the controller. The controller requires 6 AA batteries that are not included.Handling and UsabilityThe Syma S107G Heli is a 3 channel RC which means it can move up, or down; yaw forward, backward, right, or left; or rotate in a circular motion left or right. The S107G handles great indoors but any gust of wind even from a ceiling fan will potentially make it unstable and hard to control. I can not recommend using it outdoors nor can I imagine you would be able to keep it airborne longer for then a few seconds due to how light it is in an outdoor setting. As long is there is not any interference from wind, the S107G handles great indoors although does require some attention and focus to use so I couldn't imagine letting a kid under 10 using it without breaking it. One thing I did notice that is a slight annoyance is the heli does yaw backwards slightly if you hover. This could probably be easily fixed by putting some sort of weight in the nose of the heli. If the heli rotates in one direction, this can easily be corrected with a dial on the controller which you would turn in the direction opposite that your heli is currently turning in on its own. The controller also allows the left stick to be set at a set position in order to easily hover. The controller also has an a and b frequency which I assume means that one other heli of the same model could be flown on the opposite frequency simultaneously.DurabilityI have probably probably flown this heli around 15 times total and crashed it about 3 or 4 times. It still looks basically as new as the day I took it out of the box and still flies just as well but I imagine that rotors would be prone to breaking after numerous small crashes or even a single big crash.Final VerdictAt $15 the Syma S107G 3 Channel RC Helicopter is a steal. I would spend up to $30 on something like this and consider it still a great deal. Although there a few quirks to the S107G (particularly how it yaws backwards slightly when hovering), I give the 4.5 / 5 stars for how well it handles, how durable it is, and its general ease of use. Check out the attached photos for more information regarding size and charging!

This little helicopter is perfect for indoor flying adventures though you'll have to be mindful of its limitations!First limitation: the helicopter is controlled via infrared (IR) signals, not radio. This means that a large object, such as a sofa or door will cut off the control signal if you fly the helicopter behind said object. Result? The 'copter just stops flying and falls to the ground!Bright sunlight can overwhelm the IR sensor on the 'copter which will result in a complete loss of control with a crash being a high probability event. Note to self - avoid flying in front of the large picture window when midday sunlight is steaming in!I moved my flying adventures into the workshop to avoid the aforementioned large picture window and sunlit conditions. The workshop is equipped with several large florescent lights instead of windows. It seems those big, powerful florescent lights will also interfere with the remote controller. On several occasions, when the helicopter flew close to the lights, it would behave erratically - going to full power, rotating wildly left or right, sometimes losing power completely. This didn't happen often, but now and then when the 'copter was near the florescent lights it would do its own thing.Second limitation: this helicopter can't move forward or backwards very fast. This might be a good thing depending upon your perspective. The downside is that if you fly the helicopter near fans, air conditioners or in other breezy areas you might not be able to overcome the airflow and could end up being pushed into a wall or other object.Third limitation: the battery's recharge time is fairly long - about 35 to 40 minutes when using the included USB cable. I don't know how long it takes to recharge using the handheld controller as the power source.Fourth limitation: maybe I'm missing something - the controller can be set to one of two channel but the 'copter doesn't appear to have a channel selector.Hey, for just under $20 those few limitations are something I can easily live with. Now let's go over the helicopter's strong points!Durable: I've crashed the copter multiple times and have not damaged it, yet. The most spectacular crash was when it hit the second floor ceiling (pilot error) and fell nearly 21 feet to the first floor hallway below. A hardwood floor, I might add. No damage!Good flight time: My helicopter has undergone a dozen charging / flying cycles thus far. The flight time is roughly seven minutes depending upon what you're doing. Sustained hovering will drain the battery a bit quicker, repeated landings and takeoffs with short pauses between will stretch the flying event a bit closer to ten minutes.Inexpensive: It's under twenty bucks! You get a gyro stabilized helicopter with an IR remote control for less than going to the movies (popcorn included).Ready for some flying tips?First tip: the helicopter rotors produce a noticeable downwash. That moving air has to go somewhere and, if you're flying near a solid object, that moving air will create turbulence that may cause you to lose control of the helicopter. Keep some distance between your helicopter and walls, furniture and people. Avoid flying in "tight" areas such as narrow hallways, closets and so forth.Second tip: small throttle movements translate into large altitude changes. Smoothly advance the throttle until you're hovering. Make small throttle adjustments to control altitude. It's fairly easy to develop a feeling for how much power is needed. Practice in a safe area and don't rush to push the flight envelope.Third tip: some cats are naturally drawn to flying objects and will attempt to swat them from the sky. Did I mention this helicopter is durable?Fourth tip: watch out for dust bunnies, pet fur, hair and similar loose debris. That stuff will wrap around the rotor shaft and will gum up the works.Well, that's about it. If you're looking for a helicopter to fly outdoors keep looking. This model of remote controlled helicopter is great for indoor flying.