As a child, I had RC (radio controlled) cars a few times and enjoyed playing with them. However, they ate batteries like no tomorrow and since they weren't rechargeable, play time was quite short. Years later, the battery technology has gotten a lot better and rechargeable batteries are in almost everything. As an adult, I've owned an RC Hummer and an RC hovercraft, but have never owned a helicopter. I've always been fascinating with them; however, I never made the leap into owning one.
Last week I was looking for something on the Internet and came across an advertisement for a company that sells RC helicopters. After a little research, I found a very beginner helicopter, the Syma S107
, for about $30. I decided to give it a try knowing that it was a toy and I didn't expect a whole lot from it given that some helicopters I saw cost significantly more.
Once I received the helicopter, I plugged it into USB and charged it for 45 minutes or so. My first few tries were not very good and had hard or crash landings. The blades are quite durable and seemed to handle my poor flying (however, I did order some additional main blades and tail blades off eBay).
Flying a helicopter is definitely not like driving an RC car; once you take your finger off the throttle, it immediately falls to the ground and crashes. Also, hovering isn't as easy as just making it lift off the ground and leaving it there. You have to continuously adjust it to keep it in one place. I'm now 3 days into it and am starting to make progress at controlling it. My office is quite large and allows me some room to fly, but I keep hitting my desk chair (yes, I should move) or the base of my punching bag.
This little helicopter has definitely piqued my interest in RC helicopters and I'll be going to a hobby store later this week to start drooling (I'm looking at the Blade mCX2
).
I've been searching for a hobby for years; my hobby has always been writing software. However, I'm not really sure I can consider my work a hobby! I'm excited enough, that this little helicopter may have opened my eyes to something I didn't know could be fun.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Durable main blades
- Durable body and landing skids (haven't broken then, yet)
- Easy to charge with USB
- Replacement parts are cheap and readily available on eBay
Cons
- Infrared remote; you basically can't fly it outside and fluorescent lights could interfere with control.
- Short flight time
- Manual is poorly translated from Chinese
- A little difficult to master
- A lot of drift even with no wind; this could be all RC helicopters, but from what I've read, the better ones are easier to hover in place
- Tail rotor is easily broken (it comes with a spare, but I'm already using it)
Summary
For $30, this is definitely a fun toy. However, I wouldn't consider it a child's toy as it isn't easy to control. My 3 year old son drives my RC truck, but I wouldn't consider handing him the controls to the helicopter. If you've never flown an RC helicopter before, don't expect to be flying perfectly on the first flight. It will take some time to learn the controls and master flight.
The biggest downside I can see to this is that after the first taste of flight, you'll want to get something better!
Comments
September 4th, 2010
yogibear
Dude these are soooooooooooooooo easy to control u could pretty much pick it up and fly maybe yours is defective because like you i had little experience and i could fly with no problem
September 4th, 2010
Scott Gruby
I didn’t say I couldn’t fly it. I’ve now flown a Blade mcx2 and there is no comparison between the Syma and the mcx2. As the guy at the hobby shop said when I got the mcx2, the goal of the cheap ones is to keep them from crashing while the goal of the more expensive ones is to fly them.
September 6th, 2010
Review: Blade mCX2 | Scott Gruby’s Blog
[…] getting a Syma S107 RC helicopter, I was quickly hooked on RC helicopters. I went to the local hobby shop, Discount Hobby Warehouse, […]
September 26th, 2010
crazyrcdeals.com
the addiction is just starting
October 11th, 2010
chartrav
Hmm, its a great little chopper! only im somewhat disapointed with the s107 fly time “ i have two and both are well short of a minute airborn!!!
October 13th, 2010
Richard
Need help: I have the same copter and have been teaching my young son to fly it. We’re having a great time! We’ve had several crashes and the copter’s proved durable. However, after a crash from ceiling height yesterday, I can no longer get the S107 to hover.
It will rise and start to hover but then starts to make progressively larger circles. The blades have a few very small nicks that didn’t seem to be causing problems before. The tail rotor was slightly bent but I bent it back and it appears to be straight.
Any thoughts? Any help is appreciated!
October 14th, 2010
crazyrcdeals
In my honest opinion if you broke your syma helicopter if i may suggest to get a 4 channel fixed pitch helicopter, Its bit harder to control but it will teach your hands the proper reflexes when you get to buy the bigger more expensive models, would also help to get a RC simulator.
For more information regarding this
http://crazyrcdeals.com/tipsonwhattobuy.html
http://crazyrcdeals.com/HoneybeeFPreview.html
October 14th, 2010
Scott Gruby
While I agree that a 4 channel helicopter is going to be a lot better than the Syma, I believe there is a lot of value in the coaxial ones before moving up to a fixed pitch. I am having a lot of fun with my Blade mCX2 and CX3. I do want to get a fixed pitch one in the near future (Blade mSR), but still need to get better with the coaxial ones first.
October 14th, 2010
crazyrcdeals
For me getting an mcx is a safe choice but from my experience and of course people have different preferences, i grew tired of coaxials after a couple of weeks cause i cannot fly it outside as it tends to get blown away by the wind. What i needed at that time was a heli that i can fly in the backyard or in the park. The MSR is a good heli from what i heard, i haven’t flown it personally but i own a walkera 4#3 i think its the same size, problem with these micro fp helicopters are they tend to be twitchier compared to the bigger honeybee fp’s. Bigger rotor diameter means more stability.
One good thing about the msr’s though was since they were lightweight in an event of a crash damage on the heli and its surroundings will be minimal to none. I have my walkera stuck on my curtains a couple of times, the helicopter is safe but wife wasn’t too happy about it though :)
If you decided to go fp route check out radds school of flight that was the one that get me started on fp flying
Sorry for the long post more power to your blog
October 14th, 2010
Scott Gruby
I can fly my CX3 outside; it’s almost too big to fly inside. Having the ultra micro is great as I can fly it inside and most of my flying is at night.
I’ve been pretty happy with the Blade series, but am not quite ready to get a bigger fixed pitch helicopter; maybe after I get an mSR and get good with it.
October 16th, 2010
Chris
I am just getting into the RC Helicopters, I have found it to be a great hobby and for me it totally reduces my stresses!
Just a pity that winter is on it’s way. We now need to find indoor sites to fly em, or pray for a good day.
December 28th, 2010
cris
Anybody know where I can send a S107 for repair? The lower rotor no longer engages. Thanks
December 30th, 2010
Peggy Fowler
Can you tell me what might be the problem with it doesn’t seem to hold a charge? It was great for a few days, but now, even after having it plugged in for 8-10 hours, it isn’t fully charged.
December 30th, 2010
Scott Gruby
You might try a different USB port. Depending on the computer, it may not charge when the computer is asleep.
January 3rd, 2011
Pat
I bought a S006 Alloy Shark which is a little bigger and 3.5 channels. I also have one made by Cobra RC of the same size so my son and I can fly them at the same time. (27 MHz and 40 MHz controllers). Out of the box and after charging them both, the Cobra flew beautifully but the S006 only tipped over after winding it up. It’s obviously defective but I cannot seem to find anywhere on the web where I can attempt (I know it’s probably a pipe dream) to find any sort of warranty service/exchange?
January 21st, 2011
Colleen
My daughter loves her S107 Helicopter that she got for Christmas. But now it will not take a charge at all. I have tried all the ports on my computer and still nothing. What other trouble shooting do you have or do we just need to take it to a hobby shop for repairs?
January 21st, 2011
Scott Gruby
Apparently LiPo batteries (the kind that is in the S107 as well as my other helicopters) are a bit temperamental and have to be cared for well. This means not running the battery completely down and recharging them before they get too low. I’ve noticed that some of the batteries on my helicopters have simply failed after 20-30 charges. Luckily, replacing them is quite easy as they’re removable.
Unfortunately I think that a hobby shop is going to laugh at trying to repair a $30 helicopter. My local hobby shop wasn’t really interested in helping me repair my $100 helicopter. Good luck!
January 29th, 2011
Jeremy Seay
I’m almost certain one of the connectors to the balancing bar broke off. If it flies up then does a large rotating circle it sounds like it might either be the balancing bar is missing a weight, or one of the 2 connectors is missing.
February 9th, 2011
Danny Fayne
Hi Scott. I’m looking for a Heli myself. I got hooked flying an airhog but obviously it doesn’t take long to want something better. I found the MCX2 and the S107 on Amazon. The reviews on the S107 almost make it seems that it’s almost as good as the Blade. I haven’t have flown either yet. What’s your opinion? Is the Blade worth the extra $100 bucks?
February 9th, 2011
Scott Gruby
Hi Danny,
If you have the opportunity to goto a local hobby shop and check out the mCX2, I’d do that. It is a completely different helicopter than the S107. The S107 is a 3 channel vs the 4 channel of the mCX2; this means that you can move the helicopter side to side in addition to up/down, turn left/turn right, and forward/reverse. This extra level of maneuverability makes a huge difference in control. The S107 gave me a taste of flying and within about a week I bought the mCX2. Unfortunately, I didn’t stop there :-). The next step up, in my opinion, from the mCX2 is the Blade mSR which I really like flying; I’m not sure I could have gone from the S107 to the mSR, however.
March 18th, 2011
Aaron
I think its also a sweet like chopper! I have not yet tried a more expensive one, I can bet they are alot better. I’m just on a limited budget so I buy what I can, and yes they are really addicting
May 4th, 2011
louis
whenever i try to fly it, it just hovers and doesn’t get of the ground. help please?
May 11th, 2011
Richard
Does it charge from the controller? Pull the canopy off and check the connection at the charging port and the connections at the battery.
March 27th, 2012
Chris
The Syma S107 is great for beginners but like you said not very good for actually flying. My son takes them outside (although not what they are intended for) and they go straight up with no steering capability.
September 27th, 2012
Nick
Hey,
Thanks for all the useful info. I am considering buying a Syma and was wondering if there is a difference between S107 and S109. Thanks a lot