Flying the Toy Helicopter

I blogged about getting a toy helicopter as a gift. There are photos in the original blog entry.

First off, the thing is a bitch to fly. The collective/throttle is not very responsive. Because the helo is powered by a tiny rechargable battery, you have to add more throttle as you fly to keep the same power output. You have to be very aggressive with the trim; it will go out of trim for almost any reason or no reason and start corkscrewing around the rotor shaft. Sometimes it will fly along and bang out a turn for no discernible reason. Maybe it's just this one, but it doesn't fly forward in a straight line very well.

The big secret is this: If it appears that it is going to crash or fly into something, cut the power! Let the throttle go completely. The bird is plastic, it won't be damaged in a ballistic crash, but if you fly into things or crash under power, you can damage the rotor blades.

Having said all that, it is fun to fly it around.