Z008 4ch Co-axial Helicopter w/ Gyro Review

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(More customer reviews)It's simply an excellent toy / value. It works near perfectly and has given me hours of fun! It's durable within reason and the 4th channel just adds to the challenge and enjoyment of living room IR control helicopter flying. Our little yorkie seems to enjoy it too. :)
Unfortunately I didn't buy it (this time) from Amazon. However, I'll compare it to the excellent Syma S107 to give you a baseline for the review. I use the Syma Syma S107 R/C Helicopter with Built-in Gyroscope Remote - Red because it is an amazingly fun, easy to fly and durable coaxial toy helicopter that SHOULD be your first entry into the novice RC micro helicopter hobby.
In case you aren't already aware of this, micros are very durable compared to the heavier and larger models. You are confined to the still air of the indoors but compensated with a very inexpensive hobby where initial cost and repair are low while bringing housebound fun to a new level.
The Z008 is heavier than the S107, 44 vs 38 grams. Other than the width, the sizes are very close. Both being coaxial makes them stable and relatively slow. However, the Z008 is noticeably faster in forward locomotion. The extra weight of 6 grams does two things. Descent is faster with the Z008. This makes it a "bit" more difficult to fly - in still air. It would appear the extra weight also diminishes the flying time by about 35%. The Z008 has a 140 mah lipo vs the 150 mah S107 so battery power is similar. The six minutes of fun after a measured 20 minutes of charging time via the USB charging cable is enough for me. I always feel rewarded after the short flight because the lovely little Avatar is still intact and I'm ready for a break from the concentration of obstacle avoidance. I timed the S107 charging at 28 minutes so it appears the Z008 is a little faster in that respect.
The fit and finish of the Avatar is very good and the appearance is excellent. The Avatar is as pretty as its picture. The two "outrigger" motors really do work! It takes a new level of concentration and "skill" to develop but that's the intriguing aspect of the human brain. Eventually the instinct to use the additional 4th axis becomes natural - more or less. The little side motors make a pleasant miniature roar as you adjust throttle and side motion simultaneously. I haven't mastered this combined feature but it is fun to experiment with and I feel that I'm making progress with it. Like the S107, I have learned to make landings on snack trays and my closed notebook computer's lid. I have concluded that the additional weight (over the S107) makes the landings a little more stable due to the weight vs prop backwash.
The Avatar USB charging cable works in reverse of the S107. The USB connector glows reddish while charging and turns itself off when the LIPO battery is full. This is exactly opposite of the S107. The two cables are unfortunately NOT interchangeable.
The IR controller is pretty standard in regard to these low cost units. I don't like the lack of a spring return to zero throttle (the S107 has this) and have added a good sized rubber band horizontally across the control to pull the lever down. It works fine but looks bad. I am surprised that my four IR controllers with three frequencies each do not interchange in any way. They don't seem to interfere with our Samsung flat screen TV control either. Apparently there must be a very wide range of IR frequencies available. I could wish that the frequencies were easily altered so I could use one or two controllers. By the way, I don't recommend using the controller batteries to charge the helicopter. If you put good alkaline batteries in the IR controller and DON'T use them to charge your helicopter you will probably have good batteries for a year or two. If you choose to charge the heli from the controller you can expect to replace those 6 AA alkalines after an hour of flying time.
The Avatar Z008 is simply delightful. I look forward to playing with it whenever I have a little spare time. If you get the same quality that I received I think you will be very pleased with what you get. Just keep in mind that you need to be reasonably careful with this little bird. It can take contact with table legs and even fall 7 feet to the carpet with no issues but hard blade contact under power will eventually break something. You get two spare rotor blades, a tail blade and outrigger motor blade with the kit but I would hate to resort to my spare parts. I don't know how accessible replacements parts are and I hope to never need them. I recommend that you buy this great toy if you are responsible and careful. If you are the type of person who respects the engineering and accomplishment of this type of technology you will positively love this little joy toy. I sure do!!!


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This heli newly releasedin 2010 with an eye catching outlook. Silver blue canopy, cool streamline shape and looks like wear sunglasses. It even take care with night flying by installing some glittering LEDs! The most unique design must be its 2 rotors aside, recall me the gunship in Avatar! Maybe the manufacturer was inspired by AvatarThis micro size 4 channels coaxial toy heli equipped with 3.7V 140 mAh Lipo battery and 3 axis gyro. Z008 is very stable in hovering and move in all 6 directions, achieve hand free hovering without difficulties. The alloy metal frame and elastic blade reduce the chance of replacement after crashes.

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