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(More customer reviews)I've flown model airplanes all my life but other than the Air Hogs 2 channel helis I've not messed with helicopters much. The main reason being that larger ones are money pits for the novice flyer. Every crash is a guaranteed $30 or more down the drain and crashes are going to happen on a regular basis for most people.
I had a couple Air Hog Havoc's last year and loved the little helis. They were entertaining to fly and practically indestructible. Recently a friend let me fly his Blade MCX2 and I was amazed at how far the micro heli's have come in a year. So, just to get my feet wet in the micro helis again, I bought a $29 Syma S107 just to get back into the hobby. The S107 was a lot better than the Air Hogs Havoc and I was amazed how stable and sturdy it was. I also bought a Blade MCX2 and a Blade MSR. The Blade helis arrived last night after sending a S107 back because one of the S107 motors stopped working after about 30 flights. I flew the MCX2 and MSR helis until after 2am this morning. I couldn't quit playing with them. What a blast. The following is a review of all my recent equipment so anyone looking for something faster or slower than the MCX2 will have references to check out.
The Syma S107...
This is a really great heli for only $36 shipped!! You just can't beat the price and the S107 is built like a tank so you can't hardly break it. Compared to the Blade helis, the S107 looks and feels like a tank. It has a metal frame and landing gear believe it or not. Well, even so, I managed to break it somehow. One of the rotor motors stopped working after about 30 flights. I think that was a fluke though because the S107 got hundreds of 4 and 5 star ratings. It was very easy and fun to fly while it lasted though and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a very low cost micro heli.
A few things to note about the S107 relative to the Blade helis though..
The S107 battery is not removable and takes 50 minutes to recharge. That means you fly for 5 minutes then its at least 50 minutes before you are in the air again. That's a huge drawback if you want to "play" for an hour or two straight. Also, the S107 has no side to side control but that's not a big deal because you have rudder (yaw) control that lets you point it where you want it to go then apply forward elevator. It is controlled by infrared which means you can't fly it in sunlight and if something comes between you and the heli you loose control (like a TV remote). The Blade helis are radio controlled and can be flown outside and at much longer range.
The MCX2...
It takes a few minutes to get the feel for which fingers need to do what to control the MCX2 but this heli is so stable its really not hard to get to the point of flying around the room and having a lot of fun in no time (just one or two flights). If you get confused and the heli gets out of control just take your hands off the controls and it will stabilize. The MCX2 is the perfect indoor flyer. It will go fast enough to make it a challenge but its slow and stable enough that you aren't always bouncing it off the walls indoors. By the way, bouncing off walls and furniture doesn't seem to damage the heli or the things it hits. I tend to fly beyond my abilities so I probaly crash it at least 5x per charge and nothing has been damaged yet. The only thing you have to remember is to turn the throttle to the lowest setting BEFORE the blades hit something. That will reduce your chances of damaging anything. With the rates set to low (it has a dual rate controller or you can use any DSM2 controller) you can make precise landings on objects smaller than a piece of paper with ease. You can do it on high rates but its not as easy. I spent 95% of my time last night flying the MCX2 and about 5% flying the MSR. I flew for about 4 hours continuous, switching batteries in and out of a 4 port charger as soon as one ran out.
After about 15 flights I moved the flybar control arms to the longer pins. This gives more control movement and makes the MCX2 faster and more responsive in pitch and roll. I couldn't tell a huge difference but it was noticeably faster and more challenging.
One negative about the MCX2 package is that it only comes with one flight battery and the charger is only a single port charger that runs on batteries. The charger can be powered by an AC adapter but the adapter must be purchased separately.
The MSR...
One reason I also bought the MSR was to get the extra batteries and the 4 port charger (the charger retails for around $40). At least that's my excuse to justify buying two toys. The MSR package gives more bang for the buck if you are a semi-experienced flier. With 3 flight batteries you can fly almost continuously and never have to wait for a battery to finish charging which is the only way to go in my opinion. 4 batteries is optimum.
The MSR feels totally different. Control of the MSR is not as intuitive as the MCX2. I found myself flying it into the wall and not knowing for sure what I had done wrong. Don't get me wrong, its not really hard to fly but it just requires you to know the controls well enough to not have to think much before you make a move. Its also much faster on high rates which gives you much less time to respond. I think that once my fingers get "programmed" to control the MCX2 without thinking then the MSR will become my main choice to fly. The MSR is a LOT faster than the MCX2 so using low rates indoors is a good idea. If you have programmable rates and you are a novice flyer then you might want to drop them down to 30% or so on low rate. Exponential settings also help.
The Spektrum DX7...
I bought a Spektrum DX7 radio so I can use a single radio with my planes and helis. I hear that the radio that comes with the RTF MCX2 and MSR is decent but I also read that the Spektrum radio will give much finer resolution so you have better control of the aircraft. I didn't like having to move the throttle back and forth on the S107 to keep it at one altitude while hovering. Using the Spektrum DX7 (the $60 DX5 would probably do the same) I don't have to move the throttle back and forth to keep the heli in one spot while hovering. Not to mention, the adjustable dual rates and exponential functions available which make the fine tuning even better.
In a nutshell, the DX7 (or the DX6i) lets you fine tune the throttle, elevator, aileron and rudder settings so the heli is much easier to control. With the flick of a switch you can move from low rates and exponential settings that make the heli very slow and controllable to full out settings that make it fast and challenging. You can even create settings using negative exponential that will cause the heli to feel unstable so you can start practicing for that full collective pitch bird you've been eying. There are many many more adjustments and mixes available on the DX7 that can be used for all types of airplanes and helis. Dual rates and exponential settings are the main ones needed to make flying the micro helis more enjoyable.
Overview...
Syma S107
Fun to fly
Price is great
More toylike than the Blade offerings
Battery is permanent so you fly 5 minutes then wait 50 minutes for it to charge
Blade MCX2
Super stable but still fast enough to be a lot of fun
Seems like much more refined than the "toy" helis I've seen previously
Only comes with one flight battery but new extras only cost around $7 each
Comes with a one port charger and an AC cord is not included (comes with 4 AA batteries for the charger)
This is the heli I would recommend for anyone who wants a very functional heli but hasn't flown helis before
Blade MSR
Stable but much less so than the MCX2
Much faster on full rates than the MCX2
Comes with 4 port charger with AC adapter ($40 value). This allows you to fly continuously without having to wait for batteries to charge.
Comes with 2 flight batteries
Fast enough to fly outside in very light wind
Spektrum DX7
Having adjustable dual rates, exponential functions, and a multiple configuration switch setting makes switching between full speed flight and very stable flight super easy.
Playing with the control curves is a lot of fun and enhances the flying enjoyment.
Comes with a rechargeable 1500 mAh battery that lasts all day on a charge
20 model memory means you can fly all your aircraft using one radio without having to remember any settings
Spektrum technology means never having to worry about radio interference from another radio
I hope this review is helpful to folks who are wondering which heli they should buy.
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Blade mCX2 BNFLike the original Blade mCX, the Blade mCX2 is easy enough for anyone to fly and small enough to fly just about anywhere. The mCX2 has the same coaxial, counter-rotating rotor head design as the current mCX, but it adds an extra shot of excitement with user-selectable swash sensitivity and flashing LED lights that are built right into the body. The pilot can change the control settings to enable this heli to perform at higher speeds than the beginner settings. This helicopter also boasts heading-lock like performance for maximum control. It also boasts more powerful motors and a higher capacity 120mAh battery pack.The mCX2 is the ultimate beginner friendly machine with unsurpassed stability, incredible control, and extreme durability.
With a factory-installed 5-in-1 control unit with Spektrum 2.4GHz DSM2 compatible receiver, main motor ESCs, mixer, gyro, and fully-proportional servoscomepre-installed. This Bind-N-Fly® version without transmitter is perfectfor those who already own a DSM2 aircraft transmitter. The Blade mCX2’s ultra-micro size and weight make it possible to fly this heli anywhere indoors.
It all adds up to more fun than you ever thought possible with a coaxial ultra micro heli, whether you’re a newbie or a pro.
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