Customer Reviews

3-Ch Indoor RC Chinook Helicopter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Syma S026 Chinook Transport is a fine little indoor helicopter. This model came with a dedicated charger that quickly recharges the battery and allows for a flight time in excess of five minutes.

The control has additional features from the typical 3 channel models that allow the operator to adjust forward and reverse flight and will hover in one place without spinning or yawing. I've found that in my small space using the power for elevation and the attitude controls for forward or reverse angles with the yaw control dial allows me to navigate with precision. It's a unique experience and quite impressive to land on a "designated heli-port" with pecision.

Now for the downer, so to speak. The first unit I received had a defective board and was returned to the seller. The replacement unit was received with a li-poly battery that had reached the limits of its life, it definietly had been a demo unit but I've no complaints as I was happy to have a functioning model.

This could have been tragic but I had acquired some li-poly batteries for replacment parts for other Syma models and I had a new S026 battery available. Installation was a pickle because the units haven't been designed for easy battery replacement but that will probably be addressed in the next models. I will be replacing the "stock" battery with a 400mah battery soon and I expect that it will increase my air time to over fifteen minutes, but ten minutes that can be had with the stock battery is great.

I'll take a moment to discuss the battery replacement. The helicopter is disassembled by removing eight screws that join the two halfs of the fuselage. Once the fuselage is removed access to the battery, motors, and control board is accomplished. It is possible to acquire spare motors, control boards and batteries for this unit but the wires of each component are fine and take a light touch. If you don't mind working with delicate electronic components this can be enjoyable. The original unit had a defective board, apparently one of the diodes was reversed and it was easier to get the replacement unit than to spend the effort to locate the defective component or purchase a new board.

I would like to make it a matter of record that I do not fault the retailer TPA Store for the problems that ocurred, the unit was delivered in a sealed package with an obvious manufacturing defect. In my eagerness I disassembled the unit and did a diaognostic on it to find the problem, which I suspected was an battery malfunction, I was wrong. They were quite gratious and eagerly replaced the unit to my satisfaction even with the knowledge that I had disassembled the aircraft. I have been flying this little aircraft to my delight since its arrival, after the replacement of the Li-poly battery. So, yes I am a happy camper.

This little Chinook provided literally minutes of entertainment here in Afghanistan. Until the battery would not retain enough charge after 4 uses to lift the thing off the ground. If the battery would not have died on me it would have received a higher rating.

i love this toy, it performs impressivly (though i didnt understand the rotor blance at first)

and quite frankly it shouldnt be working right now
i was stupid and flew it outside 15 minutes after i opened it and flew it into a pond where i had to fish it out with a net

i dried it off and it worked fine, i also spray pained the entire thing black

the inner frame isnt very strong (i stregthed it with a toothpick) so plugging the charger in was a challenge at first

but, i have a blast with this toy that i have violently abused and it still works without fail

the shipping was more than the toy, still worth it

I realy like the helicopter it flyies very high.before i did not know how to fly the helicopter but i got the hang of it.it flew very smoothly.

Great helicopter in terms of control. It's a very unique one compared to single engine RCs.. the battery lasts about 10 minutes on a full charge. I charged mine many many times and that was the average life span for me. My dad loved it so I ended up giving it to him. For me, it was worth what I paid.. It's great for indoor use, unusable outside for the most part so keep that in mind when considering the purchase. Get the S022 if you want longer battery life and outdoor play.. the S022 is also a lot more accessible for maintenance.. this unit is basically all in one.. I imagine changing blades would be fairly simple, but even with the abuse I put it through that wasn't necessary. Also, I wouldn't pay more than 35 or 40 bucks for it and remember, the S022 is only 10 or 15 bucks more and A LOT bigger. If you have a lot of space, go with the S022.. either way, they're both nice.. I've seen kiosks selling the small one for 50 bucks and the S022 for $100 or more so Amazon definitely has the best prices as of May 2010.

Sadly, the battery in the product stopped being able to hold a charge after the first few uses. And since the problem started happening past the 14-day returns window we cannot get our money back.

If you accept that this product will not last beyond the day you give it then it is a fun investment for $20 to liven a party. If they built it strong then it would not be light and you would not buy so many. It is like a better wine or champaign. It gets people laughing.