Micro Helicopters at RadioShack

[keith92]

if zz's arnt being discontinued...how about the xmods, theres alot of talk about them being discontinued. if the zzs arnt i sure hope that the xmods are going to stay also.

[rfnagel]

Originally posted by Azimov
OK, that chopper is pretty ugly. But, if it flies as well as the hyped ad copy suggests, it may be worth it.

FYI, most of the (cheaper) RC helicopters are butt-ugly <G>... quite strange designs, but I guess that's what they have to do to get a small micro RC helicopter controllably airborne <G>.

@All, another one is sold by "Jasman Toys" ( http://www.jasmantoys.com ), the "Spin Blade" ( http://www.flight-factory.com ). BTW, I have their "guideline" RC (for lack of a better term) version of it, the "Command Force Series 1 Micro Chopper Patrol" <G> ( http://www.commandforcetoys.com/products.htm ) -> http://www.commandforcetoys.com/images/cpmini.jpg (mine is the Apache, not the one pictured here) -

They also sell a larger version of the chopper, but I bought the small one (kinda cramped here in my travel trailer out in the woods <BG>). I saw it at K-Mart, and was fondly reminded of a similar one to that I had when I was a kid... much larger than this modern version, but not half as detailed. Hehe, had no choice but to buy it <BG> -

[rfnagel]

Originally posted by rfnagel
I saw it at K-Mart, and was fondly reminded of a similar one to that I had when I was a kid... much larger than this modern version, but not half as detailed.

Folks,

A MILLION applogies for getting so off-topic here, but attached is a pic that I found at EBay... of one of the ORIGINAL one's (circa 1971) that I was refering to in my quote above, that I used to have when I was a kid - Ahhhhh... the memories -

P.S. Some of these things are going for several hundred dollars over at EBay.... wish I still had mine <G> -

[Azimov]

Oh Wow! I had one of those too! It was limited in what it could do, but was fun as hell. Thanks for the reminder!

[rfnagel]

Originally posted by Azimov
Oh Wow! I had one of those too! It was limited in what it could do, but was fun as hell. Thanks for the reminder!

Hehe, good to see that there are some other old farts (other than myself) here in the forums as well <BG> - One would have to be around mid-40s in age to remember these things.

BTW, if you enjoyed your VertiBird when you were a kid, the "Command Force Series 1 Micro Chopper Patrol" that I mentioned previously (or the slightly larger version) is a must-have :thumbsup: ... run out to your local K-mart/Wal-Mart/toy store ASAP -

P.S. @All, check this out, a little freeware software toy/game type thing -> http://www.peterhirschberg.com/vertisim -

[Namuna]

Okay, looks like the link to the Micro Mosquito at RadioShack is a pre-release (inside info) find!

It seems the "Micro Mosquito" was only just recently announced:
http://www.slashgear.com/micro-mosqu...ies-221777.php

There's a video on that link...That thing looks SMOOTH!

Ahhh man, now I gotta order me one of these too!

[Namuna]

Okay, upon further search I found this thread about the Micro Mosquito:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...light=mosquito

The designer of the Heli (Petter) puts in lots of info about the heli there.

[Azimov]

Cool stuff o green one! I ordered one of the Picco Zs to check it out. I should get it Saturday. If it flies half way decent, I'll probably get more.
I'm liking this Mosquitto more and more as I read about it. I don't particularly like the dual rotor types, but I'm thinking if I lose the tail boom, I could make a cool space pod looking thingy out of it. But, I see a tail rotor on there that looks like it may be responsible for the pitch of the craft, so i don't know if I can move it to a new location or not. Still, it may be worth a look.

[rfnagel]

(re: the VertiBird) -> http://www.whirlybirdcentral.com/ ... brings a sentimental tear to the eye -

The RS had a picco Z laying out (broken though so I couldn't fly it). I know the little helicopters need to be light, but that thing felt completely flimsy. It would never survive in my room. I have a bad habit of breaking things... I need something a bit more robust.

The idea of an in house flying RC is, however, quite appealing.

[Namuna]

Don't let the initial appearance fool you...The PicooZ is IMPRESSIVELY durable! It just might seem flimsy because it's made of materials that's meant to withstand crashes by folks that've never flown a heli.

I got a little more flying time today when I was flying the one I gave my Dad (for his bday). I crashed that thing no less than 5 times, and a couple of those times I thought for sure something was going to be busted...But NOPE, all was fine (heck I think the thing actually flew BETTER after the crash! )

It's going to take lots of practice and some tweaking, but I have NO DOUBT that once I've gotten the hang of this thing I'll be zipping it around INSIDE the house (I live in a small condo).

[Azimov]

I finally got my PiccoZ today! My first impression of it was like Jazz's. It looked very flimsy. The ****pit is made of styrophome no less. But, I have to say the thing is very durable. I've crashed it many many times and it has suffered no damage. Here's a pic next to an SE for scale.

[Azimov]

I must say, I'm very impressed with this little copter. After alot of tweaking, it flies exeptionally well. I think negotiating a course would be very difficult as the thing takes some getting used to. After some practice, I was able to take off from my hand and hover around the center of the room. Picking a direction to fly though is very tricky.

Haha!! You can't say kokpit. You have to appreciate the filters sometimes. For a moment I was thinking, "Azimov, using inappropriate language?"

I may have to get one of these, I have spent a bit of money recently though. If only I could get my aerospace engineering roommate to buy one and let me play with it.

[Azimov]

Not only is it hard to fly the thing, but it's behavior changes as the battery weakens. It's not to difficult though as I can alrady manage to take off from the bed, hover around the room and safely land. Steering is just a matter of practice I think as I was starting to get the hang of spinning around in order to stop and change direction.
I don't see any lag in the signal as some IR systems seem to have. It takes a few minutes to charge, but flies for quite some time. The heli has a tiny blinking blue LED in the kockpit (lol, stupid filter) that's real handy when the thing crashes behind the couch.
I'll definately be getting more of these. They are a buttload of fun! The copters run in 3 different frequencies. The heli is preset to one or another of the three, but the TX can be switched between the three frequencies. I've looked on mine and don't see a way to designate which frequency it is except that it works on the controller setting of "A".
I highly recomend these cheap little helis.
EDIT: I found the little "ch A" on the bottom between the landing fins. I'm still not sure if the different channels are designated on the box though.