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Sunday, September 04, 2011

SYMA S107G Review + Modifications + How NOT to fly your SYMA S107G


This is my 3-Channel SYMA (pronounced as 'sea-ma') S107G Coaxial Helicopter @ charging station.

Flying the extremely stable coaxial bird can be both fun and soothing. 

Modifications to my SYMA S107G
1) I took the tail supports and decorations off to reduce some weight hoping to fly it a little faster. I could have had the tail blade changed and modified too but decided that the initial 'amputation' was sufficient. It does fly a little faster considering now the bird actually does inch a little more forward during flight. So that is the fun aspect. 

2) I took the canopy off. Using the principles of moment, I moved the battery forward so that the front becomes 'heavier' without adding additional weight to the front. If the front is heavier, the heli will be pointing downwards more during flight that with the battery in its original position, thus making forward flight faster. Note: Remember to put back the canopy.

3) I modified the transmitter by taking out the spring out of the throttle stick and now the bird basically hovers hands-off (the transmitter). Note: Unless the bird is trimmed it will never sit in the air (hover) nicely. 

Verdict:

Slightly faster. If you push the throttle and the forward stick together, it moves even quicker. But do this only when your heli is in a low position. =)

Overall:
It is quite relaxing to see it hover and move slowly across the room, right in front of you, flying high or low if I chose to fly it that way. Looking at the way it glides through the air gracefully and steadily can be therapeutic. But more often than not I would fly it quite aggressively. 

After countless initial crashes in the beginning while learning about the controls and flight characteristics, I can now take it anywhere and anyhow I wanted it to. (Within the limits of a 3-channel rc heli of course). 

A summary of what you should not do while flying SYMA S107G
1) Do not take it close to the ceiling. The bird will be sucked up. Nose dive after that to ground zero.
2) Do not fly close to the wall too. The same reasons as above but this time the suction direction is lateral rather than vertical.
3) Fly under NO WIND conditions in an enclosed area. The bird simply goes off course at the slightest breeze. Unless you are pretty good at the controls, you might crash it to the walls and find the bird at ground zero very soon.
4) Fly within transmitting range (i.e. <10m) and within sight.

Final Comments
While it is fun and easy to fly SYMA S107G, I am beginning to find it a little slow. The next step would be to fly a Fixed Pitch and a Collective Pitch Heli.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I myself have made the same modifications to my S107 except for moving the battery slightly forward, I also inverted the tail rotor which adds to the fun of flying as forwards is now backward, and backwards is now forwards!!!