Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter : A New Flying Experience

Courtesy of www.rchelicopterfun.com

The AR.Drone quadricopter or quadrocopter is a revolutionary product merging the very best of several worlds, such as video gaming, modeling, and augmented reality. The Parrot produced quadricopter is remote-controlled by an iPhone4, iPhone3GS, iPad or iPod Touch 4th Generation and equipped with several sensors, such as a vertical camera, front camera, and an ultrasound altimeter. The best thing is it could also be used in video gaming, for instance AR.FlyingAce, a battle between two AR.Drones. Read more our Parrot AR.Drone review.

You can get these in the package; the AR. Drone, four types of adapter, 1,000 mAh Li-Po battery, 3 cells Li-Po balancing charger, indoor and outdoor hull, sticker for outdoor hull and a manual (see above pictures for detail).

How To Fly AR.Drone

To fly this thing, you need to have the Apple products like iPad, iPod or iPhone, and then you need to download the Free Flight software to control the AR. Drone at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/free-flight/id373065271?mt=8, but you need to register first. You can alter the pre-programmed command by using this software if you want to have a different flying experience.

Auto-Flight Features

The sophisticated gadget comes with several best features. The one that I like is the auto flight functions. When you lose contact with it, the automatic flight will automatically get into action, where it will hovering stationary until the battery depleted, and then decide by its own to land it if the entire battery has been used. You can also turn on the auto-flight mode if you want to do something for a while.

The computer will do everything for you, you only need to tell what to do. For instance take-off is easy, just press auto take-off button and set the altitude you want the toy to hover. It will stay that way until you take control and give another command.

Because everything is pre-programmed within its processor, you can’t fly the toy pass the given flight parameter. Therefore, you can surely fly it even if you are a newbie, but if you want to learn everything related to this RC Toy, feel free to visit its site at http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/usa/.

Camera

AR.Drone equipped with two cameras (front and vertical/down), very useful when you want to see what the toy sees. Front camera refresh rate is a bit slower than down camera. Down camera is needed in auto-flight mode. Unfortunately, this RC helicopter gives no video recording features.

Battery

The battery will last for approximately 12 minutes and full charging takes about 90 minutes. I would recommend – for longer battery’s life - to stop using the toy when the power in the battery is only around 20%.

How to Repair AR.Drone

The durability of AR.Drone is good, the carbon fiber frame and polypropylene foam body give a good protection to the electronic component within. In case of any crash happens, you can learn to repair it by yourself from seeing this video. But you need to have a spare set of gear, blade and the AR-Drone tool.

Some safety features also given to it, such as it will turn off when some sort of excessive pressure given to the propellers. This will prevent the motor getting burnt.

When seeing the capability such as the auto-flight, newbie-friendly functions, the built-in camera, the durability and stability, you can expect to get this at more than $500, but the AR.Drone price is much cheaper only around $300.

If you like to own this awesome toy after reading this Parrot AR.Drone review, you can purchase it at AR. Drone shop for discounted price. For more gaming experience, you can visit the Apples iTunes stores and find some games for the toy.

READ MORE - Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter : A New Flying Experience

Why Syma S107/S107G The Best Seller in RC Helicopter ?

After seeing our Best Selling RC Helicopter list, I think you want to find out the review or pros and cons of the first spot in my best selling list, which is Syma S107//107G. Why buyers preferred this one than another.

If you want to check Syma S107/S107G product page in the Amazon, they have 1,010 customer reviews and 633 of them giving the highest star (5 star), in other words almost 63% is extremely satisfied with it.

Syma S107/S107G is a 3 channel co-axial micro-size infra-red RC helicopter equipped with gyro technology for stability. It's small but very stable and also durable, suitable even for a newbie. I recommend this mini helicopter.

The complete package consist of infra red transmitter, helicopter and USB cable for charging purposes. After opening the package, first you need to fully charge the helicopter's battery through your computer by using USB or via transmitter, but charging with USB is faster. You also need six (6) AA batteries for the transmitter. Everything is set and ready to fly.

Most people choose this micro helicopter because of its durability and quality. Lots of positive reviews and here is mine.

Syma S107/G Pros

1. Built up with light alloy frame and strong plastic blade, make it strong and can resist bad crashes. So it's safe for you if you never flying this kind of thing before. But I would recommend you buying extra main rotor and tail blades, just in case bad crash happens.
2. It's very stable and very easy to control, thanks to the gyro technology. See it when gliding in the air at this video.

Syma S107/G Cons

1. You should fly it in 5 minutes at a time, because its battery last that long. Don't push it or it's battery life span will reduce. Charge it only 10 - 15 minutes after flying, to make it cool enough before charging process. Ignoring this will also cause your battery's life shorter. Make sure you charge it fully for around 30-40 minutes and take it off the charger right away when the indicator shows it fully charge, and wait for another 10 minutes before flying the helicopter again.

2. Built only for indoor, because it is so light than it can't resist the wind. Besides the remote control is using infra red, and it means you can't make it work perfectly in sunlight. So flying it outdoor is not an option.
3. Because of its success, many clone has been made. So if you care to have a real one, buy it from the reputable local or online stores.

You will find many online store selling Syma S107/S107G at more than $30 or even $100, so I would recommend you check it at Amazon. This online store sells it at a discount price, and don't forget to read the customer reviews.

Syma S107/S107G mini RC Helicopter will bring hours of fun with a reasonable price. If you don't want to wait and doing nothing within the charging time, buy more of this. :D With $100 you can get 4 of this same quality, where else you just got one.

READ MORE - Why Syma S107/S107G The Best Seller in RC Helicopter ?

What is RC Toys

RC Toys means a remote controlled toy which is controlled by a radio controller. You will find many terms used for this device. By having the word toys, some of you maybe thinking RC Toys used only by kids, then you are very wrong. Many hobbyist like to design, built and play this, even willing to spend hundreds of dollars buying advance spare-part and accessories to make theirs being the best from other. The RC Toys or RC Model are used in many kind of vehicle model - of course with RC System device installed, such as helicopter, tank, boat, airplane and so on.

The Remote Control Toys term given especially by kids, but hobbyist would prefer the term Radio Controlled Model or RC Model.

HISTORY

It was said that the first radio controlled device was invented by Nikola Tesla - a Serbian inventor, the Alternating Current (AC) systems founder and electromagnetism father - in 1893. By then it was widely used in many area, such as in war and surveillance. Only on 1940s it is used for entertaining purposes and it evolved since then.

RC TOYS FOR HOBBYIST

Hobbyist will choose the model type according to their interest. If you are a new hobbyist, first you need to choose the vehicle model that you are willing to play. Second is to choose the Ready To Run (RTR) model or Built Your Own model; this is for RC car, truck or another ground-vehicle model. The term use for airborne RC are Ready To Fly (RTF) or Bind-N-Fly (BNF), and Almost Ready To Fly (ARF).

Ready to Run or RTR type like the name means ready to use with minimize preparation, Very suitable for beginner or people who doesn't want to be overwhelmed with technical detail and preparations.

Build Your Own model type is the right choice for people who preferred to build their model different from the other and willing to spend his time on preparing the best RC model. Even if you are a beginner, you can choose this type, if you are a fond of technical person.

The next thing to note in choosing is Electric or Nitro model. Electric type is considered slower than nitro but cheaper and easy to maintain. Besides electric RC toys is using battery and you can't use the highest speed immediately to extend the motor life. You had to use the normal speed first for sometime before increasing the speed.

Nitro RC Toys is preferable for some hobbyist, because it is fast and looks cool, but more complicated and need more attention compare to electric type, and of course more expensive.

RC TOYS ESSENTIAL ELEMENT

There are 3 essential element in RC model that you should know as a hobbyist. Those are transmitter, receiver and servos. Additional element could be found in Nitro type such as electric starter, fuel, and so on.

Anyway kids and hobbyist love to play RC toys with their own reasons. Just choose to the one that suits your need and don't forget to choose effectively by comparing cost and what you expect from buying it.

READ MORE - What is RC Toys