uav Archives - Electric Dragonfly

Xtreem Maxi Quad Starship, RC Quadcopter by Swann

January 17, 2015 James Sorsby

Rotor Guard Removed

The Maxi Quad Starship by XTREEM is an easy to fly, RTF radio control (RC) quad copter. In the box you’ll find the quad rotor, 4 GHz wireless controller, four spare rotor blades, USB charging cable, operating instructions and the landing pad game. The game is a fluorescent green paper target to land the mini drone on and is of such little value it should in no way be a part of your decision to buy this drone or not. Four AA batteries are required for the remote control and are not included. The controller has a range of 330 ft. and provides four axis control of the aircraft. It also has trim stabilization adjustments and a button for 360 stunt and tumble flying and a power on LED.

This little quadcopter is RTF (ready to fly) right out of the box and takes very little time to master. But, during outdoor flight it does have a tendency to be blown by a slight wind. Xtreem’s easy-fly Gyro technology aids stabilization of the aircraft in level flight and allows for easy control. The Built-in 350mAH Li-poly battery is charged with the USB cable and takes approximately 50 minutes to charge. The cable has an LED indicating light that illuminates when charging and extinguishes when charging is complete. The charging lead on the aircraft does have to be plugged into its port on the fuselage in order for the craft to be powered by the battery.

There is a convenient power on/off switch on the bottom of the frame body. With a full charge you can get 7-8 minutes of flight time. This little quadrotor is a delight to fly and only weighs 2.4 oz. It has a durable set of rotor protectors to protect the spinning rotors from impact damage and has a pair of White led head lights that help in position orientation and night flying.

During test flights the rotor protector popped loose easily during crashes and should be checked after an impact if controllability suddenly becomes an issue. It easily pops back into place. The starship looks exactly like the Syma X3 with the same controller, I suspect it’s the same ship, the only difference being the packaging and the colors used in the molding of the plastic parts.

Syma S107 RC Mini Helicopter Unboxing and First Flights

January 16, 2015 James Sorsby

The Syma S107G Metal Series RC Mini Helicopter in the video was a Christmas present that we had a great time with. It’s a sleek good looking mini UAV that’s well built, being constructed mostly of metal, with plastic rotors. Even with it’s metal frame it only weighs 34g. This counter rotating (coaxial) two rotor helicopter was easy to fly right out of the box. Or should I say as soon as the rechargeable 180mAh Li-poly battery was fully charged by using the included USB charging cable that plugs into the controller or usb port.

In flight it is extremely stabile due to the fact that it’s stabilized with a built in gyroscope. The gyroscopic stabilization system consist of two counter weights mounted on arms above the coaxial rotors which turn in opposite directions. The system made hovering very simple to the point that you simply move the throttle up and down to vary the power and this provides lift or settling of this mini copter. The controller is an easy to use, six AA battery powered, 3 channel infrared 3 way controller with trim. Since the controller transmits it’s signal via infra red it won’t interfere with your other RC models.

Syma 107G Gear Box

To fly all you have to do is add power to raise the aircraft off the ground then you use the other joystick to move left, right, forward, or back. Then you’re on your way with no real training time. On the nose is an LED light that continuously flashes when the craft is powered. During our time flying the Syma 107 indoors it had lots of impacts with the walls and ceiling but it never broke. I attribute this to the light weight metal frame that Syma used for the construction of the fuselage and tail boom. The S107 is owner repairable and inexpensive crash packs that contain an assortment of spare parts and rotors are available.

The frame does leave the gear box open for viewing but, the exposure of the gears and circuit board leaves some concern about hair or other debris possibly fowling the gears. Fortunately, we never had a problem with that. Charging time was 30 to 35 minutes and flight time averaged 8 minutes. I would definitely suggest this inexpensive model for both beginners and experienced pilots and at an average cost of $20 it’s cheap fun.

Syma S107G

Syma S107G side

Syma S107G Motor