Helizone Lightning Bird WL V911 4 Channel Single Rotor 2.4 Ghz Remote Control Helicopter - Special Edition with upgraded battery

12/6/2019Update after 3 weeks and 200+ flights and 50+ crashesStill 5 stars overallStill Impressed with overall durabilityBroke main rotor blades 2 times, over multiple hard crashes - replaced with included sparesBroke fly-bar once - purchased a new barFly bar pivot bolt loosens during normal use, lost it once, but found and reused (now part of preflight check)Lost a tail-rotor blade a few times but found and reusedTail-rotor motor has slipped out of position a couple of times but snapped back into placeThe rudder trim is voltage dependent: needs adjustment as battery gets used up - not great, but easy to doFlight time measured at 6.5min with stock 200mA bat. was frustrating: Purchased a 4 pack of 3.8v 260mA batteries to get 10+Min (link below)New batteries required a new charger, got an $8 with a fast-charge option: 0.6A (link below)With 4 new batteries I get 1 hour + of continuous flight if I fast charge depleted batteries as I goAfter dozens of hard crashes, helicopter still (surprisingly) works as well as new ALLOW SOME COOLING TIME BETWEEN FLIGHTS: VERIFY main and tail motors' temperatureNew Batt used:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KJT9PF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1Dramatic improvement in flight-time (+4min, +60%): 10.5 min with this 260mA bat., vs. 6.5 min with 200mA stock bat.Size and weight very similar to stock 200mA bat. balance not disturbedElectric connection fits 100%, physical fit is not perfect, but fits OK and is supported by battery frameCharger used for new batteries:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074M6G2MD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1fast charge (0.6A) 260mA in <30 min; slow charge (0.2A) in just under an hourThis worked for me, but is not recommended by anyone.______________________________________________________________________Original review:Stable, responsive, durable.incredibly small, simple, elegant for a full-feature (non aerobatic) 4 channel helicopter.

As someone who flies giant scale RC helicopter the idea seemed good, but in the end it was a 39 dollar waste of money, totally worthless.Like title reads: It glitches really bad, causing very dangerous situations when it glitches, the last straw was when it spooled up full throttle with just a touch of the collective and almost took one of my kid's eyes. After that onto the trash it went. Dangerous crappy toys like this shouldn't be allowed to be sold.Then, in regard to the other comments of a fly on crack. Yes, this thing can be uncontrollable, partly b/c the glitching, the delayed response (it takes a noticeable time from controller input to movement on the swash) and also this thing requires knowledge on how to setup/trim correctly a swashplate, otherwise it will be very, VERY difficult to fly for the novice pilot.The tail gyro stability is terrible, changes over the flight, and for a pilot like me, now used to the higher end stuff like the DJI NAZA GPS, etc, that holds the tail locked until the battery runs out, etc, this thing is just a terrible device for a beginner b/c having to manage the tail rotor is what usually gets most novices. In contrast, the Blade mCX2 I've had for years still runs, reliably, to this day.The radio that came with the helicopter is, at best, crap. Used to fly with JR/Futaba/Spektrum radios this thing is just poorly made, poor ergonomics. Then, like I sated earlier, there is this delay, along with the glitches that makes this not a very good thing for someone who has never picked up a helicopter before.After 1 week of light usage, and b/c It had some wear signs it couldn't be returned, so it ended up in the trash.Then there is the fact that b/c this thing has a stabilization flybar, makes learning to fly not really learning to fly an RC helicopter. So, IMO, save your pennies and buy a larger 450 CP helicopter if you're serious about learning to fly RC helicopters. I learned on a 450 and never looked back.G.

have 2 hero 911 4 channel copters and they are great,so I am sure this one will be just as good.Upgrade on battery installation is a good improvement as the older ones would come out on most crashes.Also purchased 5 extra 200mAh batteries as I can get 10 minutes or more flytime,and if they are all charged I can fly for an hour,good investment.Great liitle bird but outdoor use requires very calm conditions as it is very light and it can get away from you pretty quickly.I lost one,the wind caught it and before I knew it it was quite high and far away,I still had control but because it is so small I couldn't see it well enough to get it turned in the right direction to get it back.Its laying on top of a big warehouse roof,Its gone.Learned my lesson,will wait for better weather and more room,but it is a gtreat little helicopter to learn.