Syma S111G 3.5 Channel RC Helicopter with Gyro

I will preface this review by saying that this is the first time I have felt compelled to leave a review on Amazon, although I buy stuff from them all the time. Only after a year of moderate to heavy use with 5 different models do I feel that I have enough evidence to support such a strong recommendation. My experience with Syma helicopters started when my wife got me a Syma S109G for Christmas last year. I've had some toy R/C helicopters before and none of them were very rewarding, so I wasn't expecting to be so surprised. These gyro-based helicopters (note the important letter 'G' at the end of the model name) are amazingly stable in flight. They are REDICULOUSLY FUN. Within a few flights, I had the helicopter landing and taking off from a shoebox. My favorite challenge is to pick an object in the house to land on, or to fly a circuit around the house. I live at high altitude (7000 ft), so my flight times are not as long as they would be at sea level, but I still typically get several minutes of flight. What is great is that they charge off of any USB port within a handful of minutes. I repeatedly tell my wife that this present was truly brilliant. After a few weeks, I wanted more, so I bought this S111G. It was even better, only because the lights are multicolored and change color. These helicopters are surprisingly true to the real full scale version for their price. I found myself comparing the details to pictures of the real thing online, just to find the subtle distinctions which are few and far between. I became an addict, since they are so reasonably priced. At this point I have 5 different Syma helicopters and they are all fun to fly. I have a shelf in my house as a dedicated 'hangar' for my fleet. Each one of them has slightly different flight characteristics and endurance, which make them all slightly different to fly (although all of them are consistently easy to fly). My guess is that the differences in endurance is mostly due to manufacturing variation in the battery capacity. I will say that the S022 Chinook has a very brief flight time (<1 minute), though I'm not sure if that's due to the double rotor or a weak battery. My S107G also has a short flight time (~1 minute), which could be due to the heavier metal structure or a weak battery. I also bought 1 of the Viefly gyro heli's - the 331. The Viefly is not nearly as realistic. Also, it is a bit smaller and has a little too much power which makes it more difficult to control, although on the flip side it does last a bit longer. Don't get me wrong, I still like the Viefly alot, but I personally prefer the Symas. Besides the great flight characteristics, the S109G comes with an additional bonus - some classic Chinglish on the rotor blades: "If blade damage, don't be fly, otherwise it will create the human body or blame damage". I kid you not. That is classic and still puts a smile on my face a year later. None of the other models have quite such good distortions of English. But that warning does bring up another discussion point - reliability. Now, after nearly a year of flying 5 models and crashing them over and over and over again from heights as high as 20 feet, they all still fly like new. Even battery life still seems about like when I bought them. Sure, some of the blades do have significant nicks on their leading edge, but they all fly fine, and I haven't created the human body or blame damage. There are replacement blades on Amazon, but I haven't needed any yet. It looks like some of the blades may be interchangable among models, but I haven't had a need to try yet. In summary, for under $30, these are rediculously fun, easy to maneuver, reliable little heli's. Besides my own collection, I've now given 3 away as gifts to relatives. They are not perfect, and might be a little hit or miss, but in general I can whole-heartedly recommend them to anyone interested in R/C flight indoors.

The SYMA S111G Coast Guard style Helicopter is a marvelous mechanism! I highly recommend it. I have included a vid of how easily it hovers. Enjoy! I have played with this "toy" inside and outside (more on that later). The SYMA S111G flies like a dream. The chopper hovers so well that my wife thought that I had it hanging from a string it was so steady in the house. That isn't all it will do. The SYMA S111G travels a straight course forwards and backwards without too much effort or "real" flying skills needed. (more on that later). How does it look? It has a hard plastic body that isn't spongy feeling. It looks very authentic in detail and it would look very nice sitting on a shelf. It doesn't have landing skids like the typical helicopter, but rather it has a three wheel tripod under carriage that supports the craft. It has a "fake" rotor as well as as a functional motorized rotor. There are so many lights on it that it is very visible in a darkened room, which also helps to orient the pilot as to which direction the craft is pointing toward. How does it fly? (inside) As I stated earlier, it hovers so efficiently that the pilot,can practice hovering techniques such as squares, figure eights or ovals without constantly trying to correct for a pendulum effect. It is fast enough to smash into a wall if you aren't careful. A ceiling fan will confound your efforts at being a competent pilot. Also, if your fans are pulling air upwards, it will also pull up the helicopter as easily. That said, the durability of the copter is excellent. The helicopter doesn't have the capabilities of a four channel helicopter, in that it cannot travel sideways or revolve like the Blade MCX2 coaxial helicopter, but the S111G is only 3 channels. How does it fly? (outside) If you are tired of owning your SYMA S111G take it outside on a faintly breezy day and wave goodbye. A couple of things likely will occur. 1. the infrared receiver will be tricked by too much sunlight... and it will unexpectedly fall from a height, into the road and end of helicopter because it just got run over by Billy Bob and his Stomper truck. or 2. the breeze will carry it far, far away never to be seen again. This copter does not tolerate air currents well. But, you're gonna do it anyway. Ha,ha,ha... 3. you will be lucky and get to fly another day. Battery life and charging cycle is superior as well. The charger is 120volt and charges the battery in about 10 minutes. So, I get about eight minutes of fun flying to 10 minutes of charging cycle. Let the battery cool first before charging, say about five minutes. Overall opinion. I would recommend buying it. Looks nice. Durable. Good performance for the price. About me and why my opinion counts. I am a former Marine pilot and then I was a Navy Seal. Oh, I also was an Executive for a MultiCorp... just kidding. Just a irregular guy. I started out with a TREX 450 helicopter. TOTAL disaster! Then..., I got an ESKY HONEYBEE CPX. More disastrous fun. Then..., I got a Viefly 268. I totally crashed all of these! The Viefly 268 still flys. A testament to that crafts durability. The TREX is in the process of being repaired by me. The HONEYBEE looks like it has been through a war but it still will fly, but I cannot fly it. I now fly coaxial, or dual blade type helis. A Blade MCX2. A SYMA S111g. A VIEFLY 268. and a SYMA S032.(I have owned two S032 helicopters. They do not fly well in breezes either even though the ad copy says they do. see #2 above) 3 Channel RC Military Gyro Mini Indoor Helicopter Viefly V268 Blade mCX2 BNF 3.5-Ch Metal Outdoor RC Helicopter S032

The S111G is a pretty cool little bird that would be great as a first time rc helicopter for just about any one. It is easy to to fly, fairly rugged, and it looks cool. What I like most about it is that you can charge it through a computer, which saves battery life, but it takes around an hour to fully charge it whether using the remote or a computer. After it's fully charged you might get 6-7 minutes of continual flight time out of it before you need to recharge, which is about an average flight for whatever introductory level rc chopper, so keep that in mind before you buy one. You'll be charging batteries way more than flying. Another thing to seriously consider is purchasing replacement parts along with the helicopter because you may need them sooner than you think. This particular rc helicopter is fairly rugged, but there is only so much it can take before the rotors are too damaged to fly anymore. I have flown it maybe a total of 20 hours on the original parts, but I have only had a few crashes, and even these four or five crashes have damaged the propellers a little. To delay further damage I used clear tape to provide a little extra ruggedness to the rotors and that seems to really work well.

I have three RC copters now. This one is my new favorite! Looks great and flies easily. The other SYMA I have is the Apache which also looks great and flies well. I like the bright colors of this one and the blades are also white in color. Has a small LED light located at the front of the nose and also one in the front above the helicopter's windshield that turns from red to blue and also one on the underside, rear that turns from red to blue. They look really nice when flying this. It charged in about 50 minutes just like my other Apache from SYMA. I can tell it's durable for what it's worth. Nicely detailed and fun to fly. Seriously I never dreamed I'd enjoy these little copters so much and I intend to purchase a few more when I see one that catches my eye. For $23 it's well worth it! I fly mine inside the house where there's no breeze. My first helicopter I got was for Christmas and my wife paid around $80. In it's defense it is a 2.4 Gig band helicopter and has a larger range for flying. Might be getting the Chinook next. Get them now before it's too late. Last year after October they were sold out it seemed. Flying time was about 8 minutes or more. Seemed to last longer on it's second flight but trust me, that's long enough. Just allow for it to sit after flying for a few minute before recharging. That's why you should get 2 or more. I can fly 3 now back to back. Amazon is the place for getting these. Look for FREE super saver shipping and if you have to join then it's well worth it if you order things throughout the year. Now without any doubts order yourself one!,,,, For the price and fun factor you won't be disappointed. One more thing. I use my electric charger from my Apple Itouch to charge it sometimes. The USB plugs in it and the voltage isn't too much for the copter. Doesn't seem to charge any faster but just in case you wanted another way to charge it without using the controller or USB to a computer. You can buy an electric adapter though extra and that might be a good idea, depending on your interest. The plug going into the heicopter is very small so make sure you get it right before pushing too hard for it to go in. I marked the top side of mine with a black magic marker so I'll do it right everytime.

I'm writing this review for the Syma s107g, s108g ands111g helicopters. I gave all 3 of these choppers 5 stars for their class of 3 channel helicopters. My first helicopter was a copy of the 107. It was nearly an exact replica. I had fun with it but at the time I had no idea what a piece of junk it was compered to a real Syma. The Syma 107g is the easiest to control and the most likely to survive a crash. Mine came with the spring on the throttle. This is the best for beginners because all you have to do is let go if you are about to crash and the throttle will shut it's self off. The Syma 111g is also pretty durable. Flying it is fairly easy to control but it's a little twitchier than the 107, especially the throttle. It's also a little lighter so it flies longer unless you are maxing it out and it has more power. Next up is the Syma 108g. This model is very twitchy and by far the hardest to fly. It's small body makes it possible to fly in light wind and it will fly much further into my fan then either of the other two models. You wont be happy with the 108 model unless you've mastered the 107 or 111. If you are really serious about rc choppers though I recommend only buying the 107 to learn the basics and then upgrading to 4 channel helicopters. If you can hoover or keep the 107 in the air for 30 seconds to a minute and keep from crashing under power then you are ready to upgrade to 4 channel. At 43 dollars the V911 is by far the best 4 channel helicopter for the money. It is frustrating to switch from 3 to 4 channels because the controls are all different... Flying 3 channel helicopters is fun but flying the V911 outdoors full throttle under (semi) control for my first time this morning was a total a rush! I will probably not fly 3 channel's at all anymore unless I am demonstrating or teaching friends.

This helicopter is "ok" because the Syma S109G Apache AH-64 3.5-Channels Mini Indoor Helicopter (also on Amazon) is much better in my opinion (e.g., faster, more control, more agile than the coast guard model). As far as the Coast Guard S111G helicopter, there are two concerns. One, the charging port is on the BOTTOM of the aircraft, therefore you have to lay the copter on its side to charge. No big deal, but having the charge port on the side (like the S109G Apache) just "feels" better and you can lay your copter upright. Two, the on/off switch is on the bottom as well. Again, no big deal. The flight speed of this Coast Guard copter seems slower and less agile than the S109G Apache, but I guess that would be more true to life as you would expect an S109G Apache to be more agile than a Coast Guard copter in real life. In addition, when starting to fly this unit, it does not seem to be as balanced so at times the copter will tilt to one side prior to takeoff and the rotor blades will hit the floor. Also, watch out when you slide the copter and controller out of the box. There is nothing securing the controller and if you pull it out the wrong side, it can fall out and crack your toe. Also if you have difficulty pulling the Styrofoam case out, pull the black plastic handle up all the way as it is preventing the Styrofoam from coming out smoothly. SPECIAL BATTERY CARE: In general, these helicopters use a special battery in the copter itself called a "Lithium Polymer" (or "LiPo") battery. Apparently there are special charging and discharging requirements which are different than other kinds of rechargeable batteries, if not followed, your battery might degrade quickly. 1) HEAT APPARENTLY DEGRADES THE BATTERY. Therefore after flying the copter, the battery gets hot, so you should wait 10 to 15 minutes before charging it or else it will overheat and degrade. Same goes with after you charge it. Once fully charged, the battery may be hot, so you should let it cool down for 10 to 15 minuted before flying it to prevent overheating and thus battery degradation. 2) DO NOT TOTALLY DISCHARGE. If the energy level in the battery falls below 20%, this may also irreparably degrade the battery, meaning it will no longer accept a charge at all and you will need to purchase a new battery and solder it in. How do you know when that "20%" point is reached? The copter will start to fly only a few inches off the ground and will not flyer any higher. As soon as that happens STOP FLYING and let your battery cool down and then recharge. If you continue to fly until all power is gone, the battery may be irreparably damaged. [Note: this info is all second-hand...I learned the hard way as I quickly degraded the battery on the Apache S109G] 3) DO NOT OVERCHARGE or leave unattended while charging. LiPo batteries can apparently explode and catch fire if overcharged. Other battery care info is found here: [web site address deleted?] HOW TO FLY TWO COPTERS AT THE SAME TIME. a) turn both copters and both controllers off. b) separate both sets of copters and controllers a distance of approximately 10 feet (this is arbitrary), c) set the first controller to channel "A", place the first copter you want to program approximately 3 inches from the controller and then turn the controller on and then turn the copter on (in that order), d) wait at least 10 seconds for the copter to accept the signals from the first controller, e) then go to your second copter and do the same except this time set the controller to channel "B", turn the controller on, put copter in close proximity to the second controller, then turn that copter on, wait 10 seconds for it to accept the "B" signal. If all goes well both copters should only respond to their respective controllers.

So my kids and I got into IR helicopters this year and each bought one. We have a 108g, 107g, 119g, and 026g. All of those ones fly great. They are super stable and have a more than acceptable battery life. My younger son picked out this cool looking 111g and based on the reviews we bought one. The first one at least flew, but after a couple of minutes the tail rotor seized up and it was uncontrollable. We charged it up and tried several more times, but the tail rotor never worked again. I could feel the motor resisting when I spun the rotor by hand, unlike the other ones. Again, it had great reviews, so we returned it an bought another, and I told my son it was just a fluke. Until the second one arrived, it flew for literally 10 seconds after which it simply fell from the sky. So we thought maybe it was just something in the charging cycle as it seemed to be without power to fly, and so we charged it back up. This time it flew for maybe 30 seconds, and did the same thing. After that we've tried to charge it several times. The red light on the charger goes out for a while and eventually comes back on, so it appears that it is charging. However, it has never flown again. We have tried other remotes (we have several), and have even tried this 111 remote on the 107 (works perfectly) so it's not the remote it's the heli itself. After a closer look I can clearly see there is a wire pinched in the body at the tail rotor, the shell doesn't seem to fit together properly and the little IR charger at the bottom seems to be pushed around on the board, and is sticking out the bottom of the heli body at about a 45 degree angle. If I had to guess I'd say both 111g I received had a controller board inside that was not custom made for this body shell. They appears to be legit and not clones and came in a real Syma box, but they certainly don't live up to my other Syma Helis, two of which are "dancer" versions and have never given me a single issue. Our recommendation is avoid this model and instead get a s107g or an s108g, both are superior in all ways to this s111g.

Right out of the box this Syma S111G flies nice and smooth. This helicopter is perfect for a beginner. A few helicopters my husband has gotten lately have taken a bit getting used to but this one just had such easy handling. It is very easy to control and fly around the house. It's a very well balanced helicopter. With another Syma we have I had to shut off our A/C in the house because just a little gust of air would blow it out of control. On a full charge we get a good 10 minutes or so of fly time which isn't bad at all. This is a solid helicopter. It can run into walls, get slammed on the floor with some failed attempts at proper landings, and still be perfectly fine. Also, it can even take off on it's side which my husband and I thought was pretty cool. I went to go pick it up to put in the upright position and he ended up taking right off while it was down. With his helicopters he loves practicing his landing on his Eagle Pro Helipad: Remote Control Helicopter Landing Pad - LED Lights Installed - Suitable for RC Helicopters, Quadcopters, Drones, Syma Helicopters. This helipad gives him the full experience along with this Syma S111G helicopter. The helipad is an excellent addition and I highly recommend it to anyone looking at this helicopter. While my husband charges his helicopter he keeps it nicely displayed right on the Eagle Pro Helipad. When the Syma S111G is ready to fly the Eagle Pro Helipad lights up and is ready for his landing practice. Overall, this is a great helicopter for beginners and experienced flyers alike. It is tons of fun, very well made, and a fantastic price!