Colossus RC Helicopter
As a newcomer to the world of RC helicopters it is always important for me to get trusted information about these toys, but also, I want to find practical RC helicopter reviews with actionable data that helps me to make my mind about a certain RC helicopter. I am a big fan of finding the good, the bad, and the ugly about any product and shout it from the roof tops, every customer deserves to know the truth about what they are looking for, and ultimately being able to make an informed purchase. These personal best beginners’ RC helicopter reviews will hopefully achieve that.
There is much visible information that tells a lot about these toys, the problem is that someone like me doesn’t know exactly what this data means, why is it good or why is it bad, which are the benefits or downsides of having a specific feature. Not too long ago I was wondering which heli could be a good choice for a newbie like me, I spent a lot of time researching, going to hobby shops, talking with other people about this, and in many occasions I was led to the Colossus Gyro RC Helicopter, and what I want to do here is to present you my findings about this toy.
What is important to know about an RC helicopter
After digging a lot and asking many questions, I found that there are some things that anyone as a newbie wants to know about an RC helicopter, this information is easy to know when buying one, but as I said early, not many of us are aware of where to look in order to find what is the best helicopter for us. Here you can find a few important aspects that you should look for when buying an RC helicopter, especially if you are a newbie, you want to get familiar with these terms.
- Expertise level
- Indoors or Outdoors
- Ready to fly (RTF) or Almost ready to fly (ARF)
- Spare parts Availability
- Battery and Charger
Knowing a little bit about these factors related to the RC helicopter that you are looking for will help to make the best decision, especially if you are planning to spend some time using this toy, so bear with me here since I will present you the results of my extensive research about the Colossus RC helicopter in a practical and friendly way.
What expertise level is the helicopter for?
Colossus RC Helicopter
For most newcomers, the first question in our minds is which helicopter is the right one for me? There are so many choices the select from that it is not hard to get lost. Fortunately, you can determine which kind of RC heli is the best for you just by looking a few things; the main purpose is to find an RC aircraft stable and easy to control. RC helicopters with three channels or less are best for novice level; the more channels the more variables to control, so if you want to start with the right foot, a 3 or 3.5 channels RC heli may be the best for you. That covers the easy to control part, but what about stability?
When the main rotor of an RC helicopter starts to spin, the helicopter tends to spin the other way, this is known as torque reaction, this can’t be seen when the RC heli is on the floor because the ground prevents the ship to spin, but once it is in the air there is nothing controlling the torque reaction, so the helicopter will tend to spin the other way around the main rotor blades. Here is when a feature called Gyro system is very useful. A gyro helicopter has a small built-in device that helps you to control stability by itself; this gyro device will sense the torque reaction and correct it, thus, the only part spinning will be the main rotor blades. A coaxial rotor RC aircraft is also a fun, perfect way to go; these are the helicopters that instead of having one main rotor blade have two main rotor blades, what they do is to eliminate the torque reaction created by the first main rotor blade, adding a second main rotor blade spinning in the opposite direction, thus, the angular momentum is eliminated and the helicopter is stable as well. The other part that adds more stability to RC helicopters is the tail rotors, which are built to move the helicopter in the same direction of the main rotor blades; this will prevent the helicopter spinning the other way.
The Colossus RC helicopter is a 3.5 channel device that fulfills many of the basic needs of any newcomer, being a 3.5 channel device it can go up/down, forward/backward, and left/right; it is a great choice for anyone looking just to have some fun without spending that much. Also, the Colossus is a gyro helicopter with both coaxial and tail rotors; this device combines all these features to ensure stability, control, and easiness to use.
Is it for Indoors or Outdoors?
Colossus RC Helicopter
This is very important and yet many people forget to find out more about this when reading RC helicopter reviews. You want to determine what kind of helicopter you are looking for, because if you plan to use it outside in your patio, a big size, resistant RC aircraft like the Colossus would be a great choice, whereas if the purpose is to use it inside your bedroom, you may want to take a look to smaller models.
The Colossus RC helicopter is 47 inches long, it is in fact the World’s largest RC helicopter (yet great for beginners), and it has a metal body making it strong yet light weight so you don’t have to worry about breaking anything when landing it a bit too rough on the ground. If you want something smaller and for indoors use keep reading, because at the end of this article I will present you with other models that may fulfill that need, and are a great choice for any newcomer as well.
Does it require any assembly at all?
It is common to find models of two types, which are ready to fly (RTF) and almost ready to fly (ARF). There is no difference in functionality between them, both models are designed to be and to look the same, the main difference resides in the fact that the first ones are ready to fly out of the box, while the second ones require a little assembly from you. RTF models are more suitable for those pilots without notion about RC aerodynamics, thus you can get familiar very easy and start flying the toy as soon as it is fully charged. The ARF models are also a lot of fun and perfect for those pilots who also enjoy assembling their aircraft this requires being familiar with the materials as well as the aerodynamics of the toys, otherwise the RC helicopter could get damaged and perform poorly during flight. It is very important to look for these details when reading RC helicopter reviews.
The Colossus Gyro RC helicopter is fully assembled from the factory; it just requires charging the battery and once that is done it is ready to fly. This RC heli can be a great guide to learn how helicopters are assembled so the next time you can build your own.
What about the spare parts?
Colossus Spare Parts
Something that is critical to look for is the spare parts availability, especially those ones that are more prone to get damaged; which are those components that hit the ground more often, these are the main rotor blades, stabilizer bar (if required), rear rotor blades, and landing skid. Some of these parts can get damaged not only for rough landings, but also because of normal wear; so it is great to see if there is a kit available from the manufacturer that is ready for you to use in case that it is required. Make sure to find this as well listed when looking for RC helicopter reviews; it can save a lot of pain, trust me on this.
World Tech Toys is the manufacturing company of the Colossus RC helicopter, and they also supply a kit ready to use with those components that could be required in order to easily repair your helicopter; the kit comes with a set of screws and a screwdriver making the task easier to do. Even if you don’t buy the spare parts kit, the colossus includes four spare main rotor blades inside the box for free.
A lot has to do with the battery and charger
Colossus Battery
The battery is one of the most critical components of RC helicopters, it is important to have the right battery for your toy or it won’t fly properly, also, it is crucial to know the condition of the battery to make sure that the helicopter won’t stop responding in the middle of the air. In the past NiCad or NiMH batteries were used, but today almost every RC toy is built to use a Li-Po (Lithium Polymer) battery, this is because of several advantages, to name a few, Li-Po batteries are lighter in weight, have more charging capacity, provide more power, are cheaper, and durable. In order to ensure the optimal battery condition, it is required to have a balance charger, which is important because it equalizes the amount of charge in each cell of the multi-cell battery pack. This balance charger will prevent bloating or ignition in the battery; the way they are typically used is very simple, you connect the balance charger to the wall charger and that should be enough.
Inside the box of the Colossus RC helicopter you can find an 11.5 V 1500 mAh rechargeable LI-Po battery, a balance charger, and a 12V wall charger. This battery will provide you a full 10 minutes flight; also, having a rechargeable battery is great because you don’t have to spend more money buying batteries; the balance charger is included, so this will help you to take good care of your Li-Po battery, and again, as a newcomer, make sure to find this when surfing though RC helicopter reviews.
Colossus Gyro RC Helicopter Parts
How much does it cost?
The Toy Planet 360 website is offering this RC gyro helicopter for 200.00 USD, the reality is that you shouldn’t pay any more than 175 USD for this toy. After looking for various sites and taking into consideration the customer support, the best place to buy it is Amazon, who is consistently selling this item for less than 160 USD.
What is inside the box?
- Colossus Gyro METAL 3.5 CH RC Helicopter
- Transmitter
- 11.1 V 1500 mAh Rechargeable Battery
- Balance Charger
- 12 V Wall Charger
- 4 Spare Main Rotor Blades
Customer Advice
- Use a bigger and heavier battery for longer flight time.
- Adjust the vertical fin forward one inch and replace the rear horizontal propeller with a bigger propeller to help the helicopter move forward better during flight.
- Tape 3 AA batteries underneath the battery pack if the helicopter only flies backwards to add the weight necessary for forward flight.
- Try a two-once lead weight under the battery pack instead of 3 AA batteries for better stabilization.
- Avoid flying the helicopter in wind until you feel more comfortable with the controls to help avoid possible crashes or damage
- Replace the tail motor for longer flight time and the ability to fly in wind.
- Purchase spare parts at Amazon.com
- Add several more inches of wire to the antennae with a small nut at the end to increase the radio signal range.
- Add a small weight under the nose if the tail seems to be dragging the helicopter down.
- Put a small digital camera on the helicopter for a fun view.
- Increase power by upgrading the coaxial to a brush-less and lipo set-up.
- Read extensive RC helicopter reviews for more information.
Colossus RC helicopter reviews from customers
One user said that he had been flying RC helicopters for more than 30 years and thought this was a beautiful helicopter. Another one said that buying the Gyro RC helicopter was “…one of the best decisions I ever made.”
Another RC helicopter review said that “… I would recommend for you to get it” and yet another person said twice that the Amazon website “is awesome”.
“Great bird, like all RC helicopters, it needs a way to give it more forward thrust to counter winds for forward motion.”
“It’s a very strong toy, very durable. It would be a great gift for any kid. I would give this toy a 5 star.”
“The Heli was very responsive to the controls”
Potential buyers should watch the YouTube video to see the Gyro helicopter in action and watch how the helicopter moves.
Are there any downsides?
Some beginner users get frustrated with the short flying time (around 10 minutes) but it is important to note that this is true of all RC airplanes and helicopters. You can go to your local hobby store and have them build you a new battery pack or upgrade to a battery pack with more power if you are looking for longer flight times. In addition, remember to charge the battery on a regular basis so you will not find yourself without any power right when you want to go flying.
Other users have complained that the Gyro helicopter mostly flies backwards. This is resolved over time once you get the hang of flying the Gyro RC helicopter, but there are a few things you can do to increase and improve the forward thrust, like add a small weight under the nose or under the battery pack, this will correct the issue according to most current users.
Where can I buy the Colossus RC Helicopter?
This toy can be found on Amazon, they are the ones that offer the most trusted source to buy from. From what I can tell, they offer the best price, best customer support, and will help their customers with any issue of the toy. This is the best way to go, since other people are reporting to have trouble contacting other merchants for customer support.
If you are looking for an RC helicopter for beginners with similar features as the Colossus but smaller in size, you may want to check these. They were also researched and include all that is required for a beginner level.
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