Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Well we moved and about a year later I came across my old Havoc Heli. I was never able to really fly it, but our new home has a lot more indoor
flying room so I gave it a try. No go: the battery wouldn't take a full enough charge and finally fried itself (lovely smell).
By now I had the bug to do some indoor heli flying, so I searched the web and ended up ordering one of these this weekend:

http://www.helipal.com/swift-mini-x-...-gyro-red.html

Looks like a really nice piece of engineering for $30 (although the shipping cost half that again :()

Anyone fly one of these or it's bigger brothers? Any advice? Suggestions?

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

For the money I guess you couldn't go wrong. But you could probably find a used MCX for around that price or maybe $15.00 more and it would be a true 4 channel heli. Or is the MCX a 5 channel heli.

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Hi Paul!! The boys have a new thread over on the other place, any airplane thread. You would floor some folks if you checked in;);):D:D.

It seems that another Micro guy I know has one and I asked him whether it would be better as a starter than an mCX. The mCX mves in all 3 axes(sp?), the heli you picked goes up/down and rotates, left and right, but does not seem to side slip. More info as soon as I get it.

Fern/Tim

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Paul, my friend says it's a good heli.

Have fun,

Fern/Tim

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Hey Fern nice to see you here.
Do you have a fresh link to "the other place"? Maybe I'll stop in: I still have a Formosa to finish and maiden this spring. Oh, and a Slow Stick to build with brushless...

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Hi Paul,

I may be the one Tim is talking about. I have one and it's a good flier if not short on air time. Just consider the size of the miniX at 4-1/2" and you'll agree the 60mAh battery is about all that will fit in it. I get between 1 - 2 minutes of flight depending on how much I run the tail motor.

If you have the room, you might want to investigate the 6020-1 & 6023-1 helis. They are around 7" - 8" and are the big brothers of the miniX and all cost in the $25 - $30 range. A lot of folks with them (the larger ones) are upgrading the battery to either a 210mAh or 240mAh with the 210mAh being the best compromise between more weight and less flight time and less weight and a bit longer flight time.

Come visit us at "the other place" here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1176143

Happy flying,

Bill

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Thanks Bill that's a bit disappointing about the battery life. The website shows something like 5-6 minutes. Still, that little 'copter was just too cute to resist. Also, if I'm gonna spend a lot of time bashing something into the furniture, it had better be small and light.
I'm thinking/hoping that with some practice on this one I'll be better prepared to try a single rotor copter when outdoor flying time comes around. I had one along the lines of a Honeybee about 2 yrs ago and spent more money on parts than I did on the copter and still never got the knack of hovering it despite a lot of time with the Esky sim which I actually got pretty good at.
Is there any place in the US carrying these helis and/or parts? Shipping costs from Hong Kong are killer.

RE: Swift Mini-X heli...
 

Hi Paul,

That flight time is what I'm getting, not necessarily what everyone will get. It's possible there's a problem with mine. No one else has received theirs yet (that I know of) to compare it to. So, your mileage may vary...

No one in the US yet that I can find. However, if you look hard enough you can find a lot of suppliers offering free shipping. I bought mine here and it was $24.27 delivered, and I got it in 10 days from date of order.

Bill