New with Video Camera! UDI U13A 3 Channel 2.4GHz Metal RC Helicopter w/ Video Camera

This is my second one. I broke the first using a pipe to get it out of a tree. Why buy another? It is without a doubt the best rc video helicopter I have received here. I intend to buy several more so I can rotate them when I am out and about flying them. Keeping one charged while we fly the others....thats how much fun these are. Durable? You bet! Outdoor flying? Not the greatest if there are any winds aloft at all, but on a calm day, there is nothing better than flying this toy over and over and videotaping your exploits. I have flown up to about 30 meters, and could have gone higher, but the darned thing was hard to see. Incredibly stable, you will find yourself flying this helicopter through increasingly more difficult paths, as it is rock steady when it is calm out.BUY THIS! for the money, it is amazing.As with anything, there are pros and cons. I guess in keeping with the other comments, the cons of this helicopter is that flying outdoors is a challenge if there is any wind at all. The gyroscopic technology, however, keeps this machine rock steady in flight, and gives the operator suck stability, it becomes a cinch to fly. It is very durable, as I have crashed it many times. I do have a good HINT! When you take it out of the box, put a rubber band around the landing skids to hold tension on them. Simply put the rubber band all the way around the skids near the helicopter body. This keeps the skids form breaking during intense hard landings. The skids are well attached, but it seems that after breaking a few, the rubber band has made it indestructable in even the worst crashes. Flight time is significantly increased by turning off the lights. No one needs to see the disco lights while in flight, so kill them. I will say the front spotlight makes it easier to detect direction when flying high, or farther away. The range on this copter is terrific, and I have been able to fly when it appeared no more than a little dot. Above all, have fun with this copter....I am having a blast.

UPDATED REVIEW: After going online for info, I found another owner of this copter who said it will have improved forward motion, which is weak, if you set the "Accelerate" mode to ON, which appears as "Mode 2" on the transmitter screen. After doing this I found this Heli flys pretty well AS LONG AS U USE "Mode 2". While the forward motion is still weakish, you can at least fly it outside, if the breeze is nearly non-exiatant. Under these conditions, heli flys well indoors and adequately outdoors, it does some nice turns at speed and its very stable easy to hover, u can let go of the controls momentarily and it levels and holds positio fairly well, though it has a tendancy to back slide at hover and take off, corrected by using forward stick. All in all, for $50 this is worth having IMO for beginner to intermediate. It has stood up very well to crashes. Good copter to have, especially with the video cam I have not tried yet. Get a Blade also for fast forward motion and zippier performance.

Charged the heli up (this took about 20 minutes) and installed the batteries in the transmitter, then bound and flew to a stable hover right out of the box. Now if you are use to having rudder control on the left stick, this heli takes a little getting used to. In the process, I bumped into some furniture, and had some emergency landings, but I have yet to damage anything. Even at the heavier weight, it is still better to cut power and let her drop than to run into things at power IMO. The camera works great. The picture is very clear and stable. I also like the micro SD card that comes with it and the cool USD adapter to download with. Being able to turn the lights off lengthens flight times, but still, only 5 to 7 minutes so far. As for the instructions, they suck. I wish the Chinese would at least hire an American to translate, or at least proof read, these manuals. The English is terrible, so some things are just plane stupid. One thing on the charging, the "manual" states that, when you plug the charging cord into the copter, the light will go out. This is wrong. The light is green, and goes to red when you plug the cord into the copter, then goes green again when the charging is done. Much of the manual is just ridiculous. Why do they bother? It is insulting.The binding process has already been explained in another review, and that procedure works quite well.I am very pleased with the copter, and all the more so at the price I paid.

My son was looking forward to upgrading from the smaller Syma models. This was a disappointment. We got this primarily to fly outside and use the camera. The helicopter, even in calm wind, does not move forward. Its control is only in the vertical access, as in it gains the height. But rarely moves forward. It mostly tries to move back. As for the camera, never could see since I could not control where it went and the USB adapter for the camera did not seem to work in 3 different laptops: i.e. it would not enter it. Unfortunately , have to go through the trouble of returning it and replace it.