Caught in the web
We've written several times before about the awesome model
kits that Revell produce. But we were also excited to learn that the German
company produce a wide range of RC kits, particularly things that fly. Always
ready to dribble over anything that we can bash about the garden and smash in
our neighbour's greenhouse, we jumped at the chance to review the Revell Sky
Spider Quadcopter.
The Sky Spider measures in at 51cm across and is completely surrounded by a foam safety guard, adding to the size and bulk - but not the weight. The rotor blades are 19cm long and, thanks to great foresight by Revell, you get an extra set included in the box. Other things to mention is the standard 2.4GHz connection to the controller, the gyro stabilisation and the four-channel control. So, in terms of the numbers, it is basically a bigger version of the Quadcropter withLEDs from Red 5.
But whereas that previous quadcopter was chaotic and crazy,
the Sky Spider is an altogether calmer affair. Straight out of the box, charged
up (about 70 minutes charge time), and hitting the throttle, we found the Sky
Spider was perfectly calibrated and did not need masses of amounts of trim
adjustment. It lifted gracefully and hovered in place with very little drift.
This pleased us (and our nervously watching neighbours).
Part of the reason for this easy set-up is the simplicity of
the kit. The controller, which feels alarmingly light in the hand, has no LCD
screen which we've been used to on quadcopters of this style (and price). Info
like the speed of the motors and what difficulty setting you're on has been
done away with, and instead the controller features a speed switch offering 30%,
60% and 100% options. This basically means easy, medium, and advanced levels of
control, with the 100% setting allowing much quicker reactions and the ability
to do tricks like flips and loops.
Revell state that the range of the Sky Spider is around 50
metres, which when we first read that we were suspicious. Usually 2.4GHz quads
like this one can reach up to around double that before connection to the
controller drops off, and that is what we found with the Sky Spider. Why they
put 50 metres on the box (and website) we don't know, but rest assured that you
will be able to enjoy top speeds over the typical 100 metre range.
In terms of flight time we were a little disappointed there.
With a charge of 70-90 minutes you'll get, on average, seven minutes of use.
That isn't so great when compared to other quads and we can only assume that
the excess weight of enlarging the Sky Spider has had an effect on a battery
normally reserved for smaller choppers. Still, with the Sky Spider being so
easy operate, those seven minutes are never wasted and can be fully used.
For the sheer ease of use, and the fact that it comes
complete with the foam rotor guard (normally an optional extra) we heartily recommend
the Revell Sky Spider to people wanting to break into the RC helicopter hobby.
It makes a great practice vehicle for indoors (given the space) but is also
tonnes of fun outside where you can really crank up the speed and let rip.
£99.99
Available from www.amazon.co.uk