We second this
motion...
Another month, another helicopter through the post from our
dear German chums at Revell. So, as we don protective goggles, apologise to the
neighbours in advance, and clear any cats and dogs from the general area, we
prepare to take off on another calamitous flight test. But wait... this new
chopper is different. And so began the most fun we've ever had with an RC
helicopter, as we test the Revell Space Motion Quadcopter.
What's so different, you may ask. Well, just look at it - although the helicopter itself is nothing new to us, measuring about 10cm across and featuring a slide-in USB rechargeable battery (although the addition of the safety cage is very welcome), gone has the traditional controller with two thumb sticks. Instead you get something far more high-tech included to drive your chopper, something that looks more like a Nintendo Wii accessory.
That is because it shares a lot in common with the Wii,
being as it is a motion controller. But, before we get carried away telling you
about that, here's some background. The quadcopter itself is, as we said, in
the small-but-not-too-small category (certainly not as pint-sized as the HubsanQ4 Quadcopter) which means that indoor flying is ideal, although not essential if the
weather is calm. The chopper is powered by a USB slide-out battery, which
unfortunately does connect via a messy-looking wire that pokes out the back,
but we'll look passed this. You get an included USB charger with ports for simultaneously
charging two batteries, but just one battery included.
Whereas in most other quadcopter reviews we would go on to detail
which stick on the controller does what, we must instead pause. The Space
Motion's controller looks like a lightsaber hilt and features the same layout
(although on a slightly bigger scale) as a Wii nunchuck, with a thumb stick and
underside trigger. Here the thumbstick acts quite like a conventional left
stick on a normal controller, controlling the throttle with up and down, and
left and right controlling yaw. Once you master that, you get your wrist
moving.
To move the quadcopter forward, backwards, left and right, you turn the controller, allowing the onboard motion sensor to control the flight. This sounds overly tricky, with your thumb and wrist acting together like that, but in fact it is the best and easiest way we've ever tried to fly a remote controlled helicopter. It really is that simple, and balancing the throttle while learning how much to turn the controller to get movement took us about a minute to master. Meanwhile, even after 18 months of flying them, we're still notices with conventionally controlled helicopters.
And the underside trigger? That activates a pre-programmed flip that the Space Motion executes very well and surprisingly tidily. So there you go - even tricks are easy to perform. We really love the Space Motion Quadcopter and think that so far this is the best and most fun we've had with one of Revell's flying gadgets. Check it out.
Around £35