Picoo-Z - Tandem-Z

 

 

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This is a logical evolution of the original single-rotor Picoo Z, which set a new standard for remote control helicopter price/preformance. Its design is a fascinating departure from conventional solutions, and has great educational merit.

With helicopters, performance means stability, not speed. It is said that aeroplanes want to fly, helicopters want to fall..... And that is doubly true of models, which are much twitchier than bigger ones.

Full-scale twin-rotor machines like the military Chinook demonstrate much improved pitch stability over ordinary single-rotors, and the twin-rotor Picoo benefits from this. If you have tried the single-rotor Picoo-Z and found it a bit lively, this is much more stable and easier to fly, especially for beginners. There are also some clear fins (not shown on the illustrations) which increase the damping in yaw, so that the aircraft is less nervous when turning. The fins also help with anti-torque. Nice one.

Chinooks use contra-rotation to cancel the torque from the engine - front rotor turns one way and the back one turns opposite so the helo does not spin around. No need for a Sikorsky-style tail rotor.

But this 2-rotor Picoo uses a novel approach - both rotors turn the same way and appear to be identical to the rotors on our 1-rotor Picoos. That ensures that spares are available and will have saved a few bob developing a rotor that turns the other way. So to stop it spinning they have leaned the front rotor to one side, the back rotor to t'other side. Clever.

This cancels the torque quite effectively, and the 'rudder' control tilts the front rotor assembly left and right in order to steer.

With the second rotor we gain some 'pitch' control - moving the right stick forwards now makes the aircraft fly forwards. Moving it right and left initiates a turn, and it will turn quite tight but well controlled.

The left stick is the up-and-down control and there is power to spare - on one trip outside it went up like a Guy Fawkes rocket. Scary.

But.... Outside is not the best place for most of these small, light models. Any air movement at all will blow it away, and the sun can interfere with the Infra-Red remote control, trust me, you don't want that! On a dead calm overcast day you might be OK, but....

Fortunately this model is steady enough and controllable enough to fly well indoors. Taller rooms are best, and less furniture is obviously better - we find bedrooms can be good for soft landings on the bed.

It's quite tough, no breakages yet, but the paint suffers from impact with hard stuff, so it does pay to pick a soft surface to fly from.

We would recommend setting up the two trim controls so that it flies forward very slowly whilst circling gently. This means you can concentrate on getting the hang of the up-down control without worrying too much about walls and things. Then maybe try some tighter circles, figure-8s and finally some more speed. It is fast enough to get out of hand if you are not on top of it.

Over a couple of years we have bought lots of these small models in the family - the Picoo, the Alany Mosquito, the newer Mosquito with 2-blade rotors, many derivatives of these designs. they are all great fun, but this Picoo is even better than the new 2-blade Mozzie.

Strongly recommended for model flyers of all ages - ideal for beginners too.

Having owned 3 PicooZ helicopters, I thought I ought to give the TandemZ a try. It's more versatile than the PicooZ in terms of control, although trickier to master. I found that in a small room, it's easier to control forward motion using the forward/backward trim than with the joystick. The experience is somewhat more exciting for the addition of forward motion to this model; whereas the PicooZ kind of randomly hovers forward, the TandemZ zips around the room. Expect more extreme crashes when it goes wrong!

I bought this as a birthday present for my husband and have had great fun watching him trying to master the art of flying!! We've both been amazed at how the helicopter has stood up to the number of crash landings and bouncing off walls and ceilings. Now he's getting the hang of flying it's been quite interesting to see how the helicopter works and responds to the controls, such as hovering for instance.
Highly recommended; in fact, it looks like his work mates are starting to drop hints to partners ready for Christmas.....

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5.0 out of 5 stars Nawet Fajna Zabawka!
Kupilem niedawno ten typ helikoptera i pomimo malych trudnosci z pilotowaniem to jednak nauczylem sie nim sterowac. Read more

Published 20 months ago by D. Staroszczyk

4.0 out of 5 stars Chinnnok
This item was bought by my grandson , based on favourable independent report .

He has not been disappointed.

Published 23 months ago by Mr. P. Delaney

5.0 out of 5 stars Good fun and good value
Just a few points to add to what most have already said.

If you've not flown a heli before, read the instructions, take your time and go gently. Read more

Published on 1 Feb 2010 by Bratters

5.0 out of 5 stars helicopter
Excellent purchase. Much easier to fly than we though my 9 year old son found it easier to fly than my Husband!!!

Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Mrs. T. Willis

1.0 out of 5 stars it's rubbish
I bought one of these, it arrived a week early which is good, but it cant turn right, and i payed £30 because i thought it was good, i was wrong: my remote wont charge up my... Read more

Published on 26 Jan 2010

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite hard to fly
A good quality toy, but my son of 16 found it quite hard to control properly, even after following all the instructions. Read more

Published on 13 Jan 2010 by Philzo

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to fly but looks like Jordan after a bad night out.
On the plus side, this is an EASY helicopter to fly, which for anyone who has had one knows is pretty rare. Read more

Published on 4 Jan 2010 by Beach Life

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good product.
This product is not for flying in your house unless you have a 10m x 10m room with nothing in it because crash this thing more than once and it breaks. Read more

Published on 31 Dec 2009 by Yoda's nose hair

5.0 out of 5 stars sturdy and steady heli
I got this helicopter for christmas it took a couple a days to get the hang of but once yove mastered it it is easy. Read more

Published on 29 Dec 2009

5.0 out of 5 stars me helicopter
was hard to control at start,but getting hang of it,great fun and very strong, have had xmas tree and some ornaments,had to change front plastic stabiliser but chopper is still... Read more

Published on 20 Dec 2009 by Mr. J. G. Birt

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