Syma is one of many company that makes toy RC helicopter. The design is almost the same from one company to another, but this company, especially with their S107 model, is very successful.
The Syma S107 is the most succesful product from Syma. RC Helicopter experts will that these toys, but not matter what, these are very fun to fly and a great way to acquire flying skills.
The Syma S107 is a fixed pitch, coaxial helicopter. See
fixed-pitch-coaxial-helicopter article for a description of what it means.
It is 3 channels, meaning that you can contol its heigth up-down, rotate left-right, and speed forward-backward. It is not possible to bank left-right with this model.
Now into the review:
I have tested 3 Syma S107 helicopters. I have learned to fly with those, and my first comment is that they are EXTREMELY DURABLE !!! I have crashed them many many times. Really bad crash, on walls, and then, the helicopter falling down into other things and then on the floor, and I never broke an single part on any of the 3 helicopters !
This is very good, compared to the Blade MSR which I purchased after. The Blade MSR is a very popular level for intermediate pilot. It is way more expensive too (about 120$) and it is a lot more fragile. On my Blade MSR, I alread broke a tail motor, bent rear rotor blade, main motor connector, the cockpit, and the main rotor blades.
It is very easy to fly and the perfect choice for somebody who never touch radio controled heli or planes before. One of the main challenge for beginners is to learn gentle movement on the radio stick. A common mistake for begineers is to move the sticks too fast, especially the throttle. Then, when they see the helicopter reaction, they do the reverse movement, but too far again, and the helicopter end up out of control.
So this helicopter is a perfect way to learn how to be very gentle with the control, and how to maintain a stable heigth and direction.
With some supervision and me staying close to the radio, I was able to learn a 5 year old child to fly this helicopter.
In terms of flying time, this helicopter is pretty good too. It can fly for about 7 minutes with one charge. This is comparable, if not more, with what I get with my BLADE MSR helicopter.
So, for it's very low cost, high quality, and fun factor, I highly recommend this helicopter for begineers.