Syma 47G-4A Review
ele-copter rating: not yet rated
Introduction
Well it's here at last - and the weather is too rough for a full flight test so here are my initial thoughts. I was quite surprised at how small the 47G-4A actually is - about 2/3 the size of the Syma Dragonfly I would say. It sits comfortably in the palm of my hand. This means of course that none of the components are compatible with the Dragonfly. I thought I would be able to swap battery packs but the 47G-4A uses a pack half the size! Although the battery pack is not hard-wired in it is not easily removable either - at least not without a good supply of tie-wraps: they are used to hold the battery pack in place and also to secure the cabin. There is a charging socket below the power switch for charging the batteries, but that's it. Once your 10 minute flight is over it's back to base for another 3 hour charge. At least with the Dragonfly you can carry a pocketful of spare battery packs. The cabin is another anomaly. On this model it is a clear plastic bubble, whereas on the packaging and all the other pics I've seen it is expanded polystyrene foam - not as good looking, but more crash resistant.
OK that's enough moaning! The Syma 47G-4A is an extremely attractive model based on the famous Bell 47, as featured in such classics as MASH
and Whirlybirds. The 47G-4A was one of the later models
and used by, among others, the British Army, as well
as such things as crop spraying - indeed it is still
widely used today. The model appears to be very robust
- apart from the tailplane which had already broken
before I even opened the box! This was fixed by
attaching a piece of wire under each plane and through
the fuselage. The rotors are also hinged at the hub
which should help absorb some impact.
Flying
Initial test hops on the living room floor indicate that this might be far more controllable than the Dragonfly. The tail rotor certainly works, spinning the tail around in either direction with the slightest of pressure on the controls. That's all I can say until I get it outside....