How about some honest truths to begin with? I’ve flown plenty of planes, but I’ve never flown a helicopter before.
I’ve been rather intrigued by them though, especially now that they’ve become more affordable and a lot easier to fly thanks to coaxial rotors and other features that make them more beginner-proof than ever. Beyond that, I know little to nothing. Gyro? Sounds like a Greek dish to me. Coaxial? Sounds good if it makes it easier to fly. Hover? I know what that is, but I also know I’ll eventually figure out how to do it. Durable — and a spare set of blades? So, when ESky came out with its latest beginner helicopter, I knew it was time to go ahead and try it. The esky Lama v5 Co-Comanche, while similar under the canopy to its older siblings the Co-Co Lama and Lama V4, does include some upgraded electronics. On the outside, it comes in three different offerings of canopy: desert sand, olive drab or camouflage.
All it takes to get started is putting the batteries in the transmitter and then charging the LiPo. The RC helicopter comes pretrimmed and tested from the factory, so there’s technically no trimming required other than what you do on the receiver. The charger works extremely well, and I like the safety that a balancing charger like this offers. It’s a nice touch that you can also charge it through the included wall wart, especially for a beginner who may not have access to a battery or a 12V power supply. Now, if you want to charge the battery through your charger of choice, you may do so, too: The LiPo comes with a JST connector, and the balancing charger fits any V2 connector. It took about an hour to charge the battery (it charges it at .8A, or 1C for this specific battery). So, with the battery charged, it was time to head to the field and see if this really was a beginner helicopter!
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Yellow Esky Lama V5 CO-COMANCHE RC Helicopter |
Basics
After doing a range check and making sure each stick was doing its job, it was time to throttle up. Just a tad over half throttle is all I needed to get off of the ground. Anything beyond that, and it was headed skyward quite quickly (though full throttle can be quite the life, er, blade saver in hairy situations). Any less, and it is a victim of gravity. The radio works wonderfully, and the 4-in-1 controller along with the servos are surprisingly responsive, especially for a beginner model. While other beginner systems may have a bit of a lag, the Co-Comanche is quick to respond. Flying the Co-Comanche was surprisingly easy: The pitch, roll and yaw rates are rather low, so I didn’t have to worry about getting the helicopter into a situation I couldn’t get myself out of easily. I found that I had to trim the roll rate a bit, but that was about it. If there’s one thing you want to remember about the Co-Comanche as you head out the door it is this: It doesn’t like wind. So, especially on your first few flights, be sure to find a nice, calm day or otherwise find a indoor space. In wind it gets tossed around easily, and it becomes a bit hairy to control. The pitch rate is nice and gentle, and it won’t just lurch forward quickly. Sometimes I found that to be more of a hindrance than a help, but it’s a matter of trimming it to your liking. It looks great in the sky, too. It definitely has a great scale look to it, and I think beginners appreciate flying a realistic-looking kit rather than a model designed for easy flight. It is often a more rewarding experience. Most importantly, I appreciate that you can fly the Co-Comanche close to you. I found myself flying at above eye level or a bit higher than that and always within a 15-to-20-yard radius outside. I could actually see what I was doing.
Take-offs and landings
The trick to takeoffs is to make sure you do so from a level spot, especially if you’re in the grass. With a model this small, you’ll often find yourself rolling over, and even more often if you don’t have your Co-Comanche fully trimmed. In the pavement it’s just a matter of revving up to about half throttle, and you’re in business. It’s that easy. Landings are not hard either though I found that the landing gear is a bit on the flimsy side. I broke the front wheel setups a few times (though they’re easy to repair). The rear wheel also can come loose if you’re not careful since it’s just glued to the fuselage with some CA. Unfortunately, there are no training balls available, which would help beginner pilots with their landings.
Acrobatic maneuvers
With the counter-rotating blades, the model is as stable as you’d expect, and the travel rates are low enough that you won’t be able to do anything aggressive with them, so there are no aerobatics to speak of.
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Yellow Esky Lama V5 CO-COMANCHE RC Helicopter |
At first, I was a bit apprehensive of flying the Co-Comanche inside. As a beginner, I thought I would be a bull in a china shop. But, since I was doing this review in the winter, and it had been too windy outside to shoot video for it, I bit the bullet and decided to try the plane indoors. I straightened out the garage a bit, took the cars outside, and put the heli on the floor. I was ready to take to the (limited) skies. And boy, was it fun! Indoors is where the Co-Comanche performs best by far, and indoors is where you’ll have the most fun as well, especially if you’re a beginner. Think you’ll break the heli indoors? No way. Your flights will be a lot more stable so you won’t be crashing as much (you won’t get tossed around by the wind, either). Think you won’t have enough room? No way. You can fly in a living room, a break room, an office — anywhere! This is where I found out how gentle this heli is. I knew the counter-rotating blades would make this ESky heli way easier to fly, but I didn’t know it would be THIS easy. After a while, I was able to let go of the sticks, and the Co-Comanche would just hover in the same spot forever. You can have a lot of fun with it, too: You can set up obstacle courses, make patterns around the house, you name it. The possibilities are endless.
Is this for a beginner?
If I could fly it, so can you! As a first-time pilot, it only took me a couple of minutes to get my bearings and get used to flying the Co-Comanche. As long as you fly indoors or in calm-wind situations, you’ll be able to control this heli easily. The control rates are low enough that you won’t be able to get into situations that you won’t be able to get out of until you hit the ground.
Conclusion
Well, I did it. I flew a helicopter. I thought it would take three helicopters in the trash before I could fly one successfully, but I proved myself wrong. I owe it to the Esky Co-Comanche that I was able to do so without wrecking three models in the process. It’s easy to fly, it’s forgiving, and it’s durable. It looks great, too, which is sure to give beginners even more of a grin of their faces. This is a great value. And, should you break blades (which, along with landing gears, you more than likely will so go ahead and order a couple of extra sets of them), replacement parts are affordable. For any beginner, that’s something worth considering. The electronics, especially for this price, are great, and they are fully transferrable and upgradable – yet another nod for this great helicopter.
