Syma Forum

Great to hear that was the issue! (Especially considering it's a free fix, instead of a $5 battery)

That last part's not an issue, that's actually a critical part of the physics of  a helicopter. It always takes more energy to lift off than it does to fly. I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of it, but I know that if I read through and refreshed on it, I would probably take up all of SF's bandwidth. Basically, when it's in the air, the blades can push the air straight down and keep it going, when it's on the ground, you get a lot of prop wash, which while in the air gives more lift, when on the ground, it disapates the airflow and thus the power.

Now, what you can do when you don't have the power to go straight up is a little trick that real helicopter pilots use when overweight--Transitional Lift. When your overweight or running low on power, you can jam it into full foreward, and it will gain momentum and lift, but if you stop going foreward, you loose the transitional lift, and drop. It is a really fun and cool thing to try, and takes a lot of skill (and room) to perfect. Works best on a lanolium floor with these guys, but carpet with a military heli will also work. (the 107's tend to get their skids caught in carpet when trying it, and wood will work too if it's perfectly flat, not notched or otherwise milled to a decorative shape--the skids or wheels could get caught in dips and whatnot, flipping the heli into a nosedive)

I would post a link to a really good video, but the Smithsonian Channel doesn't like people having up bits of their shows, and the part I want isn't on youtube. But, this one will do too.

Uggg... got logged out as I was hitting post reply and it didn't post...

Well, it sounds like you have one obvious problem, and possably a hidden and harder to fix problem. First, the blades going up and down is a dead giveaway that the gears have slipped down in the shaft, and could be causing gear slip. It's a simple fix with a video listed  in the "frequent problems and how to fix" section. All you need is a small (preferably jewler's/electronics) flathead screwdriver. Just look over there and find the video, and follow Super Nova's instructions.

Now, after that, try it out and reply with the results. If the gears have slipped down, then they might be slipping, loosing their grip, and while you might think the blades are at full speed, they might be at almost a stand still relative to flight speed. If they aren't slipping, you'll have needed to fix them being down too far anyway, so it's not wasted time in any way shape or form.

Now, if it does not work. crack it open (not literally) and look at the battery. Heck, look at the battery even if it does work. If it's bloated or soft, or worst case, leaking, then that's obviously a problem.

Either way, stick around--we're not just about repairs here. That's our bread and butter, but that's not the only thing we do around here.