Michael Heer
Nov 09, 2008, 07:51 AM
!Introduction
| spec2
|
| @CSS-27.jpg:Cyber Surfer
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 15"
|> <b>Width:</b> |< 7"
|> <b>Height:</b> |< 8.75"
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 4.7 oz
|> <b>Transmitter:</b> |< 2 Channel on 27 MHz
|> <b>Battery:</b> |< 9-volt for transmitter
|> <b>Motor:</b> |< Twin brushed motors
|> <b>Fan Unit:</b> |< 2 horizontal fan units
|> <b>ESC:</b> |< unknown
|> <b>Manufacturer:</b> |< <a href=http://www.Thinkgeek.com>ThinkGeek</a>
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <a href=http://www.Thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/a4f0>ThinkGeek</a>
|> <b>Price:</b> |< $ 79.99
I was intrigued by this Surfer when I first saw him at ThinkGeek, but I resisted buying him until the current sale (he’s currently on sale for $49.99). I purchased him as a Christmas present for one of my adult sons and then gave in to the desire to try him out and do a review!
!Kit Contents
*Included Items:
*Fully assembled Cyber Surfer on Spaceboard
*Wall charger for Spaceboard
*Transmitter on 27 MHz
*Instruction sheet
*Two sets of spare propeller blades
@CCS2-1.jpg:The Cyber Surfer on his Spaceboard, the transmitter and the wall charger
@CCS2-3.jpg:The instruction manual
*Item I supplied:
*9-volt battery for transmitter
!Assembly
I installed a new 9-volt alkaline battery into the transmitter and plugged the wall charger into the Spaceboard and the wall. Charging time for a depleted battery is about 50 minutes but the initial charge took only about 20 minutes. The instructions recommend charging only when the battery is fully discharged and you are unable to fly. A full charge will take about 70 minutes, and flight time is listed as 5-10 minutes (I consistently get over nine minutes).
!Flying
!!Basics
The transmitter has two sticks. The left stick is the throttle and allows the spaceboard to climb and hover. The right stick controls movement to the right and left. The Cyber Surfer moves forward when side movement or turning is initiated. I thought it was supposed to always be flying forward on its own from the ad but the instructions cleared that up. Balance is maintained in flight by using the trim dial and a built in accelerometer.
Although this is a radio controlled craft instead of infrared control it is an inside vehicle; it is too large and light to fly outdoors in anything but absolute calm.
@CSS-14.jpg:The transmitter with two sticks for controlling the Spaceboard
There is one trim dial for left and right, and it was necessary for me to adjust this once to get the two motors in balance. Once that was accomplished I didn't need to adjust the trim dial again.
@CCS2-2.jpg:Here I am pointing at the trim dial that I only needed to adjust once.
!!Taking Off and Landing
Takeoffs proved to be very easy with quick upper left stick. Getting a couple of inches off the ground quickly proved to be important for best flying. Slowly powering up sometimes caused the Surfer and spaceboard to tip over to one side or the other. Trying to stay just above the floor also proved troublesome and could lead to early tip overs. However, with a quick lift off and about 3 inches or more of elevation I had no problems with ground effect or early tip over.
Landings were best obtained from a still hover position and moving the throttle down slowly and steadily. Attempts for rapid landings would often cause the surfer to tumble and slow. For hand landings it is best to grab catch the center platform and not the rim around the blades.
!!Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance
I found it best to fly a minimum of 3 inches off the ground to avoid ground effect that could cause my surfer to tumble. I found I could move to the surfer's left with full left stick movement and maintain control but smaller movements were more controllable. I found full right stick movements if held for longer then a moment would move him that direction very fast and get him tipped in that direction and would often lead to a tumble and fall. Small stick movements to the right were no problem. Short full movements were exciting, and I could control them as long as I kept the movements short.
My surfer did not initially move forward but rather hovered in place with just left stick movement to bring him up into a hover. I found I could move him about in a more or less controlled fashion using the left and right directional controls to induce some turning and then movement when he was lined up where I wanted him by moving to the left or the right. As stated in the instruction manual, forward movement is slow and comes when using a turning movement.
There were no aerobatics, but I found simply steering him around the room was enough of a challenge. Mine would be operating really nicely, and he would suddenly tumble and fall at times for no discernible reason. I would have flights without a problem, and other times he seemed to want to tumble every twenty-thirty seconds. I have put together a Blooper tape to show some of these falls. Perhaps most amazing is that despite these falls my cyber surfer and his spaceboard have remained in like new condition.
For a cool effect fly it in a room with open space at night with the lights off.
@CSS-08.jpg:LEDs allow for lights out night flying.
!!Is This For a Beginner?
Yes! It hovers very easily and can be operated by someone who has never flown before. Practice will improve the ability to control the spaceboard in flight, and as with many RC craft, controlled flight is best obtained with small movements.
!!Flight Video/Photo Gallery
@CSS-17.jpg:
@CSS-18.jpg:
@CSS-19.jpg:
@CSS-21.jpg:
@CSS-22.jpg:
+CyberSurfer.wmv:The Cyber Surfer riding his Spaceboard, pilot Michael Heer, camerman Dick Andersen.
+CyberBloopers.wmv:Not all flights are perfect as seen in this blooper/crash video.
!Conclusion
I had fun doing this quick review of the Cyber Surfer. Mine was not rock solid in the air, but I didn't expect him to be. Overall the control of the flight was actually better than I expected but the sudden tumbling may mean I had an accelerometer with a glitch or air currents I didn't notice.
The real determination of success will be if my former skateboarding adult son finds it interesting when he opens the package on Christmas day!
If you want something different or always wanted to be McFly in "Back to the Future," then you might want to try this surfer!
*Pluses:
*Except for a 9-volt battery came with everything needed to operate
*Recharges from the wall and not from the transmitter
*Was larger then I expected
*Hovers very well and balance trim dial only needed to be adjusted once
*On sale!
*Minuses:
*Mine tumbled for no apparent reason at times
| spec2
|
| @CSS-27.jpg:Cyber Surfer
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 15"
|> <b>Width:</b> |< 7"
|> <b>Height:</b> |< 8.75"
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 4.7 oz
|> <b>Transmitter:</b> |< 2 Channel on 27 MHz
|> <b>Battery:</b> |< 9-volt for transmitter
|> <b>Motor:</b> |< Twin brushed motors
|> <b>Fan Unit:</b> |< 2 horizontal fan units
|> <b>ESC:</b> |< unknown
|> <b>Manufacturer:</b> |< <a href=http://www.Thinkgeek.com>ThinkGeek</a>
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <a href=http://www.Thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/a4f0>ThinkGeek</a>
|> <b>Price:</b> |< $ 79.99
I was intrigued by this Surfer when I first saw him at ThinkGeek, but I resisted buying him until the current sale (he’s currently on sale for $49.99). I purchased him as a Christmas present for one of my adult sons and then gave in to the desire to try him out and do a review!
!Kit Contents
*Included Items:
*Fully assembled Cyber Surfer on Spaceboard
*Wall charger for Spaceboard
*Transmitter on 27 MHz
*Instruction sheet
*Two sets of spare propeller blades
@CCS2-1.jpg:The Cyber Surfer on his Spaceboard, the transmitter and the wall charger
@CCS2-3.jpg:The instruction manual
*Item I supplied:
*9-volt battery for transmitter
!Assembly
I installed a new 9-volt alkaline battery into the transmitter and plugged the wall charger into the Spaceboard and the wall. Charging time for a depleted battery is about 50 minutes but the initial charge took only about 20 minutes. The instructions recommend charging only when the battery is fully discharged and you are unable to fly. A full charge will take about 70 minutes, and flight time is listed as 5-10 minutes (I consistently get over nine minutes).
!Flying
!!Basics
The transmitter has two sticks. The left stick is the throttle and allows the spaceboard to climb and hover. The right stick controls movement to the right and left. The Cyber Surfer moves forward when side movement or turning is initiated. I thought it was supposed to always be flying forward on its own from the ad but the instructions cleared that up. Balance is maintained in flight by using the trim dial and a built in accelerometer.
Although this is a radio controlled craft instead of infrared control it is an inside vehicle; it is too large and light to fly outdoors in anything but absolute calm.
@CSS-14.jpg:The transmitter with two sticks for controlling the Spaceboard
There is one trim dial for left and right, and it was necessary for me to adjust this once to get the two motors in balance. Once that was accomplished I didn't need to adjust the trim dial again.
@CCS2-2.jpg:Here I am pointing at the trim dial that I only needed to adjust once.
!!Taking Off and Landing
Takeoffs proved to be very easy with quick upper left stick. Getting a couple of inches off the ground quickly proved to be important for best flying. Slowly powering up sometimes caused the Surfer and spaceboard to tip over to one side or the other. Trying to stay just above the floor also proved troublesome and could lead to early tip overs. However, with a quick lift off and about 3 inches or more of elevation I had no problems with ground effect or early tip over.
Landings were best obtained from a still hover position and moving the throttle down slowly and steadily. Attempts for rapid landings would often cause the surfer to tumble and slow. For hand landings it is best to grab catch the center platform and not the rim around the blades.
!!Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance
I found it best to fly a minimum of 3 inches off the ground to avoid ground effect that could cause my surfer to tumble. I found I could move to the surfer's left with full left stick movement and maintain control but smaller movements were more controllable. I found full right stick movements if held for longer then a moment would move him that direction very fast and get him tipped in that direction and would often lead to a tumble and fall. Small stick movements to the right were no problem. Short full movements were exciting, and I could control them as long as I kept the movements short.
My surfer did not initially move forward but rather hovered in place with just left stick movement to bring him up into a hover. I found I could move him about in a more or less controlled fashion using the left and right directional controls to induce some turning and then movement when he was lined up where I wanted him by moving to the left or the right. As stated in the instruction manual, forward movement is slow and comes when using a turning movement.
There were no aerobatics, but I found simply steering him around the room was enough of a challenge. Mine would be operating really nicely, and he would suddenly tumble and fall at times for no discernible reason. I would have flights without a problem, and other times he seemed to want to tumble every twenty-thirty seconds. I have put together a Blooper tape to show some of these falls. Perhaps most amazing is that despite these falls my cyber surfer and his spaceboard have remained in like new condition.
For a cool effect fly it in a room with open space at night with the lights off.
@CSS-08.jpg:LEDs allow for lights out night flying.
!!Is This For a Beginner?
Yes! It hovers very easily and can be operated by someone who has never flown before. Practice will improve the ability to control the spaceboard in flight, and as with many RC craft, controlled flight is best obtained with small movements.
!!Flight Video/Photo Gallery
@CSS-17.jpg:
@CSS-18.jpg:
@CSS-19.jpg:
@CSS-21.jpg:
@CSS-22.jpg:
+CyberSurfer.wmv:The Cyber Surfer riding his Spaceboard, pilot Michael Heer, camerman Dick Andersen.
+CyberBloopers.wmv:Not all flights are perfect as seen in this blooper/crash video.
!Conclusion
I had fun doing this quick review of the Cyber Surfer. Mine was not rock solid in the air, but I didn't expect him to be. Overall the control of the flight was actually better than I expected but the sudden tumbling may mean I had an accelerometer with a glitch or air currents I didn't notice.
The real determination of success will be if my former skateboarding adult son finds it interesting when he opens the package on Christmas day!
If you want something different or always wanted to be McFly in "Back to the Future," then you might want to try this surfer!
*Pluses:
*Except for a 9-volt battery came with everything needed to operate
*Recharges from the wall and not from the transmitter
*Was larger then I expected
*Hovers very well and balance trim dial only needed to be adjusted once
*On sale!
*Minuses:
*Mine tumbled for no apparent reason at times