Which would you get for yourself and your son and why?

I've done a lot of research, this will be my first non-micro heli (I have an RC parkflyer, so not total newbie) and I've flown a large coaxial with no trouble.

I understand the battery issues of all of these -- don't expect much.
It seems that the durability of all are good.
The DH looks to need the main rotor flipped to avoid strikes.
All seem to be improved by the tail rotor mods.

I LOVE the big S033g, but I'm not excited at all about the drop in reception due to the 27mhz issues. I can deal with flipping the rotor, getting a new tail rotor, and upgrading the battery, but none of that matters if the thing drops out of the sky.

The S33 seems the right fix, but I can't find it for sale any place without apparently risking my life in dealing with the likes of XHeli.

The DH 9118 seems like the right fix, but then... compared to the S033g, it's like tiny! But in reading the reviews the rates of problems seems to be minimal compared to the Syma models.

Can someone do an actual, non-bias, non-angled, straight from nose to tail (NOT including tail rotor) measurement of these birds? I can't seem to find any consistent numbers for how big each of these actually are.

One more thing. I really want to be able to carry a GoPro Hero up. If you can confirm that I can strap one to the skids and fly it around, I would buy the DH9118 right now.

Thanks!

Hi rbbailey,

I have flown all three. If you can find one, the S33 is the best of the group, simply because it's more powerful and it's on 2.4Ghz. The S033G is the same as the S33, But as you noted it's on 27Mhz and everyone that I've talked to, has signal loss problems, Me included. I'm working on converting my S033G to 2.4Ghz. One member of the forum has already done so. So far he reports everything is going as planned.

The DH9118 is a very smooth flying heli, But still can suffer from blade strikes even after all of the mods. The S33 or the S033G would be the best candidate for carrying a GoPro. I can't say that they will, Because I've never tried it. It would all depend on what the GoPro weighs. Even if they will fly the extra weight, the flight time is going to be shortened.

As far as dealing with xHeli, Most people haven't had any problems, while others have. I've ordered several Heli's from them without any problems. If I do have a problem with them and they don't resolve it, Then I won't deal with them again.
I spend way too much money on this hobby to put up with poor product and poor customer service.

J

Thanks for the reply. The photo does a good job at showing the size comparison. Looks to be minimal size differences.

When the blades strike, does it bring the copter down? And under what circumstances does this happen? I assume it might occur while pitching back hard during forward flight?

I'm a little worried about getting something defective out of the box, then having trouble returning it.

Can anyone direct me to an S33 at a reasonable price?

With the DH9118 I've experienced blade strike when turning back into the wind at too severe of an angle. Also,when I turned too tight in a nose in "funnel".
Even with the lower blades reversed, There's still not a lot of clearance between the top and lower blades. The blades also have some flex which doesn't help any. Yes, the Heli quits flying and will crash. The higher the Heli the more spectacular the crash and damage to the Heli.

I haven't found anyone lately that has the Syma S33 in stock at a reasonable price. I should have bought two of them when xHeli was selling them for Forty-Six dollars plus shipping.

J

A GoPro on a $50 coax that can't handle any wind???

Originally Posted by Balr14

A GoPro on a $50 coax that can't handle any wind???

You havn't tried hard enough obviously, some of these, my S033g for one , will fly in certainly more than just a light breeze! However if the Gopro weighs more than 50g or there abouts then I agree that would be a waste of time!

GoPros are not cheap. I'd want something with enough movement authority and control to handle most any unexpected air currents or wind. A 3 channel coax means trusting too much to luck for my tastes. Of course, it's not my money.

I know what you're saying about the GoPro, but then....

gopro freefall from 12500 without case (7 min 55 sec)

And, based on the other video he has, this was with a GoPro, outside! I'm going to have to practice a bit before I try it though!

RC Helicopter Double Horse 9118 Outside (1 min 47 sec)

Have a look at my youtube clip and you'll see what fun a large coax can be.Just google youtube nicktwinn (think that'll show it)

Hi drambuidhe,

I tried to get your video clip to come up on you tube, But couldn't get it to show up. I really would like to see it.

Could you go to your video clip on you tube and In the top right-hand corner, you will see the word "Share" Click on "Share". It will show a box with the URL in white letters with blue background, right click on the URL and it will bring up a box with the words Undue, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All. Click on Copy. Go to the Coaxial forum and click on "Discussion DH9118 or Syma S33 or Syma S033g". Click on post reply. Right Click and select paste. This should put the You Tube Video URL in the text field. Then click on preview post and you should see the you tube video. Then click on Submit Reply.

J

sorry Jim , must be doing something daft, paste won't highlight so can't get any further.My son will know when we get there on friday

Originally Posted by drambuidhe

sorry Jim , must be doing something daft, paste won't highlight so can't get any further.My son will know when we get there on friday

Jim, go to youtube and type syma s033g then go to page 7

Hi drambuidhe,

Is this the video that you were talking about? Is it flying with the 2.4Ghz system or is it still the 27Mhz system?
Also I'm wondering whats that hanging from the nose of the S033G?

You're right about the S033G being able to build up some speed, I know that I have to be very careful with mine, That I don't get it going too fast and then try to make a sharp turn.

J

103 0026 (4 min 48 sec)

OK, so I went ahead and ordered the Double Horse 9118. It isn't as big as the others, but I'm expecting my son will not care. And from what I've read, even though they all have their own little issues, the DH threads tend to be less about problems the users are having. This is more important to me than the size.

Now I'm working on training myself and my son with RealFlight G3.5! The Blade CX, with a modified input from the controller feels a lot like these large Coaxials.

Well done, you found it! Thanks for putting it on.It was just to show those folk that say you can't fly coaxs' outside that they're wrong! Yes this was before the 2.4 conversion and thats the aerial hanging unless you mean at the end of the vid when the battery slipped from the velcro mount after the hard landing on the balcony