I have a similar Apache from Cobra Toys. It's difficult to control maybe due to the hard crashes it sustained. I almost gave up flying till I learned out trimming. The instructions I had didn't show you now to trim. Crazy! Now I can fly it better though, along with my 6 other helis! I've purchased blades, lipo charger, and an extra battery. Aside from it's challenges, I like this heli for these reasons:

-It's my first!
-Black color
-The LED lights!!

I have another one that's about 12 inches in length. It is the Syma S008. It flies better, has lights but is a dark green. Looks better black. Maybe I could spray paint it. I think I'm going to order another 9088. Wish they would make a 4 channel one with lights. I've seen the feral beast and Colco but they don't have lights! Nice flying by the way.

Hi,

I am new to the forums, and found it by searching for info on this model of RC Helicopter. I have one of these, but have not used it for some time due to the erratic nature of its flying. Once I give it enough throttle to take off, it always flies left, whilst the nose rising up in the air making it go backwards aswell.

Any idea what I need to do? I know there are trim controls, but I don't know how to use them.

Any help would be great!

Thanks.

Hey!

I have just get my first rc helicopter, and i have already crashed it , but i can`t
find where to get new parts . Is there someone out there who can guide me to a internet site? Give a link. Norwegian, Europe or other places.

AirForce1

I'm sorry to say (esp. as it's my first post on this forum), but I've had this Apache for 2 weeks and it's build quality is pretty rubbish IMHO.

Yes I'll admit I had a pretty nasty stack from quite high, but so many things about it all spell CHEAP....NASTY.

With the exception of blades / balance bar, parts here in Australia are very difficult to come by. I've spent a week trying to find out where I can purchase a replacement gear for the top rotor and have had no joy so far. The picture on the 9088 parts list of a gear cog looks nothing like the piece I need. The teeth on mine are all blunted and it's no longer turning the top set of coax. rotors.

I've already wasted about $130 AUD and that's enough for me.

I've just ordered a MUCH better learner IMO, and after much trolling through forums like this, have gone ahead with the Walkera 4#3B double brushless mini RC copter (c/- 2.4Gig TX/RX and metal rotor head / swash plate).

It's twice the price of the apache 9088, but easily 5 times better.

Anyway, if anyone has changed gear cogs on this baby, I'd love to hear what part you used. There's a gear for the Esky Lama that looks remarkably similar to what I need...(might visit the local hobbyshop who stocks the Esky's).

Just got this for Christmas and am having a great time flying it! Had to order one missing part (the upper connect buckle, 9088-02), but since getting it I've been able to maintain a pretty good trim.

However I have one minor issue that I cannot seem to solve. No matter what I do, it seems that the forward speed is minimal at best and occasionally virtually non-existent. The rear blade does spin up when I press forward (and in fact I get a fair bit of vertical rise when I do that), the chopper tilts a little bit forward and I get some forward speed. However the forward tilt, and hence speed, is very minimal. Sometimes, probably when a bit of an air current hits it, I will not even get any forward velocity even at full forward of the stick.

Same thing happens backwards, except instead of a rise, I get a dip when I pull the stick back.

Is this common on this model or do I have something out of alignment?

Thanks,
Peter

pbako

Did you only get one connect buckle? I have been having a lot of difficulty getting this think to hover and just noticed that I was missing one. I wondered if it popped off on one of my crashes.

How much did it help once you got it to keep it level and not drift? I also have a problem with spinning, but sometimes I can actually control that, but it seems to drift a lot.

Thanks

I hope you guys will bear with me, I'm no heli expert, and am having to work from memory, but have flown the Syma Apache, 3 channel heli. I'll just attempt to clear up a few points raised by the out and out novices here.
Coaxial helis, no matter if 3 or 4 channel, have very little wind penetration - if any at all. It's simply the nature of the beast that most don't fly forwards very fast. I've flown two brands of 3 channel Apache, and one 4 channel one (as well as various other 4 channel coaxials) and all have been much the same.

As regards quality, you get what you pay for. It's pointless to even try to compare a £35 Syma heli with a £85 E-Flite one. As for the chap who thinks Walkera helicopters are good quality, I think he may be disappointed. I've found them to mostly be very poor quality and very poorly set up. Expect to have to adjust things.
In general terms, for what it costs, the Syma Apache is a nice heli. I bought mine two years ago and learned a lot with it. It flew well, within the limitations of the type, looked good and trimmed out very well. I flew it for a couple of months, before moving onto 4 channel helis, and then sold it to a guy who still flies it. It has lasted well and nothing other than blades has needed to be replaced.
Part of the problem is that there are a lot of identical helis around, some even labelled as being Syma, that are actually cheap rip-off versions. Some of these are downright awful. I tried one and the transmitter switch stopped working after about three times. However, they may well prove a good source of spares. Buy a cheap copy and strip off it what you need.

When it comes to trimming these helis, IIRC, there is a rotating knob that controls rotation and sliding trims, one on each channel, that fine tune throttle and adjust forward and backward trim.
The knob should be turned against the direction of rotation until the heli remains reasonably still in the air. It may well be that it won't entirely cancel rotation, but it does get it to a reasonable amount, that can be supplemented with stick control. It will need to be adjusted as the battery runs down and the motor speed changes.
Throttle trim is best used to ensure the main rotors don't turn until the throttle is opened, and then for fine tuning to help maintain the same hover height.
Forward and backward trim is used to adjust, funnily enough, forward and backward movement without use of the stick. It should be set so that, with the stick central, the tail rotor is still. Then it should be moved in the reverse direction of any drift - if the heli drifts forward, move the trim back towards you.

Whilst on the subject of trim, a brief mention of the four channel version might be in order. That uses a slide trim, not a knob, for rotation (yaw) control. On the two I've flown IT IS REVERSED. So, if the heli rotates left, the trim needs to be moved left too, not to the right as would be normal. I also found that yaw control was in the same place as on a 3 channel heli, on the right stck. Normally it would be on the left with bank control on the right.
I mentioned this because mention has been made of 4 in 1 units and gyros. Only the four channel ones have these. The flybar does the stabilising on 3 channel coaxials. Many only have one link between blades and flybar, some have two but will work just as well with only one. The good part being that they tend to have ball joints on both sides so, if you break one off, use the other set.

When flying helis, keep stick movements absolutely minimal. Get the heli to around 4 feet up reasonably quickly, to get it clear of ground effect (the rotor wash bouncing back up and upsetting the heli) and then trim it for rotation until you have a fairly stable hover. Being close to walls and funiture will also reflect the wash and upset the heli. You may need to adjust forward/backward trim too, but expect the heli to take off either forwards or backwards, and be ready to cancel that with the stick.
The thing with flying them is that you need to watch them ALL the time. Note what they are doing and GENTLY correct it. Keep watching the heli and gently 'feel' it around the sky, using small stick inputs. Don't expect to just open the throttle and have a perfectly flying heli, it's very unlikely to happen - especially with cheap, 3 channel jobs. YOU need to fly them and that means starting out with plenty of clear space until you get the hang of it. An indoor area is best for the helis we are talking about. It's hard to get the trim right if there are outside influences, like breeze.
For meaningful results, 3 channel helis should only be flown outdoors in absolutely still air. Coaxials don't penetrate very well, but 3 channel coaxials don't usually penetrate at all - even a light breeze.

Sorry if this went on a bit, I was just trying to cover as many points as possible, as clearly as I could manage. I don't doubt you'll get differing opinions, but that's my advice, based on personal experience.

Great flying coaxial helicopters are out there, both 3 and 4 channel. I rather liked my Syma Apache and their little Chinook is brilliant, but I absolutely love my Twister Hawk and any E-Sky heli I've flown. Disliked virtually every Walkera type I've tried, for various reasons. I used to manage a model shop, so had the oportunity to try lots, without having to actually buy them - my excuse was that I needed to be able to advise the customers.

Pete

Edgars, yes I only purchased one connector as I had one missing. My original thought was that I had lost one during a crash on one of my first flights, but could never find it. Since I flew it in a very limited area and still could not find the missing piece, I did wonder if it might have shipped with just one buckle - since you have the same issue then the odds that it shipped with just one is good.

As for an improvement - yes it did help. With just a single connector I was able to get a pretty good trim, but as soon as I landed and took off again, the trim would be all messed up again. Once I got the second buckle on, the trim stays a lot more stable and does not "lose it" between landings.

All in all I am very happy with this little chopper and am enjoying getting back into the RC world with it.

Peter

PETERRAKE - Excellent info, thank you!!!

i got a cobra rc 9088 heli, and it is the biggest piece of junk ever made.the controller does not turn off, must pull batteries, and even when they are out and the toy turned on, it took off, went obout 50 feet in the air, then shut down, then came down.you got it.crash. busted a bunch of parts. i contacted cobra rc, and they have not even returned to me yet. these things that take off on thier own could be quite dangerous to anyone in the area. i would not recomend these to anyone. spend more money, get a better toy than this chinnese made junk.

905,
The first point is that you should NEVER turn on the heli without the transmitter switched on. Even good quality heli's will often do just what you describe. So, first rule, transmitter on first, off last. If the receiver can't find your signal, it will use whatever signal it does get. Or just do its' own thing regardless.

Cobra RC? Is that a shop or a manufacturer? This is the Syma (Double Horse) Apache we're talking about and I did mention the pitfalls of cheap copies. There are lots of them about, of varying quality. I, and many others, have flown very good heli's bought direct from China. It's just a case of trying your best to get the brand name heli, rather than a cheap clone.

I just did a search for Cobra RC. Tell me you didn't pay over $100 for that heli? That's extortionate.

Pete

Hi i wonder if anyone can help brought this heli for my 9 yr old son we brought it second hand does anyone know where i can get the instruction manual for it uk many thanks su

I was actually suckered into this one as well then went and bought the much bigger 450 size not knowing what I was doing. if you are wanting to get into REAL RC HELI these are pure JUNK..... Just my opinion.. I now only buy Blade products until I learn whats GOOD from HK...lol