Revisited review: Twister Police Helicam RTF Coaxial Helicopter

A bit of an introduction is in order.

First of all, the Police Helicam has been discontinued in the US for quite some time and so has its cousin, the Blade CX4. Second, the model and radio in the photograph are not the items I used for the review, although I still have them in the original box and the model remains in perfectly good, nearly new and flyable condition.

After a quick online search, I found that British hobby company J Perkins Distribution, Ltd. in Lenham, Kent still carries the model! J Perkins was the original worldwide distributor and the model may now be found here.

My original review published February 22, 2011 can be viewed here.

What this is is the totally rebuilt damaged model given to me by Eddie Tucker at the now-defunct Ground Control Hobbies in Yucca Valley, California. Eddie took it back in as a warranty claim (read: pilot error) and he later gave it to me, radio and all. The story - and some photos of its original condition - are in the review.

What isn't in the review is what came a short time later. Just before I moved from the area, I'd paid Eddie a visit and I noticed yet another Police Helicam box just inside the door of the storage room. This had all of the parts I needed to complete the damaged model including two fuselages, a third radio system and the all-important battery! Forty bucks later, it was mine.

Now came the task of reassembling what I knew to be a working machine. Per the review, I'd test flown it without the fuselage after I'd repaired the minor mechanical damage. With an infusion of new parts purchased for slightly more than the cost of the battery by itself, I now had a second Police Helicam!

Since moving from the area a few years ago, both models had been sitting idle. I took this model from the closet, dusted it off and charged up a battery.

The original battery has a bad cell; it simply refuses to charge all the way and flight times are measured in seconds. The replacement battery not only took a charge, I also get several minutes of flight time before the low battery strobe began flashing.

Perfectly calm conditions are a must when flying outdoors. I kept that in mind when flying it in my front yard, especially since the skids are so fragile. For what amounts to an over-sized beginner's coaxial helicopter, the Police Helicam is a good, stable flyer, especially for an older design.

Should anyone out there have one (or in my case, two and a half) of these models moldering somewhere in a closet or garage, all the Blade CX4 parts except for the 7.5g servos are still available through Horizon Hobby! Some parts are available through J Perkins as well. I plan to start enjoying these little choppers once more and I'll be ordering a battery with its reduced retail price from my local hobby shop quite soon.