slashgear.com — The ingenious BladeRunner double-propeller system which relies on a coaxial rotor to make piloting the ?chopper. A three-channel digital remote controls up & down motion, forward & reverse, turning left & right and even allows the Mosquito to hover.
Sep 22, 2006 View in Crawl 4
burstaneurysmSep 22, 2006
According to the mfg website, it's available exclusively @ Radio Shack...<a class="user" href="http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2255015&cp">http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2255015&cp</a>
sublimemtbSep 22, 2006
That's why radioshack has a 90 day warranty period, so you can keep breaking it for 3 months
hurfydurfurSep 22, 2006
I thought the same thing but started reading small RC car reviews. CTD, hee hee.
crustySep 22, 2006
You can make a few minor mods to the PiccoZ to make it as quiet or quieter than the Mosquito. Switching to a carbon fiber shaft and adding some small bearings will make it much quieter and give you a little bit longer flying time.
haochiSep 23, 2006
I never seen a mosquito that BIG. :D
emansxtSep 23, 2006
I bought both the mosquito and the Picco Z from Rat Shack Thurs. I would say I like the mosquito better. You get a little better flight tie on the Picco, but it's harder to control cause it has only t axis. The mosquito is a little bet stable on flight too. The mosquito is a little less reliable. I had one hard landing and it wouldn't take off. Found out a gear came off track. Popped it back in place and it's OK.
angryboySep 23, 2006
I got one because of this story too, but I don't think it sucks at all. In fact, I love it!From what I understand, helicopters are a real bitch to control... so it makes sense that this one takes awhile to get used to. I've had similar first-flight problems, including the constant trimming. I've found though that it's not necessarily the trim that needs to be adjusted. Sometimes you just need to constantly fiddle with the left and right controls to keep it from spinning while attempting to move forward and back. Also, try moving forward more slowly and at a constant speed. If I start going forward then stop abruptly, that's usually when I start bobbing out of control. I've also had the oscillation problem happen a few times. The only thing I can recommend is landing it as fast as you can when that starts happening. Otherwise it's going to run into a wall and crash.
livewire530Sep 23, 2006
Nope, I'm an east coater.This definately has more features, however its also more than 2x's the price of the Picco
Closed AccountSep 24, 2006
does it really cuts? i want to get one for my kid but afraid that it will hurt someone
parrotscienceOct 19, 2006
I'd have to agree with the comment about it sucks... My first one broke within two hours. A small HEPA filter on low was causing some air currents. Moving this thing around is like you are holding a giant string and when you move it forward it is as if it is swinging on a pendulum. It moves forward a little then stops. And yes, adjusting the trim needs to be done pretty regularly. I don't know if it was worth the cash I paid - $90 + a pile of batteries at the Source (formerly Radio Scrap) in Canada. Although my parrot does seem pretty entertained by it. I just think it is a little fragile.
tmcdDec 11, 2006
It was never exclusive to Radio Shack. The company (original version is Silverlit) and they sold to various places, not just RS.They are available at HobbyTron.com<a class="user" href="http://www.hobbytron.com/RCHelicopterElectricPicooZ85615.html">http://www.hobbytron.com/RCHelicopterElectricPicooZ85615.html</a>And there is even a video contest, using the helicopter:<a class="user" href="http://www.hobbytron.com/piccozcontest.html">http://www.hobbytron.com/piccozcontest.html</a>
pareeeeeDec 27, 2006
Just got my Micro Mosquito. If anyone has a Micro Mosquito that will fly backwards and not forward (even though the tail rotor is spinning) I have a tip for frontward flying - the front end of the heli is not weighted enough in proportion to the back. You will need a weight (fool around with different sized paper clips) to attach to the front-underside. I taped a string dangling a large paperclip from the front of the chopper - now it's proportional and will go forward and backward. Apparently in the next model this will be fixed - and weights will be available soon for the older model.
greggy1964Jun 26, 2007
Hi, I have a similar solution to get mine to fly forward. First I scraped away the carbon fibre boom to a taper towards the motor, a bit fiddly but worth the effort. 2nd I used black elecricians tape to enlarge the tail rotor blades by three times their original area by sandwitching the propellor blade between two peices. This makes them look a little like flower petals :o), because the tape is fairly light it works quite well. 3rd I use five core solder coiled up and superglued under the motors,one each side and another two on the body between the motors. This gives the mosquito a slight nose down balance when suspended from the cap ubove the main rotors. Try it out guys, see what you think
greggy1964Jun 26, 2007
I have a 12 year old daughter who loves to play with her mosquito plus a german shepherd who always gets too close with the nose :o) Fingers will get rapped if they venture too close and the blades are more likely to be broken, the carbon fibre ring on the rotors helps fend off prying fingers and the dogs nose has come to no harm either. Just to be sure, adult supervision may be wise.
greggy1964Jun 26, 2007
I like my mosquito, See my response to Pareeee below to get it to fly forward. If were easy to fly I would get bored quickly. I find with practice your right thumb feeds in more left or right to compensate for the opposite spin as the battery power dwindles and provided you feed power in gently and smoothly I find it flies ok. Don't forget it is a toy and not a fully functional helicopter. I have a suggestion to help prevent the gyrating motion of the mosquito. I have noticed that if you hold the body and feed in full power the rotor shaft oscillates which suggests one or both rotors need balancing. A white china-graph pen held close to the spinning rotor would pick out the imbalance point on the carbon ring and by playing with fixing tiny weights on the ring opposite the mark should re-balance the thing