Walkera #60
|
 |
On paper (or on a web site) the #60 looks like a great deal: a six-channel 'fully aerobatic' CP heli with heading hold gyro and belt driven tail for a low price. It is a 400-size heli, the next size up from micro's like the Blade CP/Pro, Walkera #4, or Honey Bee FP and CP heli's. Out of the box it hovers smoothly. Your faithful correspondent bought one on-line after giving up trying to hover the Blade CP Pro and managed to hoist the #60 into the air and keep it there—until the low capacity nickle metal hydride (ni-mh) battery gave out after only three or four minutes.
Of course there is a brushless motor and ESC available for the #60 and in combination with a lithium-polymer battery of respectable size it stays in the air longer. Unfortunately in the hands of a novice it is going to hit the ground more or less hard and when that happens the result is not pretty. The #60 has a soft, aluminum frame that bends or distorts easily. Few beginners are prepared to completely strip the frame of all components and mount them on a new one, so a crashed Walkera #60 generally leads to the purchase of the next model.
If you have not flown RC before the #60 will be easier to hover tail-in than other single rotor helicopters. As a CP machine its head speed is pretty high so the larger, plastic rotors pose some risk. You must fly it well away from yourself and all others. CP heli's in general are risky to practice unfamiliar maneuvers with in the beginning and since this one is vulnerable to crash damage it probably is not a good choice for a first RC helicopter.
Parts for Walkera helicopters are easily available on-line and don't cost too much. If only this one held up a little better it would be a pretty good economy heli.