SKY SQUADRON BACKYARD FLYER

Sky Squadron Backyard Flyer, retail $19.99 (www.radioshack.com...)
Manufactured by Estes (www.estesrockets.com)
Last updated 09-02-07




This is a lightweight powered airplane that has an adjustable horizontal stabiliser (adjustable via remote control) and a motorised propeller with three speeds. What prompted me to purchase it was because I like things that fly. I went to Radio Shack late yesterday morning (07-21-07) to buy some epoxy, saw it sitting on a shelf, and decided that I *HAD* to have it!!!


SIZE



You will need to attach the antenna to the controller before you can begin using the airplane.
After you install it, pull up on the antenna to extend it.

To install the antenna:
  • Screw the antenna clockwise into the top of the controller until it stops turning. Do not overtighten.
If there is a noticeable wind blowing, attach the red ribbon to the end of the antenna so you can guage its speed & direction. Do not fly the airplane if the wind speed is over 5 MPH (8KPH) - the ribbon will noticeably deflect (be blown toward one side) if this is the case.

1: On the bottom of the airplane's body near the front, there's a tiny on/off switch.
Use a fingernail to slide this switch to the "on" position.

2: On the remote control, slide the switch below the right hand control stick toward the upper right; a red LED will come on. Extend the antenna if you have not already done so.

3: Hold the airplane in your hand (with your fingers away from the propeller), toss it forward fairly hard, and push the left hand stick on the controller up (toward the front). The airplane's propeller should now rapidly spin up, and your plane should be flying!!! Congratulations, you're now a pilot!!!

For additional instructions & tips on how to fly, please read the instructional material that comes with the product.

THIS PART IS IMPORTANT!!! Turn the airplane and remote control off when finished using them.
Same switches as before, but slide the ones on the airplane and controller in the opposite direction this time.



The battery in the airplane itself is rechargeable and is not designed to be changed; however the batteries in the remote will need to be changed from time to time.

To do this, unscrew & remove the phillips screw from the battery door on the underside of the unit, using a small phillips screwdriver you supply yourself. Set the screw aside.

Remove the battery door, very gently place it on the ground, and kick it into the garden so the hungry, hungry praying mantids will think it's something yummy to eat and subsequently strike at it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Remove the six used AA cells from the compartment, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert six new AA cells into the compartment, orienting each cell so its flat-end (-) negative faces a spring for it in each chamber.

Finally, place the battery door back on, and screw the screw back in.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that battery door into the garden with all those hungry, hungry praying mantids now?


Here is what a praying mantis looks like.
I found this guy on the morning of 09-08-06 clinging to the basket of my scooter.


To charge the battery in the airplane, follow these steps:

1: On the controller, turn it upside-down and look for a little door on the lower right. Open the little door (its hinged, so it will not just fall off).
2. Gently unwind the thin cord from the compartment.
3. Turn the airplane upside-down, hold it firmly by its fuselage (body), and then insert the little plug on the end of the cord into the socket on the underside of the airplane's body near the front. Pay close attention to the orientation of the socket and the connector on the cord.

IMPORTANT: Do not force the plug into the socket - this can damage the socket. The exposed silver contact points on the side of the controller plug should face the tail of the aircraft.

4: The green "charge" light on the controller will now come on. Leave it connected until the green light turns off, then gently unplug the charger cord from the airplane.



This powered model airplane is designed to be used as a toy in a dry area outdoors, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, trashed, and abused, so I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform or a handheld wand), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. So this section of the web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

This airplane is equipped with something called "Fly Right™" technology; in which it is more difficult to accidentally initiate a sharp turn that might otherwise lead the airplane to spiral out of control and crash. This makes the airplane easier for the novice (beginner) pilot to successfully fly.

The airplaner's controller also features a "flight optimiser" circuit; this automatically cuts power to the throttle (propeller) after two minutes. You can still steer the plane even when the motor cuts out. You can reset the controller while the airplane is still flying by turning it off & back on, or you can just guide the airplane in unpowered to a soft landing. Be certain to charge the airplane's battery after every third (or at most) fourth two-minute flight.

I took it to a local park approximately 25 minutes from here in my motorised wheelchair (near the intersection of Windbridge Drive and Pocket Road here in Sacramento CA. USA; there is an open grass sports field in this location), and tried like heck not to murder the poor, defenseless thing like I did my Air Kite Glider by crashing it hard. The wings on this airplane are specifically designed to pop off during a hard landing or a crash, reducing the chance of serious (permanent) damage from occuring. A spare propeller is included, so if you do manage to break one, you'll have a backup. And there are instructions for making repairs to the wings (main and tail wings) with tape and household glue; the wings *ARE* made of a lightweight foam, so they are at least somewhat breakable.

I brought my camera to attempt to shoot a movie. Although I need both hands to handle the remote control, I set the camera on one of the armrests on my electric wheelchair and attempted to shoot a movie that way. And though I did not inflict mortal damage on the poor helpless thing, I was not able to get the "feline flagellated stool sample female parent screwing" (toilet words replaced with innocous ones - the correct acronym is PWPOSMF) thing to fly.
The wings did *NOT* pop off at any time during any crash (remember, it did not fly); though I attempted an unpowered flight in the living room before I left, and they *DID* pop off that time; so I know that function works properly.

I even tried throwing it upward at an approximately 45° angle and applying full throttle, and that did not do the trick either. And I'm absolutely, positively, 100% certain that the airplane's battery was fully charged before these flight attempts. Known-new alkaline AA cells were in the controller cum charger as well...so I know that's not "it".

I'm going to attempt a minor modification soon if I can find one of those rubber band-driven balsa wood planes with landing gear; I'm interested in the landing gear here. My plan is to attach them to this airplane with epoxy, and see if I can take off from a smooth surface. They *MIGHT* be too long, but it'll be worth a try anyway. I was not able to find them at Longs Drugs or Raleys here in Sacramento, so I will attempt to find an online source. That assumes of course, that these planes are even still made.
(Update 07-22-07): I found an online source for these airplanes, so I ordered one specifically to make this modification.

There is a long, thin black wire coming from the back of the airplane; ***DO NOT*** pull, cut, or otherwise remove it!!!
This is the airplane's antenna, and it is absolutely necessary for the wire to be intact for the airplane to maintain contact with the remote control!!!

O NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Now the wings won't even stay on!!!
The two "ball and socket" connectors that hold the wings on now fit very loosely; the wings no longer stay on the fuselage securely.

Why I'm having such rotten luck with things that fly I just don't know.
I believe I can hold the wings onto the fuselage of the airplane with a pair of rubber bands; but they should have not have been necessary in the first place.

I'll return it for (hopefully, anyway) exchange later this morning (07-23-07); this need not be a lost cause!!!



This is the controller you use to fly the airplane with.



This is the park I attempted my flights in.



And this is a screen dump from the below movie clip (cropped & resized) showing the airplane...where else...in the air!

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane crashing.
This clip is approximately 1.7 megabytes (1,889,048 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than six minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

This is the last of five flight attempts I attempted to shoot movies of - and is the best one.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased at a Radio Shack in Sacramento CA. USA late on the morning of 07-21-07.

Product was made in China.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 07-23-07
This product has a warranty, so I think I'll use it.
I have not damaged the plane myself in any way, so the two issues (wings don't stay on & it doesn't fly) should be covered.


UPDATE: 07-23-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I now have a brand spanken new airplane; I'll try it in the park tomorrow (07-24-07) morning to see if this one works any better.


UPDATE: 07-24-07
It is looking like rain may very well be possible this morning, so I'll postphone the test flight until tomorrow (07-25-07) morning.


UPDATE: 07-24-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
It looks like the weather has improved, and it is not too hot to fly, but I'm waiting for a package from Federal Express, so I think the airplane's maiden flight will still be delayed until tomorrow morning.


UPDATE: 07-25-07
Well, today is Beezelmon's Big Day (obscure Digimon reference here) as it were...I took it to the park and:
1: attempted to fly it
2: attempted to shoot a movie clip of it in flight

And as you can see...{approximately 100 minutes later}...I was not successful.

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane crashing...again!
This clip is approximately 1.7 megabytes (1,866,120 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than six minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number seven", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', followed by the cute and loveable thing travelling in a mainly ballistic trajectory and subsequently crashing.
Its lifeless, broken body (lifeless, broken fuselage) can be seen on the grass after the crash.



WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane crashing...again!
This clip is approximately 2.6 megabytes (2,744,324 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eleven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number six", followed by the airplane turning right and then crashing off-screen.

Yes, I made certain the battery in the airplane was fully charged, made sure the batteries in the controller were new, and made sure I put the hammer down (applied maximum throttle) when these flights were attempted.

I'm going to attempt to fashion some vertical elevators (for the tail wings) and see if I have any better luck.


UPDATE: 07-25-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The rubber band plane came a short time ago this afternoon, so I affixed the wheels to this plane (see photograph directly below); now I'll take it to the drive outside and see if it takes off...BBS...





UPDATE: 07-25-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane failing to lift off.
This clip is approximately 1.0 megabytes (1,088,404 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

I tried it again turning the rudder all the way to the left; it coasted for approximately ten feet, then tipped on its nose and stopped.


UPDATE: 07-25-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
Here's a photograph of the elevators I made...I didn't even need to use tape. I just cut the back wings and bent up some flaps - they are (so far, anyway) staying up on their own. I'll attempt to get it to fly tomorrow morning (07-26-07).




UPDATE: 07-26-07
YAY TELEPHONY!!! (pronounced "tell uh FOA' nee")...I mean YAY, I GOT IT TO FLY!!!
I placed it on the ground (remember, it now has wheels), turned the rudder full left (because I know that for some reason it wants to veer right), and put the hammer down (gave it full throttle), and it took off relatively straight with a slow lift (much like a real airplane), then it flew for a short time before crashing into the side of the roof of the parking spaces (est. height ~20 feet) and subsequently plummeting to the ground and popping its wings off - exactly what it's supposed to do during crashes.
But the important thing here is that I got it to fly!!!


UPDATE: 07-27-07
Here is a movie clip of it lifting off and then crashing into my sister's car:

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane lifting off, flying, & crashing.
This clip is approximately 2.7 megabytes (2,792,594 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ten minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number fourteen", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', you can hear the airplane's motor throttle up, you can see it accelerate on the ground & then lift off, then you can see & hear it crash into the back of a car.


UPDATE: 07-27-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the cute and loveable little airplane failing to lift off.
This clip is approximately 2.8 megabytes (2,852,308 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eleven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number ninteen", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', you can hear the airplane's motor throttle up, you can see it accelerate on the ground & then fail to lift off. The elevator flaps were up, the airplane's battery was fully charged, and the batteries in the controller were replaced with new ones prior to charging the airplane's battery and attempting the flight.

When I checked it afterward, I noticed that the propeller was harder to turn than it was before; crashing it into the parked car's bumper may have indeed damaged it in this fashion.


UPDATE: 07-28-07
YAY TELEPHONY!!!...I mean YAY, I GOT IT TO TAKE OFF AGAIN!!!
I bent the elevator flaps on the tail wings up a bit, placed it on the ground (remember, it has wheels now), and put the hammer down. It lifted off the ground approximately 20 feet away, made a slow right turn, and crashed into some bushes ~3 feet off the ground.


UPDATE: 07-30-07
WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the airplane lifting off, touching down, lifting off again, and gently crashing.
This clip is approximately 3.5 megabytes (3,635,352 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fifteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number twenty seven", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', you can hear the airplane's motor throttle up, you can see it accelerate on the ground, lift off, land, lift off again, and gently crash land. Just after that first landing, you might be able to hear the airplane's motor cut out several times; as if the airplane is losing contact with the controller.


UPDATE: 07-31-07
I purchased another one today, performed the same modifications to it as I did to the last one (added wheels and elevator flaps), and it failed to lift off the ground.


UPDATE: 08-02-07
O NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
It would appear that I have destroyed the first test unit after its best flight yet. The propeller now no longer turns - and yes, I checked it to be certain it was not jammed in the fuselage.


UPDATE: 08-04-07
I purchased another one this morning (it is my fourth); we'll see if I have any better luck with it.


UPDATE: 08-04-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I tried the new one, and it flies about as well as a lead balloon - that is to say, it doesn't fly it all.
If I were to rate this product, I might very well award it that prestigious {cough, sputter, sound of a wall-mounted porcelain urinator flushing} "Zero Stars: Whip Out Your Ding-Dong or Sit on the Commode and Cover it with Uranation" rating.


UPDATE: 08-06-07
I purchased a fifth one this morning and...IT FLIES!!!

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the airplane lifting off and FLYING!!!
This clip is approximately 3.6 megabytes (3,772,614 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fifteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

In this clip, you can hear me say "Flight number forty seven", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', you can hear the airplane's motor throttle up, you can see it accelerate on the ground, lift off, fly away, and drop out of the air a couple of hundred feet away as I had to let up off the throttle so it would not get stuck in a tree or go beyond sensor range...er...uh...land beyond my ability to retrieve.


UPDATE: 08-07-07
After a few flights (and crashes), the motor makes a loud sound like it's out of balance, the propeller looks like it's out of balance when it's rotating, and the unit no longer flies well.
This was not related to yesterday's crash, as that crash took place on a soft surface.

There's a very high degree of probability that I will not be purchasing another; although I like things that fly, I just don't have the money to purchase a sixth Sky Squadron just to see it not fly (a day after one successful flight as was the case with two of them).
There is no guarantee that I *WON'T* purchase another one, but there's no guarantee that I will either.


UPDATE: 08-08-07
The one I got just before the last one *DOES* fly if I remove the landing gear. It does not fly *WELL*, but I can get it to fly. Three out of four flights were at least somewhat successful.


UPDATE: 08-12-07
Now it no longer functions properly. After three successful flights yesterday, it crashed nosefirst into the back of a minivan, and now the propeller makes a lot of noise, the airplane vibrates rather noticeably, and it no longer has sufficient power to fly.


UPDATE: 09-01-07
I purchased a sixth one today; though the weather is too hot right now for a test flight (the expected high today is 105°F (40.6°C).
I'm from Alaska, and flying the airplane right now would seem like a chore, not something fun to do.


UPDATE: 09-02-07
If you guessed "The new one doesn't fly", you'd be correct.
Even with elevator flaps cut into the tail wings, it just doesn't have the {vulgar term for testicles} to get off the ground.
I'll try it later on without landing gear and see if I have better results.





PROS:
Great looking
Low cost
***REASONABLY*** durable
Uses batteries that are common & relatively inexpensive
Airplane charges directly from the controller - no wall-warts or cords to fuss with or forget


CONS:
Difficult to obtain flight without some rather permanent (and warranty voiding) modifications
Nose-first crashes may cause irreparable damage
Front wings can be a bit finicky re: not staying firmly affixed to the fuselage


    MANUFACTURER: Estes
    PRODUCT TYPE: Radio controlled airplane
    LAMP TYPE: N/A
    No. OF LAMPS: N/A
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Small slide switch on bottom of airplane's fuselage
    CASE MATERIAL: Styrofoam
    BEZEL: N/A
    BATTERY: (Remote) 6xAA cells, (Plane) Unknown capacity Li:POLY battery
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Very light splatter-resistance at maximum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Spare propeller, transmitter ribbon
    WARRANTY: 90 days

    PRODUCT RATING:








Sky Squadron Backyard Flyer * www.radioshack.com...






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