Testing the Silverlit UFO.

wonwinglo

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SILVERLIT UFO

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This model UFO will give you hours of flying fun,it is a really high tech four motored lifting frame with gyroscopically controlled motors,the outer frame is made from a band of carbon fibre EPP composite which springs and bounces off any surface that gets in its way,the receiver,four motors,gyro and spectacular flashing blue and red lights are powered from a 12 volt Nickle Metal Hydride battery,the model comes with a nice little transmitter in Mode 2 with lateral,longitudinal,throttle and 'rudder' controls,it also has a very neat feature for re-programming the gyroscope should the factory settings become confused,these are activated on all four axis by throwing individual switches,all functions have trim facility,there is also a mains slow/fast charger,fast charge is 25 minutes,you can also charge it from your cars accessory socket with the adaptor supplied,then there are 4 spare blades for 2 of each pitces.

Not knowing how she would fly,not having handled a UFO before ! I slowly opened the throttle,she immediately settles into the hover mode much like an helicopter ,but that is where the difference ends,the orientation of the model is governed by the front red light,this reflects on a band of red tape,the idea is to keep that portion forward,the 'rudder' control for want of a better or more appropiate word is quite sensitive and needs gentle movements to swing her round,the lateral control works up to 20 degrees when the gyro becomes sensitive and she slides,provided that you have enough height she will recover,with a bit of practise you are quickly circling the room with tiny control imputs,should you strike something ( which you will at first ) then the gyro automatically resets itself,this is indicated with the three blue lights and the front red one flashing,then you are ready to lift more aliens into space.

The outer ring takes a fair bit of punishment protecting the delicate propeller blades within the ring.

There is a lot of inbuilt technology and thought that has gone into this true fun flying machine,I cannot wait to get her outside in calm weather to put her through her paces,forget what she looks like as she will not win any awards for beauty,but she does fly well and brings a new angle to electric flight,fun with a capital 'F'

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There is a lot of high tech crammed into the central module,the electronic gyro stacked on top of the receiver with the four carbon rods exiting to the four electric motors and speed controllers on the outriggers,a carbon fibre rebound bar is fitted inside the circular fender,the centre coil antennae takes care of any trailing aerial wire.

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The lower view showing the 6 feet protuding past the motors,these offer adequate protection,the centre of the lower console provides a place for the battery,this clips into a plastic cage which springs into place,the UFO certainly is a very rugged machine.

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A better view of the geared motors that clip onto the carbon fibre rods,two motors spin clockwise and two anti-clockwise to eliminate torque effect.

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At arms length all ready for flight,the clever layout of the Silverlit UFO is apparent.

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Not the easiest thing to photograph in flight,but my wife took these after several attempts and lots of briefing !

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Conclusions-The Silverlit UFO is a challenging model to fly,anyone who has flown helicopters should have no difficulty,you need to only add small control inputs to fly this one and due to her rugged structure she will stand up to a bit of rough and tumble,the gyro reset facility is excellent,the whole package offers good value for what you get.

For beginners this model will lead them into use of the anti-torque rotor of the helicopter,except this one has no tail rotors,she will sharpen up your reflexes and improve your flying,a lot of flying fun.
 
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