Toys, toys, toys, I love them all, yep I’m just a big kid at heart and always will be. I especially like remote control toys, the smaller the better I say, and it seems they are getting smaller and smaller all the time.
Last year the hot RC toy was the micro helicopter, this year it’s the micro airplane, and that’s what I’ve got today for review, specifically the Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Indoor Airplane from HobbyTron.com. The Palm Z is tons of fun, it charges fast and has a decent flying time. So read on to learn more about it, and see a few movies as well…
Review: Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Indoor Airplane from HobbyTron.com
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: HobbyTron.com
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Indoor Airplane
Item #:85659
Price: $39.50
The Palm-Z from Silverlit is the hottest new plane of the year!
The Palm-Z makes the perfect present for friends and family of all ages. From the palm of your hand to doing tricky acrobatic stunts right in your living room, bedroom, or office, the Palm-Z is like no other. With easy-to-fly controls anyone can become an expert in no time. This hot new mini plane comes with long-lasting internal rechargeable Li-Poly battery, the hottest/newest in RC battery technology. This new Li-Poly battery allows you flight times of up to seven (7) minutes and a charge time of only ten to twelve minutes. It has a powerful micro motor driving a geared pusher prop. It is made of tough expanded EPP Foam to withstand rough landings. With the ability to charge the Palm-Z right on the remote control, you don’t have to worry about carrying around a charger and finding a plug somewhere. With three different channels available, you can race your friends, do formation aerobatics,and just plain have fun.
Features:
Fully Functional Indoor Airplane with Digital Proportional Speed Control
Ready to Fly with Internal Rechargeable LiPo Battery
Tri-Bands System for 1 – 3 Players
Wingspan of only 8", Weighs less than 10 grams
Slow Fly Design Feature for Small Indoor Environment Control
Super Wide 2 Channel Infrared Control
Digital Rudder, Proportional Speed
Charges from the Remote: 10 – 12 Minute Charge Time, 7 Minute Flight Time
Wall Hanging Hook for Display
Uses 4 x AA Alkaline Batteries (Not Included)
Includes:
Palm-Z Mini Plane
2 Channel Infrared Control
3.7V Li-Poly Rechargeable Battery Pack in Plane
Wall Hook
A Better Look at Things
:
The packaging for the Palm Z is very attractive and professionally done, it features lots of graphics and information all over the box.
Inside is another half-box that slides out, attached to it is the Palm Z itself, the remote and package of spare parts and repair kit.
Included with the Palm Z is a detailed instruction manual, remote control, wall hanger, spare rudder and repair kit.
Like other min RC toys, the remote is also the charging station, in the center of the remote is the charging port that mates with the Palm Z airplane. The controls for left/right, up and down are thumbpads and not joysticks as one would expect. The pads are attached to springs so they will go back to neutral or off position when let go to prevent damage to the aircraft in the even you drop the controller. There are two LEDs on the top left side to indicate power and charge, below that is a three position switch for Charge, Off and on. On the right side is another switch to select the channel of the Palm Z, there are three choices allowing threes Palm Zs to fly at the same time. Above the right control pad is also the trim buttons, these are used to make the Palm Z fly straight by slightly adjusting the right left direction of the plane.
The Palm Z is an infrared device so on the top we find the infrared emitters, next to them is another port that can be used with the optional range extender that can be bought separately.
The back is where the batteries go, one screw holds the cover in place. Also on the back is the hook to be used with the included wall mount so you can hang the entire remote and Palm Z airplane out of the way.
The Palm Z itself is a brightly colored styrofoam plane, it is very lightweight, I was surprised at just how light it is.
The Palm Z is powered by a tiny motor that spins a single propeller located on the read of the top set of wings, it pushes the plane forward. The right/left movement of the plane is controlled by a tiny tail rubber.
On the bottom of the Palm Z is where the charging jack and on/off switch is located, it’s a combined system that works well. The tiny switch is located between the charging plates actually, it’s a bit hard to get at, but a fingernails does the job fine.
Movies, Testing and Comparison:
To use the Palm Z you’ll have to charge it first, charing time is quick at around 11 minutes to get 7 minutes of fly time, but I actually got around 10 minutes, but I’m sure that fly time will diminish as the battery gets older as happens with any rechargeable battery. To recharge the Palm Z you just need to attach it to the controllers charge port, then flip the switch to the charge position, the LEDs will let you know it’s charging and when it’s finished.
There’s really no comparison for the Palm Z at the moment, yes there are other similar planes out there but none quite like this one.
Before we get into the movies and how it works, I did come across a problem that might be specific to the one I got for review. Both the control sticks or pads are spring loaded, meaning that they go back to off or neutral position when you let go of them, well my up/down pad had a problem where the spring kept slipping off and essentially leaving it where I let go, meaning if it was at full throttle it stayed there when I let go of the pad. I opened the controller up several times and fixed it, at least fives times I did this, after doing it five times I deiced there has to be a way to fix this because it was very annoying. The spring it just a rod type that sits on a tab of the control pad, so I took a tiny drill bit, drilled a hole small enough for the spring to fit in and this fixed my problem, it never came off again. I’ve read a couple other reviews and none mentioned this, so it might be specific to the on I got for review…
Next is that the Palm Z is sold as something that can be used indoors, well it can, but you need to have large rooms to do this and no types of hanging lights or chandeliers. My living room is approximately 13 feet by 15 feet in dimension, as is my dining room and there is a large opening between them. I found that wasn’t quite large enough to really fly the Palm Z around in, the Palm Z has a rather large turning radius and I always seemed to hit either the curtains of my bay window, the wall or the chandelier. Only once of twice did I make it out of the living room and back into the dining room, so you’ll need a fairly large space to fly in or around.
In my time with it I had to us the included repair kit twice, and I really didn’t crash it that hard as it doesn’t fly very fast. The crash kit is nice to have but the Palm Z just isn’t quite as sturdy as I would have liked it to be.
Flying the Palm Z is very easy to do and anyone can quickly learn to do it. You can either hand launch it like you would a paper airplane or you can even take off from the ground. Here’s three videos showing me and a friend flying the Palm Z in the local recreation center near us, in them you can see the ground take-off, hand launch and just general flying around a bit.
In the end it’s a great product, but just not quite what I expected. A few months ago I reviewed a micro helicopter from HobbyTron.com, the Hornet 3 Mini, and I found it to be excellent and very tough, and I still love to fly it around my house, I guess I just had my expectations a bit too high for the Palm Z after that…
Seeing as I really couldn’t use the Palm Z, I ended up giving it to my friend who helped me with the videos, his house is larger than mine and he found it to be very cool and he likes it a lot, he’s actually very happy with it, his friend bought one as well and they fly them together.
Summary:
The Silverlit Palm Z is great mini RC airplane but it does have its limitations as I mentioned, if you have the room to fly it in then you’ll have loads of fun with it. The included extra parts and patch kit are a welcome addition, the charge time is nice and fast as well.
Overall it’s a great little toy that anyone would have fun with.
Yes I did have a few problems with it, but that might be specific to the one I received for review and it was easily fixed. It’s not as sturdy as I expected it to be, but I had my expectations a bit high for the Palm Z…
DragonSteelMods gives the Palm Z a 4 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Small, lightweight
-Lots of fun
-Nice included extras
-Fast charging time
-Fairly easy to use
-Long running charge compare to others
-Very cool
Cons:
-Not very sturdy
-Problem with controller (possibly specific to the one I received)
-Need larger area to fly in
I would like to thank HobbyTron.com for the chance to review the Palm Z and for their continued support of DSM.
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