The Picoo Z is a miniature remote-controlled 2-channel helicopter manufactured by Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

-based Silverlit Toys. In the US it is distributed by Spin Master

Spin Master

Spin Master is a children's entertainment company based in Toronto, Canada.- Entertainment :In 2008, Spin Master Ltd. partnered with Cartoon Network Enterprises to create "multi-category consumer products programs for Spin Master's portfolio of brands." The company employs over 700 people in...

.

Designed by the Belgian engineer Alexander van de Rostyne, the Picoo Z was the smallest remote-controlled production model helicopter

Radio-controlled helicopter

Radio-controlled helicopters are model aircraft which are distinct from RC airplanes because of the differences in construction, aerodynamics, and flight training...

 in the world (Guinness World Records) in 2006. This record has now been surpassed by the Air Hogs ATOM micro helicopter.

Features and capabilities

Weighing a mere 10 grams, the Picoo Z measures 170mm long, and has a main rotor

Helicopter rotor

A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is a type of fan that is used to generate both the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and thrust which counteracts aerodynamic drag in forward flight...

 span of 130mm. The helicopter is controlled by a 3-frequency a-b-c infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 controller, with two channels (one for the main rotor and one for the tail rotor) allowing independent user control of throttle

Throttle

A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...

 (main rotor RPM) and tail rotor RPM. It is designed for indoor flying, but can also be flown outdoors in calm conditions with minimal lighting, otherwise the sun will overpower the IR transmitter and cause the Picoo Z to crash. The Picoo Z is made of tough EPP (expanded polypropylene

Polypropylene

Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...

) foam and comprises a lithium polymer rechargeable battery and 2 micro motors. The helicopter is recharged by plugging it into the controller. Charging generally takes 10–15 minutes and will give the Picoo Z a flight duration anywhere between 5 to 7 minutes. Range is limited due to the use of infrared instead of the more common radio frequency

Radio frequency

Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...

 remote control. Because of this, ambient light may also have varying degrees of effect on the range and responsiveness of the helicopter. MSRP

Suggested retail price

The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...

 is between $20 and $40 USD.

The Picoo Z features a self-stabilized main rotor with a weighted airfoil

Airfoil

An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....

-type stabilizer bar that removes the need for corrective pilot input to achieve stable flight. Because of this full-cyclic-authority stabilizer design, merely applying enough lift power to cancel gravity allows the Picoo Z to hover

Levitation

Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended by a physical force against gravity, in a stable position without solid physical contact...

 almost immediately making it very simplistic for a beginner.

The Picoo Z can reduce or increase the output through the tail rotor by means of an independent motor, allowing it to yaw

Flight dynamics

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...

 left or right. Many full-sized (and model) rotorcraft have mechanically interconnected main and tail rotors so that when changing main rotor speed (and hence yaw torque), the tail rotor follows suit to compensate. Because the Picoo Z uses independent motors for the main and tail rotors, this interconnection (mixing) is electronically provided. Despite this, many users find that they must apply constant left or right stick to cause the tail rotor to spin at the appropriate speed to prevent it from spinning wildly along the rotor axis. However, with a little practice, most users find that they can easily compensate for any shortcomings of the electronic mixing.

The remote control includes a trim button that allows the user to adjust the amount of electronic compensation. The trim feature works by decreasing or increasing output of the tail rotor to lower or add torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

. As with its higher-powered counterparts, aggressive throttle changes can result in strong yaw motions, an effect that is even more significant when the helicopter battery is over-charged.

In order to simplify the rotor head

Helicopter rotor

A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is a type of fan that is used to generate both the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and thrust which counteracts aerodynamic drag in forward flight...

 design, the Picoo Z does not feature either collective or user-input cyclic control, which would have allowed the user to freely fly it forwards & backwards / left & right on demand. The rotor blades are mounted on a simple rocking hinge, and the rotor has no swashplate

Swashplate (helicopter)

A swashplate is a device that translates input via the helicopter flight controls into motion of the main rotor blades. Because the main rotor blades are spinning, the swashplate is used to transmit three of the pilot's commands from the non-rotating fuselage to the rotating rotor hub and...

.) Because of this limitation, the user must add left or right tail control inputs and rely on torque-induced precession

Precession

Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotation axis of a rotating body. It can be defined as a change in direction of the rotation axis in which the second Euler angle is constant...

 (also known as gyroscopic precession) to transition to forward flight.

The helicopter includes 3 stick-on weights that can be attached to the nose in order to easier achieve forward flight, and some owners add greater weight (paper clip

Paper Clip

"Paper Clip" is a 1995 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the second episode broadcast in the show's third season. Paper Clip concludes the story regarding the agents' possession of a digital tape containing government secrets on extraterrestrials.- Plot :Continuing from the previous...

s or pellets

Pelletizing

Pelletizing is the process of compressing or molding a material into the shape of a pellet. A wide range of different materials are pelletized including chemicals, iron ore, animal compound feed, and more.- Pelletizing of iron ore :...

) to the nose, or nose canard

Canard (aeronautics)

In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...

s. These modifications do increase the forward flight speed, but can reduce hovering ability and can increase the battery drain. Another mod that allows the helicopter to fly forward is to slightly twist the tail rotor downwards. This mod has the advantage of not adding weight to the helicopter and therefore doesn't affect battery drain.

The Picoo Z also incorporates a small blue/red LED that flashes to indicate that the unit is turned on. The LED is also useful for night time flying and locating the unit in the event that it is misplaced.

Instant popularity

The Picoo Z was released in the summer of 2006. Due to the magnitude of popularity from the consumers and the manufacturer and distributors underestimating this popularity, the first shipments were sold out instantly when they arrived in the stores. This instant popularity has made some resellers offer the Picoo Z for premium prices upwards of $150 USD. It has also rather quickly spawned a number of Chinese-made clones to the market that have an estimated street price of around $13 retail. Most of SilverLit's toys are manufactured in China.

The popularity of the Picoo Z has also led to a fan base that has created several web sites that include forums, modification information, and tips. There are also a growing number a fan made videos being posted on video sharing sites such as YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

Specifications

• Main Rotor Diameter: 130 mm (5.25 in)
• Length: 170 mm (6.5 in) excluding rotors
• Rear Rotor Diameter: 30 mm (1.25 in)
• Weight: 10 g
• Charge Time: 20 minutes for full charge
• Flight Duration: 5 to 10 minutes between charges
• Control Specification: 2-channel proportional infrared control system
• Flight: hover and descend, turn left and right
• Range: Up to 10 m (30 ft)

Variations

• green w/ black rotors........................Channel C
• Red w/ black rotors.........................Channel A
• Yellow w/ black rotors......................Channel B
• Silver w/ transparent rotors (Metro Fly)....Channel A
• Camo w/ dark green rotors (Desert King).....Channel B
• Pink w/ pink rotors (Pinki).................Channel C
• Apache w/ black rotors......................Channel C
• Sky challenger set..........................Channel A+B
• SEGA branded version........................Channel B

(Each variation runs on 1 of 3 different frequency channels)

The SEGA branded version is silver with a SEGA logo on the side and was available as a prize in UFO Catcher machines, distributed by SegaPrize Europe.

During 2008 a range of new picooz variations have been released including Picooz tandem Z-1 (chinook style) at the Picooz Atlas-Uranus (also known as the tricooZ). All of these are 3 channel helicopters and all include three different colours.

Sky Challenger

Sky Challenger is a set of two custom body picoo z helicopters. Each helicopter is equipped with an infra-red LED which is used to "shoot" the other helicopter. The set generally comes with 2 picoo z's in Red and Blue paint schemes and 2 controllers. The controllers are the same as normal picoo z controllers apart from a shoulder button used to "fire" the infra-red.
There are 3 stages to the game. The 1st shot will cause the enemy helicopter to spin, the 2nd shot will cause the enemy helicopter to drop in power, the 3rd shot will cause the enemy helicopter to lose all power, causing it to fall to the floor.
The helicopters generally come preset to the A and B frequency options.

External links

• Picooz - Joseph's Site Ideas on how to computer control the Picooz
• Picoo Z official site from Silverlit Toys
• Silverlit Flying Club official site for Silverlit flying toys
• Silverlit Toys official site
• Picoo Z Online Information Picoo Z online information
• Picoo Z Toolbox Special interest website with mods, and plans
• Picoo Z discussion, hacks and mods
• Joint Robotics Lab at Goethe University of Frankfurt build your own computer control for Silverlit helicopters