AIRTECH BLIMPS - Flying Toys Ltd

PRODUCT REVIEW
AIRTECH BLIMPS
70 RCM&E
IS THERE A PLACE FOR FUN IN YOUR FLYING SCHEDULE?
DAVID ASHBY GETS SERIOUS ABOUT AN AIRSHIP
Do you remember the R/C
airships at the Model
Engineering exhibition many
years ago? Wow, they were amazing
craft - gently touring the skies above
the stands in effortless style. Then
there was that alien spacecraft at the
Millennium Dome which hovered
around in impressive style. Didn’t it
have a camera in the nose?
I’ve always loved these craft but
assumed they were financially and
technically out of bounds for an
average R/C flyer like me. Time has
passed and in the last few years we’ve
seen a few helium-filled things for
sale in magazines. I’ve often
wondered how they fly and if they’re
simply one-minute wonders
consigned to the bin when the
helium runs out.
Well, Dave Rawlings at
DPR models has just started
to import a new range of
blimps, and whilst from
the pricing and box-art
it’s clear that they are
aimed more towards
the toy market, he
took the sensible decision of sending
some samples into RCM&E HQ for
evaluation - good man.
PLAY TIME
First impressions confirm that
the box-art works - I had
scarcely got the
blimps through the
In much the same way as you drive a tank, the
three-channel transmitter uses independent
control of the two horizontal motors to steer the
airship left and right. Two push buttons on top
of the transmitter operate the third (vertically
mounted) motor that controls height.

front door before my daughter was
beseeching me to make them work,
telling me that they were cool and how
she’d always wanted one. Having
explained that they were not toys but
delicate models that would be subject
to an exacting test schedule, I stole
away to my little den to examine my
new blimp armada.
I decided that my test schedule
would encompass two flying sessions
- home and club-night. Thus, it was a
few days before our first meeting of
the winter that I unpacked the ‘Blimp
Bomber’, destined become my home
test model and club-night hack!
Depicted here, incidentally, is
‘Airship America’, an alternative
model in the range that has a more
convincing appearance than the
Blimp Bomber, but without the bomb
dropping facility.
The Airtech kits are very complete
- the only other items required are
two batteries: one for the blimp and
one for the transmitter. All kits
include the blimp envelope, the
transmitter, a gondola and some
ballast weight. My Blimp Bomber also
included four little yellow bombs and
a vinyl floor target.
The gondolas are little R/C works
of art and although they vary in
shape and size depending on the
type of model, all include thrusters
and receiver electronics. They are
light and delicate, as you would
expect. The little transmitters vary
from two to three channels
depending on the complexity of the
chosen blimp, but all have a fascia
mounted sticker depicting the stick
movements required to perform a
desired manoeuvre.
Each stick controls a main motor so
it’s a case of both sticks forward to
make the blimp go... er... forward,
and both sticks back for, you guessed
it, back - with combinations of the two
for turning. My Blimp Bomber had a
third vertical thruster operated by
two micro switches on the top of the
transmitter to control height, and
finally (and most important of all) a
small bomb release button.
Assembly is easy, indeed the few
building stages are covered in the
clear instruction sheet - simply fill the
envelope with gas, stick on the
gondola, and unwind the aerial. This
just leaves a little ballasting before
flying can start. Mind you, in this
respect it pays to take some time to
ensure the blimp has achieved neutral
buoyancy as flying will be that much
easier if the model isn’t trying to
either rise or fall the whole time.
Anyway, for this very purpose, the kit
includes some modelling clay that
can be added in order to get the
buoyancy just right.
FLY BLIMPY FLY!
We found it easy putting the blimp
together and excitement grew as the
maiden flight approached.
Attractively boxed the Airtech range
are guaranteed to attract a good
degree of attention from the younger
members of the family.
RCM&E 71

PRODUCT REVIEW
Gondola is simply
taped in position.
Trouble finding
helium? No
problem. Flying
Toys Ltd., can
supply a single use
cylinder for £29.99.
Enough to fill the
envelope and top it
up from time-totime.
Control of the
blimp is a skill that
you’ll need to
practice and
involves clever and
constant
manipulation of the
three flight controls
- good fun though!
DATAFILE
The first thing that struck me was the
sound. Those two little main drive
motors sound great together, a real
blimp in miniature.
Avoiding the walls was initially
difficult and we quickly moved our
cherished ornaments to a safer place
whilst the ‘ship bounced around the
room. Control is best achieved by
blipping the throttles rather than
simply holding both sticks
forward. Employing the former
method allows for precision
steering of the craft.We passed
the transmitter backwards and
forwards whilst we familiarised
ourselves with flying the Blimp.
As time went on, I couldn’t help
but feel something was missing -
well, of course... the bombs!
Back in dock we loaded the
little yellow foam bombs, which
are magnetically held in place.
Taking to the skies again it was
time to select a target. Lo and
behold, just a few feet away,
oblivious to our activities, sat
my good lady wife reading the
Saturday newspaper.
You can imagine the hilarity
as Beth and I spent the best part
Name: Airtech R/C blimps
Model type: Helium filled R/C airships
Price: Alien WizZard (2-ch twin fan) - £49.99
US Navy Airship (2-ch twin fan) - £49.99
Airship America (3-ch tri fan) - £59.99
Blimp Bomber (3-ch tri fan plus bomb
drop) - £69.99
UK distributor: Flying Toys Limited, Unit 9, The
Vanguards,Vanguard Way, Shoeburyness,
Essex. SS3 9QJ.
Tel: 01702 295110
Helium: Portable cylinder available from Flying
Toys Ltd. Priced at £29.99
Power source: Tx - 9V alkaline battery
Blimp gondola - 3V lithium 123 (camera
battery)
Frequency: Fixed on 27MHz and 49MHz (one
frequency per band)
72 RCM&E
of an afternoon bombing anything
that moved.Yes, I know it was childish
- but it was also great fun. Later that
evening we had some friends round
for a meal, and the moment they
stepped through the door their eyes
fell on the blimp. I fully expected
them to make their usual tongue-incheek
comments about my planes,
but they were clearly delighted with
the craft and very keen to have a go -
in fact, they had a great deal of fun
with it that evening.
CLUB NIGHT HACK
“Can I come to your club night?”
asked Beth.“No... it’s for grown ups!” I
answered a little unconvincingly as I
struggled to get the blimp into the car.
Our club hall provided a bigger arena
in which the blimp could perform and
it didn’t disappoint. The room fell
silent as I pushed the model out, and
the transmitter wasn’t put down for the
rest of the evening as clubmates took
turns to have a go. All-in-all, the blimp
went down a storm and received many
favourable comments.
BLIMP-TASTIC
We’ve had superb fun with this model
and so will you. It’s a great project for
one of those rainy Saturday
afternoons and a great club
meeting entertainer. These
Airtech blimps are projects
that can be completed by
father and son / daughter
together and flown indoors
for some instant fun.You can’t
damage the balloon by
hitting walls but flying the
model does present a
learning curve that repays a
little patient practice. The
bigger the room then so
much the better, and
doubtless the play value can
be extended when two Blimps are
competing. I avoided the temptation
to take the blimp outside - it’s so light
that even a slight breeze will render
the thrusters useless, and I pictured
myself chasing it for miles.
Although in time the helium did
escape through the walls of the
envelope, our blimp remained
inflated for well over two weeks.
During this time I made small ballast
adjustments whilst it slowly deflated
and was able to fly the model
throughout the whole period... which
is just as well because Beth hasn’t left
the thing alone since it arrived.Yes
folks, we’ve certainly achieved some
good play value with this product.
Ah, did I say ‘play value’? Er, I
meant we’ve carried out a thorough
RCM&E test schedule.Well, you know
what I mean.
JANUARY 2004