Hi there,

being new you are always told to go with a nice co-axial lama. if you know anything about them you will know that many many manufactures are labeling their choppers with the word "Lama" know that they are just talking about the body design not the name. anyway, we see,Esky lamas, Walkerea lamas, and other brands of them. they are all basically the same, all with their own flaws and strong points.

but if you take a look at  the new Lama 5 its a whole different story, it takes it a step further with the sliding swashplate design, same as the well known, "top of the line" hirobo sky robo, they also incorporate a aluminum main chassis for better durability and heat dissipation, high quality electronics that are resistant to glitches, and great looking canopy and body.


inside the chassis there are two powerful 180 motors, they are very strong smooth and prompt, they are also intelligently designed with over-sized vents, the two servos are very smooth and fast, and claim to be fulldigital , which i find true considering that they are very sure and dont jitter around. the chassis plate is around 1.3mm thick of aluminum which doubles as a heat sink for the two motors. the mounts are fixed so gapping is no hassle.

the canopy houses a well built 4in1. the plugs fit tight and secure, the gyro is automatic so no more worrying about the evil "tail wag" and "hunting" the only adjustment is a very sensitive motor speed adjuster, to get it straight. the canopy is also beautiful thick lexan, with cut out vents on the top and vents on the side which say "LAMA" very cool.

the transmitter is well made with dip switches in the front, a short anttene. unfortunately its the size of a history book and is hard to get used to.

the body is made from extra strong plastic, its very springy and very durable, the side covers are vented aluminum.

OK, enough talking about how it looks, onto flight characteristics.

at first i was a little sceptical, because it is harboring the same technology the $300 XRB has. once i got it in the air i was surprised by how fast this thing wants to climb, its almost too powerful, once i got used to the big and bulky controller i was in aw, as it was sitting there like a motionless balloon. it was so stable it was almost frozen in time. i slowly hit the elevator stick, it drifts a little left when doing this as with all 2 servo machines, but just a little right aileron fixed it. as soon as i hit that stick it was quickly off in a smooth line, i let go to see the stability, it just stops and sits, i try some aliron, again with elevator mixing, and its flying perfectly sideways.

after the third charge it needed a bit of rudder adjustment, so i bring it back in and fiddle with the oh, so sensitive receiver adjuster, not the trim on the controller (this controls max L/R rotor speed) once it was fixed, i tried some more aggressive flying, like banked turns and stalls, block flight and FF, every thing to get it out of whack and get it into a TBE. nothing, and i mean NOTHING will get this out of balance, it fixes the problem so fast that there is almost no lag.

i did happen to crash a few times, once from dropping the controller, broke a blade (fixed with tape) and one time hit the ceiling and landed in a small box which broke the tail, but a little hot glue and it works fine! i did some spins in mid air, it can really spin when you want it to! and when you let go of the stick in the middle of a fast spin, it just stops like its a mechanical break, very very fast gyro here. the flight times are decent at about 13-15minuts with a high quality 1000mah lithium battery, it even comes with a built in balance charger connector. it does take about 1.5 hours to charge though.

Conclusion;

i really like this chopper, its quiet, smooth, stable, durable, good looking, and above all affordable. it really lacks a weakness, i guess i would like it to mix aileron so its perfectly straight when you push the elevator straight. but even my 5#6 was like that, coaxials are inherent to this.

so this is how i would rank it;

Price; 9/10
Quality; 10/10
Stability; 10/10
Agility (in class); 8/10
Durability; 10/10
Ease of setup; 7/10

Overall; 9/10