Picoo Z

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Front view of the Picoo Z.

Rear view of the Picoo Z.

The Picoo Z (also sold under the brand name of Havoc Heli as well as Honey Bee in Japan, China, and other countries) is a miniature radio-controlled helicopter manufactured by Silverlit Toys.

1 Counterfeits and litigation
2 Features and capabilities
3 Instant popularity
4 Specifications
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Counterfeits and litigation

The official name is Picoo (one 'c' and two 'o's), but it is often misspelled as Picco (two 'c's and one 'o'). Some similar products are alleged to use the name confusion to become effectively counterfeits^[1]--in particular, Hobbytron.com in the US is being sued by SilverLit[1].

[edit] Features and capabilities

The Picoo Z is the smallest remote-controlled production model helicopter in the world (Guinness World Records 2006). The helicopter is designed by Belgian designer, Alexander Van de Rostyne. The Picoo Z measures a mere 170mm long with a main roto size of 130mm and weighs 10 grams. It is controlled using a 2-channel infrared controller. It is designed for indoor flying but can also be flown outdoors in calm conditions. The Picoo Z is made of tough EPP (expanded polypropylene) 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 20 minutes and will give the Picoo Z a flight duration anywhere between 5 to 7 minutes. Range is limited due to the controller interfacing with the helicopter through infrared instead of a more common radio frequency. Ambient light also has varying degrees of effect on the range and response of the helicopter. MSRP is between $20 and $40 USD.

The Picoo Z features a self-stabilized main rotor blade design with an airfoil-type interconnected stabilizer bar that allows the helicopter to stabilize itself in vertical flight. Because of this design, merely applying enough lift power to cancel gravity allows the Picoo Z to hover almost immediately making it very simplistic for a beginner.

The remote control includes a Trim button that allows the user to stop the helicopter from spinning wildly during hover. The trim feature works by decreasing or increasing output of the tail rotor to cancel or add torque.

The Picoo Z can reduce or increase the output through the tail rotor by means of an independent motor, allowing it to yaw right or left, but this is the extent of its manueverability. Unfortunately, the Picoo Z does not feature cyclic control which would have allowed the user to fly it forwards & backwards / left & right on demand throughout the X-axis. The helicopter thus can not transition from hover to directional flight at the will of the controller.

The helicopter includes 3 stick-on weights that can be attached to the nose in order to provide for forward flight, and some owners add greater weight (paper clips or pellets) to the nose or nose canards. These modifications do increase the forward flight speed, but reduce hovering ability and increase both the battery drain and the force on landing--increasing the chance of rotor damage.

[edit] 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 distributers underestimating this popularity, the first shipments were sold out instantly when they arrived in the stores.^[2] This instant popularity has made some resellers offer the Picoo Z for premium prices upwards of $150 USD.^[3] It has also rather quickly spawned a number of Chinese-made clones to the market that have an estimated street price of $18 wholesale. In fact, Most of SilverLit's toys are manufactured in China. The manufacturer expects to ramp up production and distribution in time for the 2006 holiday season.^[2]

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.^[4]^[5] Singaporean blogger mrbrown has also offered the Picoo Z as a prize for a competition on his podcast, the mrbrown show, after reviewing on it his weblog. There are also a growing number a fan made videos being posted on video sharing sites such as YouTube.^[6]