Lionel helicopter car performance

Unfortunately, that is par for the course for modern Lionel helicopter cars.  The postwar helicopter cars worked a little better.

Earl

Mine works a lot better than that. It only goes a few feet into the air, but it's pretty good fun for kids. It is important to make sure that it's sitting correctly in the cradle before launch, and that there is nothing impeding free flight. One or two extra clicks when winding might be OK too, as long as the tension when winding does not feel excessive. (Just be careful not force anything, or else you might over-wind the spring.)

Actually, I have gone to maybe twelve "clicks" on the helicopter without a problem.  I first tried as recommended and it would not fly at all.  I figured if its already not working, I had nothing to lose by overwinding it, so I went to around a dozen.  Nice,  maybe I will damage it eventually or sooner, but it shoots up nicely if only about five feet up.  Still, it's fun . 

hi,

   I had the same issue with my original that I bought.  After playing around with it I relaized that I did not ensure that the helicopter was seated properly on the firign mechanism.  Once I did that the thing flew a couple of feet in the air.

    Kevin

I tried winding it up to 12 clicks which is the max it would safely go. I'm used to working on $8,000 carbon fiber racing bicycles so I have a pretty good feel for when too much torque is being applied to something. I also made sure the keyed joint between the launcher and helo matched up. Tried several times and the highest it has flown was maybe 12 inches. Call me crazy but something this expensive should work a tad better than that! Heck, my kid has a little spring launched helicopter toy she won at the state fair in a $1 game that launches an even larger helicopter to at least 6 feet (at which point it hits the ceiling). Suffice it to say this car is going back. Just wish the train store wasn't 20+ miles and toll bridge away. Very annoying. 

My PWC car from the #44 Missile Set hits the ceiling every time.

Jon 

For those who, like SeattleSUP, know a bit about materials, or like me, have luck and are willing to chance breaking a toy that isn't working anyway, try bending the blades to get a little more "bite" on the air if the 'copter won't take off far.  I should have mentioned earlier that I did that on mine in order to get it to go up about five feet with those 12 clicks.   I have a sense that is about as far as it will go or is really meant to - but I never saw an original one so have no feel for how well they flew.

for those who want more, my youngest son (30) gave me a "three and one half channel" remote control helicopter for Christmas that is almost exactly the same size as the Lionel one and flies amazingly well - well - when he operates it anyway;  at Christmas dinner he brough it in under the chandalier, hovered it and landed it straight down in the middle of the dining room table. 

 Anyway, it would make a very suitable substitute.  He says they start at only $20 on amazon.  Mine cost only about $40.

http://www.amazon.com/Syma-S109G-Apache-3-5-Channels-Helicopter/dp/B004L2J7W0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1356526876&sr=8-4&keywords=remote+control+helicopter

This is pretty common for the helicoptor with the single blade. When I got my original helicoptor car, back in the 50's, it came with a helicoptor that had 2 blades.This 2 blade version flew really well. The gear on the bottom broke soo after I got it. Dad sent it back to Lionel, and they replaced it with a single blade helicoptor. That single balde never did more than hop off the car, or fall over. I was really disappointed with it. It seems that the 2 blade version was only available for a very short time period. However, it flew MUCH better than the single blade version.

Jeff

This is NOT an attempt to start a brand war, so don't take it there!

You may want to consider an MTH helicopter car. I have 3 of them, and everyone will reliably launch the chopper 12 feet or more straight up. It does require the use of an RCS track piece or equivalent control rails. It works differently from the Lionel. You first position the car on the RCS or control rails. Hold the button down, and a motor in the launch car spins up the rotor. When you let go of the button, the motor stops and the chopper lifts off. You can vary the height by changing how long you hold the button down.

Chris

LVHR

I am a big fan of LIONEL and have been for many years but the MTH helicopter car is far superior in its operation.

I got a MTH helicopter car this year and had junk results at first.  I had to work over the helicopter to get the blades to spin free and not bind.  The shaft on mine is not aligned well, so as it slows it grabs the body and then the whole assembly spins.   Now it flies 6 ft or more with consistent results.  Still not hit the ceiling performance that some claim, but good enough I guess.

I was where you are now about 7 yrs ago with my son.  On advice of others I purchased the MTH version and mine consistently flew to the ceiling from the floor - 8'.

When he got a bit older I also purchased the helicopters similar to what Lee mentions and although my experience was that they were lousy for what was advertised on TV they did serve really well when just launching from a flat car.  Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if improvements have been made in the 4 to 5 years since I purchased my remote control helicopters.

--Greg

A flatcar would be easy to take off from but hard to land on.  Still - it could be done.  I can attest to the fact that the remote control helicopter we have is an incredible flyer.  In the hands of a capable pilot it can land straight down oton an empty breadplate in the middle of a crowded dining room table, then take off again, with no problems, except the the wind from its blades scatters breadcrumps and what not all of the table!  However, in the hands of an incompetent, like me, is seems to head for the nearest thing it can run into.  It does appear to be indesctrictible, though, so maybe there is hope for me to learn it, still.

I like the MTH unit as we use it at the club. It hits a 14 foot ceiling. My basement would be good for the Lionel unit. I know some forum members have installed I believe an ERR commander ( not sure if I am using correct term) which lunches the car on the run.

I would wind the Lionel unit more per Lee.