Palm-Z RTF Biplane Review
Radio-controlled Foam Plane is Fun Toy for Ages 10 and Up
This foam plane is small and safe. With a wingspan of 21 cm and a mass of only 6 grams (a US quarter weighs 4 grams), the Palm-Z is is so light and flies so slowly that it will survive encounters with walls, furniture and people. What it hits won't be damaged either. The pusher prop is light and slow-moving, and won't cut curious little fingers. No worries about hurting anything or anyone while flying this terrific light-weight around the house.
Ready to Fly Toy Plane
RTF (Ready to Fly) models need no assembly. Remove the Palm-Z from the box, install batteries in the transmitter, charge it up, and away it flies. At least, that's the idea. Reviews from the past year have been mixed. Some purchasers did indeed get a plane that flew from the first toss, but many needed to fiddle with modifications and a few returned it to the store. So mom or dad may need to help get it into the air.
Well-Designed Controller
The controller itself is well-designed and the built-in charger is handy and easy to use. Instead of the more familiar sticks, the controller uses knurled thumb-grip sliders which are easy to get used to and which work just fine. As a plus, both plane and controller can be hung on a wall for storage, a handy feature that keeps the toy out of the way between flying sessions.
Simple Proportional Flight Controls
The unit offers proportional throttle control – more movement of the control gives more speed – allowing controlled climb or dive. As the battery runs down mid-way through a flight, more power maintains level flight.
The rudder on the other hand uses a small electromagnetic actuator. This is NOT proportional control. Although there is a trim button to help achieve straight flight, in use the rudder is either hard left or hard right. This means that turns are best done by pulsing or flicking the rudder slider, especially for right turns.
Palm-Z Problems and Cures
The most frequent complaint about the Palm-Z is an inability to turn left. There are a variety of mods for this. Extending the rudder throw by cutting away a small part of the horizontal stabilizer (as suggested by RC Mania), extending the rudder area with tape, and twisting the rudder actuator mount a bit to the left are all workable improvements.
Another frequent comment is that the plane is tail heavy; it tends to "balloon" or "porpoise" in flight. Adding a bit of cellotape nose weight, removing some foam from the tail, and increasing the prop size with tape are all possible modifications for improving the flight characteristics, power, and speed of the plane. There are lots of ways to customize or "hack" the plane for better performance. For more fun, users can also modify the Palm-Z in some dramatic ways.
Palm-Z Takes Room - and Skill!
For training flights, a school gym or similar large space gives room to recover from mistakes! Outdoors, sunlight interferes with the IR control (the IR light bounces off walls, giving you a better signal) and the slightest breeze will carry off the plane. In the end, with a little tweaking and some flight practice, the Pam-Z microlight is quite capable of flying in a double garage or large room.
The Palm-Z takes skill to fly – it is necessary to feed in the rudder a bit before you want the plane to turn – but it's quite possible to be doing figure-eights after only a few flights.
Safe, Simple, & Fun Toy Plane
Safe, durable, well-designed, easy to fly and good to customize – what more can anyone ask of a flying model plane? All in all, it's a lot of fun for the price.
Palm-Z Ultralight Micro Plane
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Palm-Z Controller
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