Air Hogs Havoc Heli - Colors May Vary
by Spin Master
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Our Price: $29.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $17.96 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Air Hogs Havoc Heli - Colors May Vary
Customer Review: Fun enough for the price but weak and hard to control
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me start by saying that although I don't regret the purchase, I will never buy this again nor recommend it if you expect to fly a helicopter model.
If you are looking for some cheap fun with your cat - go for this toy; but if you want to actually fly a helicopter model - then throw a few more bucks and get yourself something nice.
To just list a few strengths and shortcomings to back what I've stated so far, this would be the summary:
- very durable, it takes crashes and slapping around as if never happened;
- easy to set, charge, take-off, but give yourself some room, at least until you get used with the control tricks (yeah, I said tricks 'cause it's not going to go where you want);
- gives room for error, so if you crashed it, don't worry, it's not broken. Just pick-up where you left and give it another shot;
- mine was a little lazy, as in dragging its feet to ascend even with the throttle to the floor and it only went down from there. I would launch it high from my hand in order to give it more time in the air.
I believe that its rechargeable battery must have been weak as it didn't take long to charge either (or maybe the charging circuit).
- one other thing to make clear is the fact that there is no forward/backward control. The forward speed is adjusted by playing with its weight center, taping some aluminum (provided) on its nose or sliding a fin along its tail.
- there is a delay between control-action and heli-reaction which can add confusion in controlling this heli. I don't think that this is a design flaw but more of a remote control technology shortcoming of using IR instead of radio waves.
Even though the design uses flood light to prevent shadowing (and not line of sight like the AV equipment remotes), in order to maintain control flow and keep the toy in the air, it seems that there is a certain time delay between command and response. For me, that was a turnoff.
My cat is OK with all of the above though...
Anyway, I hope you find my review useful in deciding if this toy is right for your purpose of use.
Customer Review: Misconceptions
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay. First off. My family and I have been flying remote control planes and helicopters since I could first hold a control box.
Second... this product REALLY is a good product... no matter what the morons out there say. Flying an RC helo... no matter HOW small or big is a VERY VERY VERY difficult task to do! It's not NEARLY as easy as it looks on the TV. It's a commercial people! Since when has the TV EVER told us the truth?!
There is a MAJOR learning curve when flying an RC helicopter... and even a veteran can have trouble with a new helicopter (you have to adjust to every helicopter you fly!).
I get so frustrated by people crying over how the "helicopter is uncontrollable" or how it "will only go up and down and no matter what I do, I can't control it's left and right movement".
It can take YEARS to master the art of flying one of these things. It's not something you can do right away usually. Specifically... these helicopters don't necessarily fly "forward" either. Technically the body usually cants toward one side and then flies forward in that direction.
Anyway... this toy is exactly that. A toy. It's not a professional RC helicopter that you can mount a camera onto and take pictures of landscape with. It's a toy. If it doesn't function EXACTLY as you like it (yes... there may be a delayed response because it is run off of infrared technology and not radio frequencies)... so what?! It's not that expensive. In fact... it's rather cheap for an RC helo. People... please come to your senses.
This is a GREAT helicopter for someone just looking to take a step into the hobby. It's cheap, pretty darned durable, and it flies alright too. I'd recommend this to ANY parent looking to give their kid an intro to RC helos and wants to start them out small (it teaches them how to handle the precise controls that a full-size helo uses... and those are even more touchy than this thing...). It's a great product at a great price.
Customer Review: Great heli for the value.
Summary: 4 Stars
This helicopter is a great little toy for the curious beginner. On my first use I was impressed with this choppers abilities for the price I got it for and my nearly five year old daughter absolutly loves to watch me fly it. That being said, mine has consistently required the use of the "trim" button on the remote. It makes adjustments to the tail rotor motor to correct out of control spinning. I have found that I have to trim on almost every liftoff which is why I am giving this four stars and not five. Also, because I have to trim so much I have found that this limits the ability for the chopper to turn being that the left/right controls are different being how much I have it trimmed. In other words one direction requires only a slight tap on the controls to turn and the other direction requires a much harder stick movement. I have also tried to adjust the tail as the directions state but that did not work. This is only a small annoyance so please don't allow this minor complaint of mine to deter you from buying it. Another thing to keep in mind is that florescence lights can have an effect on the infer red communications. I took it to work to show my fellow co-workers and had to kill the lights completely to get it to function so if you chopper is not responding or it has problems dropping out of the air try reducing or turning off the lights.
By the way, as one reviewer mentioned the TV commercial I have to agree and also say that that commercial is a complete joke! If you haven't seen it it shows kids whipping their choppers around as if they were paper airplanes as well as having them fly quickly under obstacles and picking up objects with a hook of some sort. I would love to have them use the chopper I bought for that commercial! This chopper in general is a slow flying durable fun alternative to expensive outdoor models. Tip: If you want it to go faster at all then you will have to weigh down the nose with something other than the sticker weights they give you. Enjoy!
Customer Review: Amazing but skittish
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an amazing toy - amazing that it flies at all with such a low weight and small size, and amazing that it survives the crashes that end most flights.
It is so profoundly influenced by air currents that it has an uncanny attraction for surrounding objects. I suspect that it gets captured by its own rotor vortex as this interacts with objects, especially walls.
On the rare occasions that indoor air currents have sent it in favorable directions, I have actually used it to capture cobwebs from inaccessible areas of my cathedral ceilings.
Webs and dust can wrap the main rotor or especially the tail rotor and promptly cause a crash, but it's easy enough to remove them. The tail rotor blade can be carefully pulled off (and one spare is supplied in the $29.95 toy store version), and any cobwebs or dust fouling the tail rotor motor shaft can then be removed.
I am amazed at the tiny electric motor that directly powers the tail rotor. Control of this motor stabilizes against spin (and a trim control is provided on the transmitter), and is supposed to give some limited degree of directional control.
I still have not found a nose weight or adjustment that will give consistent forward motion during right turns, as the instruction sheet claims should happen, but it's also true that my leaky 2-story California house has a great variety of air currents strong enough to blow this little thing around every which way.
The remote control is infrared optical rather than radio: appropriate for the application.
The Havoc Heli has the distinction of being the only remote control aircraft that has lasted me more than 3 flights before a totally destructive crash. It is located in a very gratifying part of the mass/materials strength/power curve.
It takes amazingly high technology: lightweight lithium-polymer battery and powerful and tiny motors, to make this possible.
Customer Review: Chopper down, CHOPPER DOWN!
Summary: 2 Stars
in all my reviews I don't know that I've ever given something one star but the Air Hogs havoc heli has earned it. But I'm giving it two stars because it was sort of fun while it lasted despite the crashes. I'll admit the commercials sold me, but the incredibly difficult nature of controlling this chopper unsold me.
After reading the directions & checking the batteries, I still could not stop this thing from spinning out of control
& crashing no matter how much I adjusted the trim controls. Even replacing some of the spare parts did not help.
This chopper is loads of fun to take off & fly with but the trouble is you can't keep the thing in the air. I've had other RC toys & there are ones out there that are much easier to control. I spent two days trying to master the Havoc Heli & still couldn't keep it in the air. I spent lots of time adjusting the trim & trying not to fly too fast. I just got nowhere with it. Compare this to only ten minutes with a competitor's product which I was flying it like a pro. Because of this & frequent crashes the Havoc Heli eventually broke in less than a week.
I doubt I had a defective unit, but I suppose its possible. More likely the product is just difficult to control without loads of practice--I'm sure the people in tv commercial have had weeks of training to get it to fly like that. For the casual user this just doesn't seem worthwhile so don't think you'll be duplicating the stunts on tv without lots of time invested. I'd be happy if I could just got the unit to hover & fly in control without slamming into the wall or ground.
the toy is aptly named "havoc heli" = lots of havoc in your living room, but not alot of real flying. If you're into chopper crashes, then you'll like this product. If your more interested in a copter that stays in the air & is easy to fly, look at some other reviews & products.