3 Things You Should Know Before Buying the Havoc Heli RC Mini Helicopter
The first thing you should know about the RC Havoc Heli is its reality is less exciting than its marketing.
The Air Hogs product commercial for the Havoc Heli states how "you can fly Havoc in any direction with ultimate accuracy ... from the tightest corners to the sharpest turns." If this was true, the Havoc would be the coolest mini helicopter Santa could ever give any kid this Christmas. Sadly though, it is not true.
Sure, the helicopter will fly in any direction. But getting it to go in the exact direction you want is more likely going to be the result of a happy accident than skilled accuracy. While there might be some genius kid pilot out there who has just the right touch, most kids will have only minor control over where exactly their helicopter flies.
The Air Hogs Havoc Heli product commercial continues by saying the micro RC helicopter can "fly to heights of 100 feet." As impressive as this might sound, it doesn't actually mean as much to people who live in normal size houses.
The next attempt at impressing buyers Air Hogs makes relates to flight time. The commercial claims the helicopter gets "10 minutes of flight time on a single charge." While on their product packaging, the RC helicopter flight time is said to be "over 6 minutes". My experience is after about 5 minutes the helicopter charge weakens to the point it isn't worth trying to fly.
You should also know that it takes about 30 minutes to fully charge the mini helicopter.
The Air Hogs Havoc Heli product commercial then suggest kids race their friend's mini helicopters while showing footage of two zooming helicopters. While racing helicopters is possible, the kind of high speed, straight line race suggested in the commercial is unlikely to happen. That's because, again, the Havoc Heli helicopter is challenging to control; and also because this RC helicopter is just not really made to fly straight.
One thing they don't tell you that you should know is how to help it fly straight. The Havoc Heli comes with several silver stickers which the manual refers to as "aluminum labels" used for "obtaining a different performance". Placing the provided labels on its nose will help it fly straight.
Towards the end of the Air Hogs Havoc Heli commercial, they act as if you are getting a bargain by stating "similar RC helicopters can cost hundreds of dollars." If you have paid hundred of dollars on a similar helicopter, you have been ripped off. An RC helicopter that costs hundred of dollars should be far more controllable than the Havoc Heli. I would not pay over $30 for a RC helicopter similar to this one.
The second thing you should know about the RC Havoc Heli is where it is meant to fly.
This RC mini helicopter is meant to fly indoors in an uncluttered and calm area.
Kids will definitely be tempted but, because of how lightweight the toy is, I would advise not flying the Havoc Heli outdoors. The RC toy can be stolen by a gust of wind similar to a kite.
Any sort of air draft in your house will affect how the helicopter flies, and could cause it to spin out of control and break.
This RC mini helicopter is fairly durable. At least I have crashed the Havoc Heli many times and it still works fine. But flying it an area without a lot of things for it to crash into will decrease the chance of it breaking.
The third thing you should know is how to decipher the Havoc Heli packaging.
If you're buying more than one Havoc Heli for your kids, pay attention to what channel (A, B, or C) is listed on the box and buy a different one for each kid.
The Havoc Heli packaging reads "LiPo battery and charger included". Some people might read this and think they don't have to buy extra batteries to work this RC helicopter. But you need to know that the 6 AA batteries needed for the controller are not included. Also, you will need a tiny Phillips head screwdriver to open the controller battery case.
So, be sure to have those items if you are giving the RC Havoc Heli as a Christmas gift. There is nothing more annoying to a kid than not being able to play with their new toy right away.
Published by Ever Odessa
Ever Odessa is a destroyer of boredom, collector of facts, and lover of pop culture, depressing movies, brilliant people, and life in general. View profile
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- The Havoc Heli is a small RC helicopter
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18 Comments
Post a Commenttheres one way of getting more flight time is a bigger LiPo battery (it'll probable take longer to charge). i have the Havoc Razor which sounds like a razor at low speeds. the things you can't seem to do is take it apart as it glued together. the laser one sounds fun. would like to try the flying jet one that has a flight time of 10 -15 mins (so i heard) can't wait for something else to come out from R/C
the same thing happned to me to john i just got one and i turn it on and fly it and it is airborne for 5 secs then it stopped so i plugged in the charger and nothing happned
Thanks for the comments. For those who are confused, this article is mainly addressing the way the Havoc has been marketed... If anyone can disprove my points, please post a video if possible; I'd love to see it.
now I'd also have to say that Havoc helicopter is pretty good and I have a collection of Five R.C. Heli's and Three of them are Havoc Heli's and they fly well and are awsome!
I agree cause it really looked flashy to the eye (just a figure of speech) only once I got it it got kinda boring. And the reason I have it is because I am a kid, I'm Nine and in G.A.T.E., Gifted and talented education.
I'd like ti find out to return my sons heli. It won't charge or something, the motor will run for only about 2 seconds. The green charge light doesn't come on after plugging in the charger , with the switch off.
my two boys asked me to get this havoc heli for them as a christmas gift i said that i would think about it but from what i have heard it's unsafe to fly anything indoors including this havoc heli and i know my boys mother would agree
you might say that but maybe your just not good at flying it.It's a wonderful toy for kids!
I think you are a little hard on this wonderful toy heli. You state it is hard to control - have you ever flown a hobby grade RC helicopter - now that is hard. The havoc for its price is simply one of the best toy helis available and is very controllable given you only have throttle and tail rotor control. Sure, it doesn't have cyclic or collective pitch, if it did, it would cost hundreds of dollars and be even harder to fly. Do your research people - this is just one review, you will find thousands more that think this is one of the best value RC toys to date and has incredible play value. The fun factor of this little toy heli can only rival the good old VertyBird toy heli from the 70's. That thing only flew in circles and was tethered to a control rod, but anyone who had one remembers having a blast with it. The Havoc breaks the bonds of the tethered VertiBird and makes flying a RC helicopter accessible to everyone - young and old.
John
www.rchelicopterfun.com
i have 7 lol yea 7 and i fly all the time its fun for all. needs a slider bar at bottom with a bb on end 2 move back and forword and thats about all it needs so p.s air hogs read this