Review of Spinmaster Air Hogs Havoc Helicopters: Control is Lacking

Remote control helicopters have become very popular in the past year, and Spinmaster's Air Hogs is one of the more popular models. Honestly I don't quite think it lives up to the reputation. The Spinmaster Air Hogs Havoc Helicopter is a rather small helicopter that is designed for indoor remote control use. These were a very popular Christmas gift and will most likely be very popular as kids gifts. In reality the Spinmaster's Air Hogs Havoc Helicopters are not a good present for a child. There are two reasons why they fail as good children's gifts. These remove control helicopters are very hard to control, and they are not as safe as you would like with a child's remote control helicopter.

The 4-way control that comes with the Spinmaster's Air Hogs Havoc Helicopter is very sensitive. It can also be hard for a child to learn how to control. One level basically controls the height and the other serves as a very inaccurate control of the direction the helicopter flies in. These are similar to remote controls anyone that has had high end remote control cars has used. For children it is difficult for them to get the Spinmaster Air Hog Havoc Helicopter to go in the direction it wants it to go. This can be very frustrating for a child as the battery included only allows for six minutes of flying time for this remote control helicopter.

So, if it takes your child 3-4 minutes to start to get a feel for the controls they only have one to two minutes left to play before the battery dies. The height on the helicopter also reduces significantly as the battery starts to get towards the end of it's six minute life. Even with a weak battery the propeller blade will hurt a child if it strikes them on bare skin, so be careful to have them fly it away from their bodies while controlling it and away from others.

The Spinmaster Air Hogs Havoc Helicopters come in three different colors. You can choose the color if you purchase it at a store, but most online retailers won't give you a color choice from what I saw online. You can fly up to three of the Spinmaster Air Hogs Havoc Helicopters in one room as you can select from three frequencies. This definitely is an indoor toy. Any breeze will make the already touchy controls even more difficult to control. There is good news about that short battery life though if your child is dissapointed, it only takes 15 minutes to charge it back to a full charge.

Honestly, this remote control helicopter is probably marketed at an age group that is too young to enjoy it and control it. For older kids in the upper teenage range it is a nice diversion as a gift, but then again there are bigger and better remote control helicopters that will be more appealing to teenagers. At $25-30 your money would be better spent on a remote control car for your child which tend to be easier to control and less dangerous.