Spinmaster Toys' Airhogs Havoc Helicopter: A Decent R/C Micro Helicopter at a Great Price

Even though the holiday season has come and past, remote control helicopters still continue to be all the rage. Looking for one that is portable, effective, and affordable? The Airhogs Havoc Helicopter by Spinmaster is all of these. Although it is not the perfect micro helicopter, it is a great way to introduce an amateur to the hobby of RC model airplanes and helicopters.

First, a quick note on micro helicopters. Most of them are not controlled via radio frequency ("RC"), instead they use a relatively weaker infrared signal (IR). Direct sunlight can easily interfere with the signal and the IR signal does not travel as far as RC. Thus, most (if not all)
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micro helicopters are best flown indoors and not outside. Of course, on a cloudy day, one might take their micro heli outside but overall it is best to find a large room indoors for such flights.

There are many different types of micro heli's available right now. The Airhogs Havoc Helicopter is a 2-channel type, which means the controller will give signals for the helicopter to fly up/down and left/right. Fancier micro helis are 3-channel, thus allowing them to fly up/down, left/right and forward/reverse. However, the lack of a direct forward flying input is not too much of a detriment for the Airhogs Havoc Helicopter. Adding a little weight to the front of the heli will give it a fairly decent forward flight, just not a reverse flight.
One of the nice things about the Airhogs Havoc Helicopter is that they come in so many different varieties! Airhogs has taken the original design and set it in many different body kits, giving options as diverse as insects-like models ("Stinger") to futuristic models and even military
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I personally own the Blackhawk style one, a Target exclusive (during the Christmas sale). One downside of this model is that the back rotor adjustment is not available, and other Airhogs Havoc Helicopter models do have this. It hasn't affected the performance that much, but it would be nice if Airhogs included this option on all their micro helis.
Pricewise, this little Airhogs Havoc Helicopter is a great deal. It retails for $25 in most stores, although you may be able to find it for as low as $15. There are several competitor models sold in some stores, including one that was selling for $20 and had 3 channel control, but it sold out very quickly (Walgreens).

I'm really impressed with the durability of the Airhogs Havoc Helicopters. Mine has taken some seriously hard spills, including running into a bike chain/wheel spokes in midflight. It has handeled all of these without any repairs needing to be made! Of course, it is certainly not advisable to try and crash your helicopter, but if damage does occur there are many online model RC/micro heli shops selling replacement rotors and bodies.

Speaking of online micro heli interest, one of the best things about the Airhogs Havoc Helicopter is the huge online community that has built up around it. Head over to the RCGroups.com forum (direct link to large forum thread for this helicopter at end of article) and peruse the ridiculously awesome amount of information from fellow enthusiasts on modifying and maintaining the Airhogs Havoc Helicopter.

I am a satisfied owner of a new Airhogs Havoc Helicopter and I would certainly recommend these and similar ones to other people that are also interested in micro helicopters.