Editorial Review

With a remote control that is simple to master, this two-speed airplane is perfect as a first radio-controlled toy. The Resistor takes off from its own computer-operated launch pad with a single press of the Launch button from the remote. A large toggle button moves the plane either left or right as the plane hits scale speeds of up to 400 mph and flies up to 300 feet away. For quick speed, a Thrust button on the remote gives it a 25-percent extra power boost, and for a smooth, even landing, a Land button brings the Resistor down safely. Except for a few hard plastic components that house the engine, this lightweight plane is made almost entirely of Styrofoam, which damages easily if it hits obstacles so it's best to practice flying in open, treeless areas. This toy requires six C batteries for the charger and one 9-volt battery for the plane itself and requires only a three-minute charge in the docking station before it's ready to fly. --Cristina Vaamonde ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Lots of fun for adults, might frustrate younger kids a bit
I bought the Resistor for myself after noting its mention in "Consumer Reports." It is a lot of fun if you pay attention to the directions.

First, don't overcharge it and be sure to condition the internal battery by FULLY discharging it before recharging. It takes a little extra time but it keeps the plane charging properly. When the propellors on mine slow down enough that the plane won't fly any more, I just hold it with it turned on until the propellors stop turning. Then I turn it off and recharge it.

Second, they aren't kidding when they tell you to fly it in an open field. I take mine to the park and fly it on a soccer field. There is plenty of room there and it flies great. However, there is no way to fly it if there are even a few trees in the way. It just doesn't turn sharply enough and you WILL hit a tree in short order. The styrofoam is durable enough to handle crashing into the grass with no problem but a tree isn't very good for it and you run the risk of breaking the wings.

Third, you CANNOT fly it in a strong breeze. The engines aren't powerful enough. It seems to work best in a very light breeze, like 2-3 MPH, The head wind helps the plane to get enough airspeed to take off. In dead air, it flies fine but it's a little harder to launch it.

With the above in mind this is a GREAT toy. It's a lot of fun to fly it around and turn it and make it go up and down with the remote. You can also learn a lot about how an airplane works even though it isn't controlled like a real airplane would be with a rudder and so forth (it manuvers by ramping the engine power up and and down.) Because of the control method it isn't all that responsive, and as a result flying it might be a little frustrating for younger children. I think the "ages 8 and up" on the box is a bit optimistic. I think 12 and up is more accurate.

All in all a great toy for older children and adults, as long as you have a suitable place to fly it. I really like mine.

Hard to fly
I got this for my birthday. It broke while putting together. Got a new one and ok this time. It was fun to watch fly for a couple minutes, then lost control and it went into a tree. It broke when it fell out. I taped it up like the directions said, but when I went to fly again, was fun to chase, but you really do not have any control. It needs a string so you can find it when it fly away.

Not worth the money
Very disappointing!! It is not durable especially considering that crashes will happen with novices and this is geared to the beginner. Even tossed into the breeze as directed, the plane crashed. It was frustrating for an 8 year old boy.

Air Hogs Resister
This is the bomb! With its throttle and thrust button it's just like flying an air plane. And it flies like a plane to. My two favorite parts are the Auto-Pilot take and the extremely smooth landing all in one touch of a button. It also has two piloting levels, beginner and advanced.

You don't have to bend the prop and reverse wires.
I read in one of the reviews that since both motors turned in the same direction and the resulting torque caused his plane to steer to one side when the power was on, he recommended twisting one of the propellers and reversing the tiny wires inside the plane to one motor. There is a much simpler way to correct a torque turn; bend the rear edge of the vertical tail in the opposite direction the plane wants to turn under motor thrust. The plane will turn towards the side you bend the rear of the tail. It shouldn't take much; if the plane goes straight under motor power, it might turn slightly in a power-off glide. Split the difference, or just make slight in-flight corrections when you are under power. This will work much better than trying to bend a propeller 90 degrees and into a shape it wasn't meant to be.

For people who might have flown small fragile styrofoam planes in the past, it should be noted that this plane is made with Expanded Poly-Propylene foam (EPP) not Expanded Poly-Styrene or Styrofoam, and is far more durable. I regularly fly EPP motorless planes in updrafts caused by the wind moving up a hill or slope; these EPP planes, reinforced with filament tape and colored packing tape (or plastic iron-on film) are so tough that they are often flown into each other in midair on purpose (full-contact combat) and can take shocks like flying at high speed into a tree trunk which would shatter a plane made from any other material. EPP foam is revoluionizing the electric powered radio control industry due to its ability to bounce, not break and has been used in sailplanes (gliders) with up to 10-foot wingspans. Should you crash your Air Hog on a regular basis, a good way to stiffen it up is with filament tape or colored packing tape, to keep the foam from 'chunking' in a hard crash. But keep it as light as possible so it will still fly.

Your kids should have an excellent time at the ballfield with the Air Hog. Flying the Air Hog can lead to questions about why airplanes fly, future interest in the galaxy of RC flight from engine powered to electric, to slope or thermal gliders, to designing model planes; even to the real thing in many cases. I can think of seven people in my own extended family that have enjoyed flying model airplanes, and four who have taken the steps to fly real ones, including one airline pilot. In every case their interest was sparked at an early age by flying toys of far less capability than the Air Hog. I can't think of a more varied, stimulating and just plain fun hobby to enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

its not the best
i got this toy cause i always wanted a rc plane i launch it and it did not even fly!!!! i get it working theres no wind and it looked like a ragdoll in a angry pitbulls mouth save your money get a real flyer ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Piece of junk
1) Styrofoam construction; plane broke apart on third flight
2) Battery charge gives enough juice for the plane to fly for only 10 seconds.

Can't give zero stars so 1 will have to do. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Long range flyer
Great toy, but be careful on windy days. The advertised 100 yards is an understatement in a stiff breeze where mine went out of the park on Martha's Vineyard Island and flew out to sea. Probably drifted to Nantucket by now. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Howard Hughes meets Skunkworks! The Air Hogs RC Skywinder is a high-flying silver airplane designed to loop the loop, climb, dive, bank right or left, or sidewind. A six-function radio controller allows players to command the stunts from terra firma. Made of high-density EPP foam and plastic, the sleek airplane has a military look about it, although its fun-giving capacity belies the serious image. Kids (and let's be honest, grownups, too!) launch the 19x18-inch airplane into the wild blue yonder, press the thrust button on the controller to allow the plane to climb, then wait until it reaches a minimum altitude of 30 to 50 feet (depending on the intended stunt). At this point, the sky (and the battery charge) is the limit. Slight movements of the toggle switch or thrust button guide the skywinder in any direction, allowing for inverse or regular loops, sidewinders, and more, up to heights of 100 feet. Includes stunt plane, controller, charger/display stand/trainer (for indoor training), two extra propellers, and one tool (for adjustments and propeller replacement). Six AA batteries required (not included). No assembly required. --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Editorial Review

Put on your own air show with this radio-controlled stunt flyer from Air Hogs. Jet black, and rather stealthy-looking, the plane can reach heights of up to 100 feet and perform stunts such as 360-degree loops and sidewinders. It's built from a single piece of high-density EPP foam, which is stronger than either EPS or polystyrene, and outfitted with twin propellers made of durable plastic. The six-way radio control enables you to move the plane up, down, left, or right; thrust it forward; or land it. No assembly is required, and two spare propellers are included just in case. Required, and sold separately, are eight D batteries for the docking station and six AA batteries for the controller. The airplane charger doubles as a display stand. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Editorial Review

With a remote control that is simple to master, this two-speed airplane is perfect as a first radio-controlled toy. The Resistor takes off from its own computer-operated launch pad with a single press of the Launch button from the remote. A large toggle button moves the plane either left or right as the plane hits scale speeds of up to 400 mph and flies up to 300 feet away. For quick speed, a Thrust button on the remote gives it a 25-percent extra power boost, and for a smooth, even landing, a Land button brings the Resistor down safely. Except for a few hard plastic components that house the engine, this lightweight plane is made almost entirely of Styrofoam, which damages easily if it hits obstacles so it's best to practice flying in open, treeless areas. This toy requires six C batteries for the charger and one 9-volt battery for the plane itself and requires only a three-minute charge in the docking station before it's ready to fly. --Cristina Vaamonde ... Read more

Reviews (12)

my story
I got this plane because my friend got it and I flew it and loved it(he had the black edition) i flew mine but it wouldn't fly I tried many of ways and I couldn't seem to get it to fly i got my friends to fly but not mine I repeatedly tried but I couldn't . The front of the plane was all torn up. The I flew it one last time then it crashed into the ground and the back wing broke off. I only had it for one day. Also I think that toys'R'us is asking for way way way way 2much money (40$) for a Styrofoam plane when it is going to break on the first day

About the Defender
The Airhogs new plane, the defender is a good plane for beginers and once you get control of it it is preety fun. The Defender is very durable. My plane ran into a tree before and didn't break anything. If you are a beginer then you should try this toy, but be aware that it is not that moneverable.

For the money its a wonderful plane
I first got into r/c planes when i recied a $250 electric plane for my birthday, the first thing i did was cahrge the battery and go to the park and fly it. i thought it would be a peice of cake but boy was i wrong. The plane goes at a top speed of 60 mph and i wasnt good at telling how far away the plane was and where its facing. The first thing it did was nose dive into the ground. it was a little messed up but i gave it another try and it did a nice cart wheel on the ground thats when i decided to rtire it and look for a better plane for a begginer. I found this and i love it iv had it for 3 days and iv done my share of crashing and for the most part the only damage done to it weas paint being scraped off. Theres a few chips in the wing but im vert pleased with the durability. It took a little tweaking cause for some reason the plane heavily turned right when it was supposed to be flying stright but this was fixed my adding a little weight to the left wing. it takes quite a bit of practice to get good at flying it and you will crash quite a bit but it will pay off once you finally get it down and are able to fly it until batteries die and make a beautiful landing. i would recomend not putting decals on, i think they were the cause of my turning problems becuase one went on a littl bumpy. I would also say definetly dont fly it over cement if you have any since even if u have a perfect landing you will scrape up the bottom badly and im almost postive that your first few flights wont be perfect landings. The only thing im very mad about is amazon sent it to me second day air which cost 40 bucks instead of the 3-7 day mail which is 8 bucks which brought the price of the plane to 90 bucks. i would definetly buy this plane if you like r/c if it turns out you dont like it, its not that big of a loss since its only $60 with shipping.

P.S. its crucial to lauch it stright if u lauch it upwards it will go up to much and will stall and likely crash and if u lauch it downwards well thats kind of obvious but it will crash.

Don't buy this
We didn't make it to the first takeoff, one practice chargeup and run of the motors and the next time, nothing. I would rather have taken my money and lit it on fire, that would have created more excitement with my kids, since you are wasting your money on this piece of ..junk.

This plane actuley flys
I bought this thinking it was going to bea another dud fly it once and its gone in peices on the ground but this plane is durable and and it flys really well. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This is a good toy!
I like this helicopter alot! It's neat because it has a motor that runs on air. It flies straight up and then when it runs low on air, it lands very gently & doesn't break like some other airplanes that I've tried. I wish it wasn't made out of sterofoam though.I really have fun with this toy. ... Read more

Product Description

Fly through the sky with the high-soaring Air Hogs Rush Radio Controlled Plane. With the Air Hogs Rush Radio Controlled Plane, flying is as easy as 1,2,3: 1. Charge! Recharges in minutes! 2. Launch! Easy-to-toss lightweight plane. 3. Control! Steers easy ¿ just move the toggle! ... Read more

Features

• Toggle Left/Right for turning control
• On board computer system for maximum contol
• High Performance engine with on board servo
• Pop off crash resistant wings
• All in one controller charger for quick on the spot recharges

Reviews (2)

not bad for what you pay
Considering what you pay for this, it isn't bad at all.Just understand that it might take a few tries to get it right.Yes, the airplane is fragile compared to other toys, but it has to be made lightweight so it will fly.

You must have a wide open space with no obstructions (trees, houses, etc) to fly this.My back yard has a tree-less field about 3/4 acre in size, and that is barely big enough to fly it... so you do need plenty of room.

As long as you have a wide open grassy field with calm winds, and as long as you've charged the airplane as described in the instructions, there is no reason you can't have a successful and fun time with this.Just give it a good launch, slightly nose-up, and it should take to the air on its own.All you have to do is steer it left or right with the transmitter.It might take a few flights to get a feel for what it can and cannot do.I suggest letting the airplane climb and then just fly in big graceful circles overhead.When the airplane starts to slow down (after 1-2 minutes), the battery charge has worn off and you need to bring it in for a belly landing.I figured out how to do this successfully after only the first 2 or 3 flights.

Some common problems I could see people running into:

- Not enough room.The airplane flies faster than you might think, and it will seek out trees and houses and any other obstructions very quickly.Therefore, you need plenty of unobstructed space.I would say you need much more room than the typical backyard offers.

- Wind.I suggest only flying this thing when there is no wind at all.It can handle slight wind, but some understanding of flight concepts are needed in any kind of wind.For example, when it's headed into the wind, it will climb quickly, and it loses airspeed, which can lead to a stall.The airplane will then dive down towards the ground, and yes it might crash if this happens.So if you fly in windy conditions, you need a little more experience and understanding of airplanes to be successful.

- Control.This airplane only has rudder control, which aims it left or right.You cannot continuously apply left or right control without causing the airplane to start to dive and crash.It's best to practice with big graceful circles overhead.Do this by applying left (or right) for a second, then release for a second, then apply for a second again, and so on.You'll get the hang of it.It's an airplane, and it *will* take some practice to get it right.

- Landing.This airplane should pretty much land smoothly by itself as long as you never let the airplane get into a steep dive (by flying into the wind and stalling, or by turning too much).Just realize that when it starts to slow down, your control inputs will be less effective... so you should try to get the airplane flying straight and level when it begins to slow down.Trying to turn it too much after it's started to slow down can lead to a crash.And the one I purchased has survived numerous crashes, and it still flies ok... you just have to realize that it is fragile by design, and you need to use some finesse.

Piece of junk
1) Styrofoam construction; plane broke apart on third flight
2) Battery charge gives enough juice for the plane to fly for only 10 seconds.

Can't give zero stars so 1 will have to do. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Nice idea, but way too fragile
This is the fourth or fifth Air Hog we've purchased, and it will be the last for awhile. It broke on the second flight - the fuselage snapped right behind the wing area. We've owned several battery powered models, all of which have broken within the first hour of use.

Our first purchase - an air powered model - lasted longer (it came with two sets of wings), but was still broken within 2 weeks.

We are looking for something more durable now - the concept is great but they just need to be tougher.

Fun Toy
I have 2 sons (ages 7 & 9) that have played with the Air Hogs Eradicator for over 2 months and still love it. The plane is made out of a light weight material, so you must be careful not to leave it on the floor or throw it in a toy box, but we have crashed it at the park probably close to 100 times and it keeps flying and hasn't had more than a scratch. I understand you can purchase replacement wings if they do break, but we haven't found this to be necessary. It is best to fly the plane in a large open area, away from roofs and trees. We have seen this plane fly for over 3 minutes at a time. Any wind gust will easily keep it in the air and cause it to go higher. We have bought this toy as a gift for several birthday parties and it has been a winner every time.

Best fit for an older child - or adult!
My friends and family (all adults) have owned about 12 different Air Hog planes between us and this is what we have found.
* Some planes fly better than others
* They are somewhat fragile, but they have to be light to fly! I have crashed one plane more than 50 times and it still flies great.
* They don't fly well in more than moderate winds
* Unlike model rockets which take the good part of the day to plan, drive to a field and launch, Air Hogs can be a quick 30 minute adventure in the back yard or in a near by park.

I love Air Hogs and will continue to try out new varieties. I do wish all the planes flied as well as some of the planes. The best one (so far) has been discontinued for years.

very poor
again as in all air hog products this simply cannot be played with as described. This toy would be great if you simply purchase it to have your child look at it but to not play with it. I had purchased this toy and with in five minutes of my son playing with it it broke. I took it back and got a new one thinking the first one was defective but to simply find out again that it broke with in 5 minutes. If you purchase this you will simply be throwing your money away. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

AWESOME!!!
I am 12 year old boy and i bought this toy for my 6 year old brother. He really liked it. But only one thing dissapointed me. This plane needs too much batteries. When the plane was shipped, I forgot to buy the batteries. But it wasn't Amazon.com's problem. I found out that there was a colemn saying this plane needs 4 batteries.

This is a great toy for bigginers, even to me!

The Flying Foam Cooler
The Air Hogs Eradicator is an interesting concept, but overall I can't recommend it to others.

I consider myself a fairly savvy toy shopper, and a believer in the principle that the best toys are simple toys, or non-toys. But in this case I let down my guard and bought something that really doesn't provide much play value, or value in general, for what it costs.

Every parent gets to steer their children toward the types of toys that we find interesting or exciting. I was always a fan of flying toys, and my son fortunately seems to have the same inclination. So we have spent many hours making and playing with inexpensive toy airplanes of all types.

The Air Hogs Eradicator is on some level a triumph of technology--As a child 30 years ago, I would have been thrilled by the idea of an airplane with an electric motor and rechargeable battery. (And I guess I was still thrilled enough to have thought about it for several years before finally going to the store and getting one.) It's pretty amazing even now when you consider how such a toy has a motor and battery that are strong enough to provide some lift without weighing the "airframe" down too much.

Ah, yes, the airframe. Remember those cheap polystyrene coolers that came out in the 60s? That's what the Eradicator is made of, or appears to be made of under the coat of colorful red paint. As a boy, I was always intrigued by how they had molded those little foamy beads into a smoothly shaped cooler whose lid squeaked around as we drove to the lake. And I recall distinctly how brittle the foam was, and when a chunk of it broke off (not a rare event), the cooler was done for. In the trash. In the landfill.

We got two or three good initial flights out of the Eradicator, perhaps because we had a good, wide-open spot to fly and the wind was perfect. As the instructions point out, you WILL need a light breeze to take flights of any length. And you will need to put some muscle behind it when you launch. I routinely got better flights than my kindergarten son, who couldn't seem to get the loft and velocity that I did. So if you're expecting just to stand out in the middle of a field, turn on the power switch, and let the plane go, you're going to be disappointed.

The problem is, you could very well be disappointed even if you do everything right. On one of our first flights, the plane headed for a nearby parking lot, conked on the edge of a curb, and promptly knocked a small chunk out of the wing. The instructions suggest taping up such mishaps, but we didn't happen to bring any tape with us and continued to fly the plane in slightly damaged condition. It worked about as well.

On our second outing, it must have been just a bit too breezy and the plane simply couldn't stay up when thrown into the breeze as the instructions suggest. It kept arcing upward and nose-diving into the grass, and on the fourth attempt it hit the ground with such force that the body broke in half. Tape put it back together when we got home, but we left the park disgusted at the plane's obvious fragility.

I realize it's not easy creating a lightwight plane for a low cost, and foam beads are a convenient material to make an interesting-looking and airworthy (though not necessarily crashworthy) plane body. But when that plane snapped in half after only about ten flights I thought, "You idiot. You got took! It's more cheap Chinese-made junk to clutter up the basement. What were you thinking?" And I don't like feeling that way.

Does the Air Hogs Eradicator occasionally provide interesting and long-lasting flights, which go so high the plane can indeed land in a tree? Yes, it does.

But the simple truth is that my son and I have had just as much fun with paper airplanes and the slightly more complex "White Wings" paper kit planes that you cut out, glue together and launch with a rubber-band catapult. We have occasionally lost such planes due to flights that go too high or too far, but we never felt the sense of loss and chump-dom that we felt watching our Air Hogs Eradictor nose-diving into the ground and breaking in half on its second trip to a park.

By the way, the plane must be recharged after each flight with the provided hand-held charger pack, which uses 4 C batteries. It has a cute "gas nozzle"-shaped charging tip that you plug into the side of the plane and, when done, can slide into a special holding bay on the side of the charger. It is solid and well-made, and so securely mounted on the internal packaging boards that you'll need a wire cutter just to get it out of the box. I like the charger, and wish similar engineering prowess had been applied to the plane itself.

We will try the Air Hogs Eradicator again, on a less-windy day, and we will take our roll of tape along. But I for one will always be somewhat bothered by the idea that I spent $12 (it was on sale, at least) on something that I now feel obligated to keep and "make work"--unlike a good old paper airplane.

Eradicator sounds like an exciting aerial combat name, but the only thing this plane eradicated was--sorry, I can't resist--the money from my wallet.

air hogs air pressure plane
We bought 2 of these planes, because we have twin boys. They wanted this for thier Birthday. When they suggest to go to an open field to fly. They are absolutley correct. This plane flies really high and it will get caught in trees. You will have a lot of fun. We did get one caught in the trees. My children are having a lot of fun with these planes and they just turned 7. When they say flick the propellar hard to get it started we did and then the plane goes really far. It circles around all by itself so make sure thier are no trees in sight. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

bad toys!
I bought this toy 2 years ago. It looked great put together, but broke the first time I flew it. Good thing it came with a second set of wings, but they broke too. I ordered replacement wings and they broke. So, what I am getting at is, don't buy this unless you want to keep buying replacement wings. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The lightweight, plastic propellers and a red-and-yellow foam body on this spy copter don't make it very sturdy, but it has an arsenal of "high performance specs" that should balance vulnerability with greater agility. A few of them include altitude and rotor speed indicators, a "flight stabilizing" system, and proportion control, all of which help his lift up to 50 feet. Those features are considerate, but kids won't even care about those doodads once their bird takes flight. Of course, it's not very large (more like a grasshopper than a spy copter) but lots of fun is packed into it. Plus, its quick-charging station doubles as a cool launch pad, complete with an input jack shaped like a fuel nozzle. Included: instructional video. Required, eight "C" batteries for launch pad; six "AA" batteries for remote control. Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (2)

helicopter fun
This helicopter is awesome. It is very durable and flies great. it charges in three mins. and flies for two. You can keep control easily when there is no wind. I have so much fun with this toy but you need a ton of space like a wide open field

my husband loved this!
I bought this rc helicopter last year for my husband and he absolutely loves it. He has taken it out and had so many people (especially grown men) ask him where he got it and how can they get one. It takes bumps and imperfect flying without falling apart, recharges quickly and takes very little skill to fly. I'm buying my brother-in-law one this year for Xmas. Boys and their toys.......... ... Read more

Editorial Review

There will come a day when kids just won't believe that we had to wind up our toy airplane propellers with rubber bands. Hastening the arrival of that fateful milestone are the E-Chargers Flying Machines. This flying machine draws its power from four AA batteries in a handheld charger. Just pop the 8-inch-long foam plane on the end of the charger, listen to its motor rev and watch its propeller spin, then 10 seconds later you're ready to fly. You can get some really good flights out of this bird--the only downside is waiting the recommended two minutes between flights for the charger to cool down. Styles and colors may vary.--Paul Hughes ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Doesn't even match a Happy Meal Toy
I bought this for my nephew, and never got to even fly it! I loaded the batteries, connected the charger, and that was it---the charger would not charge nor come off---D* near broke it in half trying! Can't wait to return that trash.

Sweet little flyer
Bought this for my son who has ADHD. He loves the little plane. It works great! I know it won't last long since it is is foam rubber and my son is not gentle but for the money, it was something to try. Now I know he enjoys flying planes and can handle it. I recommend this toy for other parents to try on their children, as a first time plane.

cool flight patterns
This little plane does some real cool tricks all on its own. by throwing it down toward the ground, it then takes straight up and does a hammerhead stall before it glides back to earth. The one problem I have run into is the durability. I have gone through two palnes and haven't really played with it much. The propeller broke on the first one and on the second, the gears seemed to have stripped.

This is a geat toy
I bought this thinking alright, for $... it will crash and burn. NOT AT All! This was probally one of the funnest toys I have ever purchased plus it doesn't brack the first time using it! Hours after hours of rechagable fun! You have to buy!

Great cheap FUN
I bought this plane for my 6 year old son. We had great fun with it. However, it crashed hard and the propeller broke. We were able to find a replacement propeller for $1.25 at a hobby shop. The plane flew well, did cool tricks, (Rolls, Loops and Crashes) until my 9 year old stepped on it. Since it's made out of foam, it was a wreck. But hey, for $10.00 it was a great toy for the money. ... Read more