Saturday, December 20, 2008

Horizon Hobby Mini Remote Helicopter Giveaway

Mini Remote Helicopter from Horizon HobbyI'm pretty excited about today's giveaway, I have to confess that I've always thought these guys looked particularly neato but have never had a chance to put my theory to the test.

Well I can report that 100% fun-ness was achieved.

This, my friends, is a mini-remote-controlled-helicopter from Horizon Hobby that zips and dives at the touch of a finger--or two to be precise.

I was sent one to review which was kind of a coincidence because just a couple days before when I'd asked David what he wanted for Christmas he said "A remote-controlled airplane." Apparently Santa has good hearing.

So when it came Andrew and I decided that we really needed to give it a try. You know, in the interest of full experimentation and all that.

Boy, we had a great time of it.

We took it over to a nearby gymnasium on a Friday night to see how easy it was and I can report that not only does it come ready-to-fly right out of the box, including batteries, but it doesn't take much to send it flying around and buzzing around the place. I'd heard that remote helicopters can be very tricky to fly but this one was fairly easy to use. David (age 10) is going to LOVE it--it'll be a little challenging for him but he ought to be able to handle it with some practice.

Here's a video of us giving it a go and I would also mention a couple things. First, that the teeny tiny battery is only good for 6-8 minutes of flight. Not very long. It needs to be tiny so there's only so much you can do about the situation but what they recommend and what I think we'll do is purchase one or two extra batteries so that you have a supply ready to go. The batteries are small and run quickly but they also charge quickly--30-40 minutes for a full charge.

When that battery starts to go the little chopper has a light that begins to blink and within about a minute you lose power and the controls go out so as soon as you see it begin to blink that's your signal to land.




If you'd like more information about flying model air crafts you should look into the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) which is an organization for those who love to fly these guys. It might be a nice place to start if you're considering of joining the craze. With so many children playing video games it would seem like a great way to put all of those hours of practicing hand-eye coordination to a new purpose and while this model is meant for indoor use only, some of the sturdier, larger ones would be a great way to get outdoors a bit.

So if you'd like to jump immediately into the model aircraft circuit you can take your chances at winning one of these mini helicopters for yourself thanks to the goodness of Hobbico and Horizon who sells all sorts of wonderful planes. And if you win? Bring your helicopter on over and we can zoom them around the gym together!

Here's how to win:

Before 12 am Monday go to the giveaway entry form on this page and enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in next Tuesday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details.

This giveaway is open to all readers so good luck!

Technorati tags: product reviews, giveaways, toys, airplanes

70 comments:

Joseph said...

I always wanted a mini remote controlled Helicopter or airplane when I was a kid. This would be a great opportunity for me to be a BIG KID again!

Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas :o)
Thanks for having the helicopter that my son has been dreaming about
in this giveaway!!

dukier44 {at}aoldotcom

Anonymous said...

I would love to win this. That would be the coolest Christmas gift ever

Angie L said...

My husband would love this.

Marcia said...

Looks like a lot of fun for a large segment of the family. I'd love to win!

akormsby said...

i would give to my son. he had a mini remote helicopter, but it broke.

Erin said...

My son has been talking about wanting a remote control helicopter. This one looks awesome!

Brian D. said...

This looks way cool. It's just too bad my kids are too small to fly it. I'll just have to do it myself.

anastasia said...

Great giveaway. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Daisy said...

I'm not entering for this one, but it sure sounds neat!

Flea said...

My dad had RC planes when I was growing up and we loved to head to the football field and watch them fly. :)

ladylisa1 said...

Thanks cool item today! :)

Saoder said...

This would make a nice Christmas gift!

tracey73110 said...

thanks for the chance and happy holidays. tracey johnson miketra@sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

Pick me, please. My hubby would love this prize!

susan wiener, swiener1[at]tampabay.rr.com

Anonymous said...

What a great Christmas present this would make for my son! Please, include us in your giveaway drawing. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

Amy said...

I just won something from you--can I still enter again? My daughter would LOVE this. We were at the mall looking for some winter boots for her and they had a cart set up with one of these flying around. She was entranced.

Mia J. said...

This is such a great prize. My husband would love to play with this.

Mirien said...

Grant would love this! If he wins, I'll send him over to fly helicopters with David. But seriously, how do you feel about your boys flying this thing in the house? Cause you know that's going to happen. I'm still trying to drill into Evan's head that he can't throw footballs in the house.

Anonymous said...

this would be great for my son thanks for the giveaway bad_girl_4_u_1984@yahoo.com

kal said...

My son would love this. He is getting too old for a lot of toys, but not this one! Thanks!

Heffalump said...

My father in law asked for one of these for Christmas...so even 61 year old men like them!

Anonymous said...

My son and husband would have alot of fun with this. Thanks. Charlotte
charlottewinters@cox.net

Reno said...

Fun giveaway.
Hey, did I miss the video tour of your 'new' house?
I'm anxiously awaiting!

Melissa said...

My hubby would love one of these. Would be the perfect New Year's gift!

Anonymous said...

This a great, unique prize. I would love it.

jellosheriff said...

My son would love this!

jean said...

I loved the video. If I won I would have to go and get a second one for myself.

Anonymous said...

I know I can't ever afford to fly the real thing!
dolniaks@connecttime.net

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great time. Are you sure you don't want to keep it for yourself? :)

threesidesofcrazy said...

What a neat helicopter. Hubby and sons would love this!

Anonymous said...

This would be great from son and his wife who are going to have there first baby in April.I will give it to my son and his new son. Thank you and Happy Hoildays !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

This would be great from son and his wife who are going to have there first baby in April.I will give it to my son and his new son. Thank you and Happy Hoildays !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heather B said...

I have to be honest and say I don't know who would enjoy this more the kids or my boyfriend and I

Sir Thrift-A-Lot said...

This is one of the best giveaways I have seen in awhile. We only have remote control cars, would love to have one flying around the sky! Happy Holidays & thank you!

malleycc said...

WOW now that looks like fun! Thanks for the chance to win.

Rudy said...

My son has been wanting one of these.

Janice said...

My nephew flew in for Thanksgiving and will return for Christmas. When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said he wanted a "jet." He loves the idea of flying and this would make a great gift for us to enjoy together. Thanks for the chance to be in the running for this giveaway.

Unknown said...

My sister would love this!

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, Scribbet. Lovin' your blog as always.

-Melanie Glenn
msolis4@yahoo.com

Marne said...

My husband would love this!

nickyle said...

This would be just awesome to win! We have a huge not far from my house that would be perfect for this. Our son was asking for a flying remote plane for Christmas, though this is not a plane I am positive he would be thrilled with it.

Thank you for the chance, good luck everyone!

Happy Holidays to you and yours Scribbit.

CDStardust said...

My 4 year old son wants Santa to bring one of these SO bad this year! (Great Grandma and Grandpa have gotten it for him) He actually had gotten one for his birthday, and the dog chewed it up!! He has been so upset since September. He calls it a "zipper" LOL! Thanks for the giveaway!

409cope said...

Hubby would have such fun with this! cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I would love to win this for my son. Thanks for the chance to win.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

Jessica said...

Jessica Peterson
rawlove(at)hotmail.de

Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

My daughter and husband would love to fly this together!

Edward Family said...

We had one of these types of remote control helicopters...one very important piece of advice...don't do it in your home. When it lands, or more accurately -crashes- on the floor, hair gets wound up in the propeller mechanism. A few times I was able to pick it out, but this last time it was stuck in there for good. They are very sensitive, and one piece of hair made it not fly right. It was fun while it lasted though!

Eric Rathbun said...

I would love this...however I could see myself doing some damage with it LOL

Anonymous said...

My husband would love a remote control helicopter to play with the kids.
melinda.s41@gmail.com

Unknown said...

This would be a great gift for my husband. He would love it!

Anonymous said...

What a great giveaway! Thanks for the chance.

Kristyn said...

This would be awesome for my son. Every other helicopter that he has had have been so hard to control!

Alex K. said...

Cool i've always wanted to play with an rc helicopter

Laura S. said...

THAT IS SO COOL! MY SON (AND MAYBE HIS PARENTS) WOULD HAVE A BLAST WITH IT.

*I may have posted comment twice-it didn't seem to go through on the giveaway page link...

K Wray said...

I love this!
blackbird0615@yahoo.com

Whitney said...

My son would be ecstatic to receive this! Thank you!

rfrakes331k said...

Thank you for the Giveaway!

Merry Christmas!

susan1215 said...

Cute prize, My son would love this

Anonymous said...

My 2 boys would LOVE this!! Thanks
casenjen at wi.rr.com

Jennifer said...

Would love to give this to my son for his birthday. cjshircel at yahoo.com

julied said...

My husband and kids love to play with remote controlled gadgets together. I have seen reviews for this helicopter and it looks a lot of fun.
Merry Christmas everyone.

flared0ne said...

(always hard to tell whether 12:00 AM means Noon, or Midnight, or what -- 11:59:59 AM or PM is much more indicative, and keeps it from feeling like "Oh, an extra day to enter -- no, wait, it closed on the first second of that last day" kinda thing)...

Would be curious to check this out -- hasn't been very long that RC helicopters almost required a real pilots license to be capable of flying them!!

Mollie G. said...

Our older son has gone through a good handful of RC cars, trucks, and one "flying saucer" -- and his eyes lit up when he saw this over my shoulder. Here's hoping for a lucky number, 'cause he's unlikely to see it otherwise...

chad sexington said...

Thats right, I'm selfish, I want to play with this!! Children can play with their kiddie toys.

blown96cobra said...

My son would love this. I think he's finally old enough for a toy like this, too.

Ray_Yergs said...

my brother would absolutely love this gift...

nicolehoughton said...

Nicole H.-My husband is the biggest kid, I always call him "4 forever". He would have a blast with this.

hiitsjustmeee@hotmail.com

Michael and Nancy Morrell said...

Forget my husband I would love this!

phyllisg said...

Model helicopters have become my Grandson's hobby.