Customer Reviews

Electric Paper Plane Launcher Kit

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this kit for my son as part of his science project. It actually works fairly well with the right kind of plane. You have to experiment with the launcher to adjust it just right but that is part of the fun. It takes about 20-30 minutes to put together and adjust. I recommend that you use washers and lock nuts (not included) to keept the suction cups and legs from vibrating off. The launcher has pretty good range (~20-25 feet) depending on plane design and environment (indoors, wind, etc.) You can definitely throw a plane harder and farther but you get more consistent results with the launcher. It was a lot of fun to build and use.

My 11 year old son is really enjoying this. He has been a fan of paper airplanes for a long time and now is getting interested in electronics, so this was the perfect gift for him. It takes a little tweaking to get a plane that is perfectly compatible with the flinging mechanism, and that is part of the value of this toy. Recommended!

A great experience to build a toy and then use it. Assembly instructions could use a bit more detail. You already need to know which wires are positive and which are negative. (Found answer easily on Internet search.) Also, it's helpful to have your own tiny screwdrivers because the one provided got twisted with the first use. The black rings that are used in steps one and two need to be stretched a bit from the inside to make inserting the motors easier. I can't stress that enough because that was a struggle. After that, it was easy to assemble and works great! I would highly recommend this.

My son recieved this present as a gift. He has thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. We have only had it a short time, but so far so good.

I'll admit it was a little difficult to get the circular peices through the plastic. It was the only part I needed to help my 10 yr old son with. The rest he built himself with step-by-step directions and is loving it. Our 15yr old is enjoying it too. Even the cat can't get enough of it! Planes shoot off pretty fast, they may not go a whole lot farther than if you threw it yourself, but its way cooler!

I bought this for a friend's 7 year old son that is totally into airplanes. He loved the toy. His dad did too by the way. They had been playing with it fine all day then when I came by for a demonstration it wasn't quite working. It operated normally the planes just didn't seem to go through the launcher anymore. The paper planes you use have to be super thin and straight. Other than that for the price it's a neat toy.

The plane launcher only works for smaller planes and does not work for any planes containing quarters or for larger planes. Also note that you have to self assemble everything and need a small screw driver to put the whole thing together.

We bought this for my sons science project to launch his paper airplanes. It won't even launch a paper airplane.

I echo a previous reviewer's experience. With the rubber gaskets we were provided, I do not believe that the laws of physics will allow assembly. I am fairly adept at assembling this sort of thing, but have given up on this product. When the directions warn you that assembly will be difficult, take this warning seriously. I also note that the "pulleys" provided with my unit are different from the illustration in the instructions. This makes me wonder if the company has changed the sourcing for this product and, consequently, there were quality control issues.

The very first thing that the instructions state is that the product is not a toy - this is exactly correct. Do not purchase this item thinking that there will be fun involved.

My son is a paper airplane nut, so he had to have this kit. Unfortunately, after the better part of the afternoon we've been unable to get the launcher built. The motors need to be inserted into two circular holes on the plastic base, and are very difficult to push through. Lots of force is required (much more than my 10 year old is capable of exerting), and the delicate wire connections on the motors are getting all bent up. The instructions suggest lubricating the motors with dish soap to facilitate the process, but in our case it didn't help. I've tried enlarging the holes with sandpaper, but again, without luck. At the moment my fingers are bruised and sore and my son is disappointed. I suppose if I keep sanding away at the plastic base it may come together eventually, but I must say this item seems more like it was devised to frustrate than educate.

I returned to have another go at this kit a few days after writing the previous review. I finally got the first motor inserted into the base, but the gasket around the second just couldn't bear up to the stress and broke as I tried to slide the motor through. Perhaps I can affix the motors with silicon gel. That should work, if I build a rigging to hold the motors in position while it dries. More likely, I'll just throw the junky thing away.