Customer Reviews

AIR HOGS RADIO CONTROL "RESISTOR" AIRPLANE

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This plane flies great and is a good introduction to the hobby of RC airplanes. I bought the resistor for my nephew and after a little troubleshooting and a few crashes we started to get the hang of how to fly it. After a half hour, my 14 year old nephew can easily pilot it around up to 50 feet in the air performing figure eights above our heads. The plane only takes 2-3 minutes to charge off of the battery pack, and then can fly for about 5 minutes. There are two power settings on the plane, and we found that setting 1 worked the best. Setting 2 seemed to provide too much power. We found that if the plane turned too much to one side, a gentle twisting of the tail fin could fix the problem and the plane flies straight.

Several other reviewers have posted reviews that show they did not read the directions that come with the plane. First off, model planes need a lot of space and calm air. I would recommend a field at least as large as a baseball field. The plane turns on a wide radius and will find the nearest tree before you know it. If you fly this plane on the street or between houses it will not turn sharply enough to avoid hitting things. Second, the plane only needs to be charged until the light turns green. This only takes about 3 minutes. If you try to overcharge the plane (2-3 hours) then it will destroy the battery and the plane will not work. The manufacturers recommend charging the plane right before you use it and storing it with the batteries completely depleted. This will prolong the life of the battery. Only alkaline batteries should be used in the base. Third, the plane should be used over grass and not concrete. It crashes much softer on grass and will probably last longer. Fourth, the plane should not be thrown aggressively. If you throw it too hard, the engines are not strong enough to control the direction and speed. Throw it as you would a paper airplane... Enough to get it going, but not so much that it flutters to the ground. Fifth, remember that flying an airplane is tricky. This isn't as simple as you might think. Do not expect to control the plane as easily as a remote control car. Sixth, the steering does not work when you press the thrust button. So, use the thrust to gain altitude. And then steer how you like. Alternate between steering and thrusting and you should not have any problems.

Typical entry into the model plane hobby can easily cost 200-400 dollars. The planes often take some time to assemble, are easy to crash, and you DO NOT get a second chance after a crash. With the resistor, you get MANY chances (we crashed at least 10 times before figuring it out) to crash because the thing is so tough. Think of this plane as an easy introduction to the hobby for you or your children. If they show interest and are able to control it then perhaps they will want to move to more complicated aircraft.

Incidentally, we also bought this plane at the same time we bought the Air Hogs "defender". The defender was much harder to control and almost always crashed. So I would recommend the larger resistor over the defender. The restistor is much larger and more stable in the air.

Good luck!

I bought this plane thinking it wouldn't work. I was wrong. I crashed the thing so many times it isn't funny. And it didn't snap in two or lose a wing. A little bit of the coloring came off but that's to be expected if it slammed the pavement from 25 ft. up. It doesn't work too well in the wind, but it works great if you h ave a field to fly in. KEEP IT AWAY FROM TREES! I flew mine into a holly tree twice and it isn't much fun getting it out of there, so keep away from trees and houses. Very Good Toy - Very Durable - Lots of fun!

Apparently this is the improved version over the Intruder. It flies nicely and is a lot of fun. Be sure to give yourself a nice open field as you may crash into trees on your first few runs. The two minute flying time goes by in a flash as it is lots of fun to fly. Kids (10&7) really liked it too.

This was the THIRD 'toy' remote controlled plane that I bought in the course of a week. The first was a stealth-bomber type for about $90 CDN, which broke and would not fly again. The second was a yellow 'cessna' type ($60 CDN) which handled great and came with landing gear (I was even able to land it) but broke when I ran it in to a guy-wire.

Finally I came across the Air Hogs Resitor.

I was amazed at how well the Air Hogs flew. Not as stable as plane number 2, but it turns faster, climbs faster, and you can even pull off some simple tricks.

After about a three minute flight I was getting cocky and decided to dive-bomb my friend.. In the process I ended up colliding with a bench at full-speed. To my amazement there was NO DAMAGE to the plane.

My friend and I flew this thing for about an hour that day. We crashed in to all kinds of things and the plane kept on going. The props didn't even fall off! The only real 'damage' was the black paint on the nose was wearing off.

Of the three planes I was able to keep the Air Hogs in the air the longest. This is partially due to it's sharper turns and it's agressive climbing rate. It was a lot of fun to fly, and was very sturdy.

The charge time for the Resitor is the also the best. For one, you just plug it in and walk away. The yellow cessna required the operator to keep a button pressed in for about 4 minutes. Also, it charges quickly, and lasts quite awhile.

The controls for it are good. The thrust button does exactly what it says. The land buttons works very well (to my surprise) by slowing the plane down, but not so much that it nose-dives. The left and right controls are very responsive.

There are two flights modes: 1 and 2. I didn't bother trying flight mode 1.

My only complainst:

Once it's on, it's on. Even when it's face-first in the dirt the props are still spinning.

The autopilot feature (it flys itself for the first few seconds) is not that useful if there is even a small breeze. It would be nice to be able to turn it off, or shorten it's time.

A few notes about flying the resistor: For the first bit of you flight, just keep it level and it will climb. It might look like it's going to 'stall' and nose-dive, but it won't. It's much easier to fly when it's higher up, since you have plenty of time to correct for mistakes.

This is a great product. I was very impressed.

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 ailerons and an elevator and so forth (instead, 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.

Great toy! worth the money. It's alot of fun. You need a really big open space, though. Works great. All my frieds want it.

This plane was great and fun to fly at first but then about three days later the internal rechargeable battey died. I went to [a local store] to see if I could get a replacment battery. They also sold the Resistor there but not any replacement batteries for it. They say that spinmaster hasn't heard about any of the batteries going bad and that spinmaster hasen't released a replacement. The told us to go to [another local store] and get a custom made battery. My friend has had his for a few months and he loves it. He said that his battery hasn't died yet. I also noticed that this plane is vey well designed. Oh well, maybe I just got a bad one.

After reading some negative reviews, I was a bit skeptical about purchasing this airplane, but when I found one on sale, I had to find out for myself whether these reviews were accurate or not. This airplane was almost too easy to fly! I did crash it the first time,(no damage)but after that, it was almost flying by itself. As long as you follow the INSTRUCTIONS, you shouldn't have any problems. I took it to the largest grassy field I could find and off it went. Since I had owned another toy R/C airplane before, (which I had destroyed just learning to fly) I started with the #2 setting (advanced). The airplane was almost too responsive, making sharp turns and climbing continuously (I didn't have to touch the thrust button once). I switched to the #1 setting (beginner) and the airplane was much easier to fly. The only thing about this setting is that when the airplane was flying into the wind, it seemed like it was standing still in mid air. The landing button didn't seem to be very effective, as the airplane would not descend until it was runnning out of batteries. But with a flying time of about 3 minutes, I didn't care much anyway. Once I could tell the battery was starting to drain, I was able to maneuver it for a soft landing in front of me. This airplane is indeed a lot of fun, and I played with it for an hour before realizing how long I had been out there. If you're looking for negatives, the flight time is indeed short (3 minutes), but the charge time is short as well (3 minutes also). It's a light airplane, which means it won't perform too well if there's anything more than a light breeze. Even though the box says "Flies at up to 400mph scale speed", don't let this statement fool you. Compared to other R/C airplanes I have seen, the Resistor is SLOW, which is actually a positive for beginners. Be careful with the airplane's antenna! It's a long thin coil sticking out of the tail. I almost thought I had ripped it off when I stepped on it as I was picking up the airplane, but I didn't, which was a blessing since the instructions stated that if the coil is ripped, the airplane won't be able to receive signals from the remote control. The airplane is indeed mostly made of foam, but it's much sturdier than the previous airplane I had owned. There was absolutely zero damage after flying it for an hour (my previous airplane would loose a section every time I crashed it!). Overall, the Resistor is a fun, great airplane! I would recommend it as long as you keep in mind that it is a TOY and not an advanced R/C airplane.

this is a very good toy but make sure that u put some tape on the nose so it doesnt get too knocked up.also dont just throw the plane, you should run with it and then let it go.Another tip is: if you want it to land or go higher you must hold the trust or land button. overall good toy

this is my third year buying an airhog plane. I went from the small hand held chargeres to this plain. downside - not for young children, my son is 5 and loves the plane but he can not fly it, he loves to watch and chase it. you can not fly this or any other air hog in a strong wind. I recently had one fly away and lost it in the wind. only fly it in the summer with a light breeze but once you get the hang of it, it is alot of fun. they say fly it in a open field, good suggestion but I dont, I fly it in my front yard and between the houses and been doing ok. this is my second resistor, the first finally broke at the end of the summer but got the whole season out of it before it finally broke. I estimate I flew it about 200 times before the wing broke. once you tape it it never flies the same.