Hobbyzone Firebird Commander 2 RTF Electric

by Hobbyzone

Product Features

• Horizon Hobby
• Plastic Body Plastic Chassis
• Limited edition

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 41.7 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000AUO7B8
• Manufacturer recommended age: 12 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,411 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #22 in Toys & Games > Hobbies > Radio Control > Airplanes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

Product Description

Anti-Crash Technology is the most innovative development to ready-to-fly airplanes since HobbyZone began. Optical sensors detect the ground and sky, and then give input that pulls the plane out of a spiral dive that could lead to a crash.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not having elevator control is rough!, September 19, 2009

By 

Peter Gibbons "Rudder" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hobbyzone Firebird Commander 2 RTF Electric (Toy)

I just bought a Firebird Commander 2 today from my local hobby shop, based on recommendations here on Amazon. Now, let me first explain that I'm a beginner RC pilot, which is part of the reason I bought this plane. Initially, I had trouble getting it into the air, but after a crash or two, I was able to get it going.

Even though this has Anti-Crash Technology (ACT), it didn't prevent me from totalling the plane about 10 minutes after the first flight. Now, you can attribute this to my lack of R/C flying skills (although I am a real pilot, I realize this skill doesn't necessarily translated to R/C), but I think the big problem is not having a seperate elevator control. As it comes, it has one channel dedicated to the throttle and one channel dedicated to the aileron (tail) control for turning. This should be ideal for beginners (one less thing to worry about), but the problem is that if you are in a steep dive (because of wind, a steep turn, or whatever), your only hope to recover is to hit the throttle and hope that the speed will bring it out of the dive before it impacts the ground.

Based on this experience, my next plane will either be a 3-channel that has throttle, elevator and aileron, or a 2-channel that has elevator and aileron. I don't really care about the speed as long as it's fast enough to get airborne.

So, not so much a negative review for the plane, as to clearly lay out for people who are thinking about buying this plane: There is no elevator control! Once airborne, all altitude changes must be done with the throttle.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Plane!, December 25, 2007

By 

Smart Shopper "Busy Mama" - See all my reviews

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hobbyzone Firebird Commander 2 RTF Electric (Toy)

I got this plane for Christmas having never flown a plane before. I am relatively new to the RC scene and had previously only had a truck. This is a whole different beast. The plane is very easy to setup - less than 5 minutes and I was ready to fly (except for the 3 hour battery charge). I never flew a plane before and my first flight was about 5 minutes. Easy take off from throw and plane was easy to maneuver on the way up. At this point, I realized I was in trouble and didn't know how to land. Winds were a bit stronger than recommended 7 mph so this was a bad combination. I throttled down and caught a little down draft. Anticrash technology didn't save it from the tree. The wing is pretty easy to break. Tried again and flew for only a minute. The wing is nearly completely destroyed now but it was worth that 5 minute flight. I am addicted now and ready to buy the 11 dollar wing to start again. I have tried to tape the wing but I don't think that is going to work too well. I highly recommend this for the inexperienced flyer. Very very fun.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Plane to learn to Fly, May 28, 2008

By 

Doug D. (SF Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hobbyzone Firebird Commander 2 RTF Electric (Toy)

This plane is a blast!
Try using a computer flight simulator to get comfortable with the basic control and tracking. This is the easiest plane to fly but it is not trivial. ACT or not, there is a good chance you will crash when first learning about the direction of the plane, wind, hazards, etc. Definitely have your first flights in NO wind. Parts are easy to find and very robust.