GYRO Metal Nano Spy Copter Camera 3.5CH Electric IR RTF RC Helicopter GYRO Metal Nano Spy Copter Camera 3.5CH Electric IR RTF RC Helicopter

Pros: Ok, I have to say this little copter has survived crash after crash and as of yet has no damage. It is stable in the air and really pretty easy to fly after a couple of days of messing around with it. (Hint: if you find this hard, don't even think about flying a 4-channel or 6-channel bird).

Really really fun once you learn to fly it and the camera makes it exceedingly cool.

Cons: Well, it won't fly itself. It does take some getting used to, patience, persistence, and willingness to learn.

It eats batteries if you recharge from the remote control. Either use the provided USB charging cord, or invest in some NiMH rechargeable batteries.

Other Thoughts: This turned out to be a good intro to a wonderful hobby. Here are some things that may help you overcome the really bad and incomplete instructions:

First, the instructions don't mention the USB charging cord. Here's how it works: plug it in, and the plug glows red. Plug the other end into the copter and the red light goes out. When the red light comes back on, copter is charged.

Second, the copter is a little nose-heavy, so it will tend to drift forward slowly instead of hover with no input. You can put a little wire close to the tail to weight the tail a bit and this will stop the forward drift if it bothers you.

Do avoid getting hit by the rotating blades. Though they aren't really likely to cut you, if they hit you at speed it will hurt a bit.

This is IR-controlled (instead of actual radio), so it's pretty much an indoor copter only. You won't be able to control it outside in sunlight.

Learn to fly a bit at a time. Start with take off, go up a few feet, hover, and then land gently. When you can do that well, add turning and flying a few feet before hovering and landing. Don't try to fly the copter all over everywhere at once, or you will be pretty likely to crash time and again.

Pros: Ok, not my first go-round with inexpensive RC helicopters. Pros are stable flight, fairly easy to learn to fly and control, reasonably sturdy so far, pretty good battery life...exceeds the 5 minutes specified in the instructions. The camera makes it way cool but of course you need to be in good light. Surprisingly includes a working mic...so you can hear the grind when you crash. ;-)

Cons: The collective (or "throttle"--the left control) is very sensitive. Small motions, and don't over-correct. Learn to move it just a little at a time and watch what happens.

It is a toy. You aren't going to get acrobatics or extremely precise control out of a copter in this price range. It can actually be steered which puts it head and shoulders above the first couple of cheap copters I tried.

Recommended age is 8 and up. I can't see this surviving being played with by an 8 year old for very long at all...especially not the 8-year-old I once was.

Other Thoughts: Ideally, learn to fly this in a room with short carpet and maybe a bed or two. Crashes are inevitable, if you know you are going to crash, try to get it over the bed and then just bottom out the collective and let it fall gently. Walls and ceilings are harder than beds to try to avoid those. <grin>

Only expect long life from this and similar toys if given to extremely patient people.

I'll post a second review either when it dies the final death, or when I've had it for a couple of weeks, whichever comes first.

Pros: fun out of the box and small enough to fly around inside the house

Cons: cheap gears that strip out pretty quick from just taking off while learning...not even from abuse, just from gears contacting when taking off. Wouldn't be so much of a con if seller (Hobbytron) backed their products, which they don't. They didn't even acknowledge that I wrote them to complain and ask for an exchange.

Other Thoughts: I might recommend this product because it is fun and maybe I just got a lemon. Hobbytron however is terrible and I would NOT recommend getting anything through them.

Pros: Pretty decent video quality, cheap, hours of fun

Cons: Kinda tricky to fly. The throttle does not have springs that return it to the "off" position like the Syma choppers. This has its pros and cons but if it crashes and you don't push it back to the off position it'll still try to spin the rotors.