3 Things You Should Know Before Buying the Havoc Heli RC Mini Helicopter
The first thing you should know about the RC Havoc Heli is its reality is less exciting than its marketing.
The Air Hogs product commercial for the Havoc Heli states how “you can fly Havoc in any direction with ultimate accuracy … from the tightest corners to the sharpest turns.” If this was true, the Havoc would be the coolest mini helicopter Santa could ever give any kid this Christmas. Sadly though, it is not true.
Sure, the helicopter will fly in any direction. But getting it to go in the exact direction you want is more likely going to be the result of a happy accident than skilled accuracy. While there might be some genius kid pilot out there who has just the right touch, most kids will have only minor control over where exactly their helicopter flies.
The Air Hogs Havoc Heli product commercial continues by saying the micro RC helicopter can “fly to heights of 100 feet.” As impressive as this might sound, it doesn’t actually mean as much to people who live in normal size houses.
The next attempt at impressing buyers Air Hogs makes relates to flight time. The commercial claims the helicopter gets “10 minutes of flight time on a single charge.” While on their product packaging, the RC helicopter flight time is said to be “over 6 minutes”. My experience is after about 5 minutes the helicopter charge weakens to the point it isn’t worth trying to fly.
You should also know that it takes about 30 minutes to fully charge the mini helicopter.
The Air Hogs Havoc Heli product commercial then suggest kids race their friend’s mini helicopters while showing footage of two zooming helicopters. While racing helicopters is possible, the kind of high speed, straight line race suggested in the commercial is unlikely to happen. That’s because, again, the Havoc Heli helicopter is challenging to control; and also because this RC helicopter is just not really made to fly straight.
One thing they don’t tell you that you should know is how to help it fly straight. The Havoc Heli comes with several silver stickers which the manual refers to as “aluminum labels” used for “obtaining a different performance”. Placing the provided labels on its nose will help it fly straight.
Towards the end of the Air Hogs Havoc Heli commercial, they act as if you are getting a bargain by stating “similar RC helicopters can cost hundreds of dollars.” If you have paid hundred of dollars on a similar helicopter, you have been ripped off. An RC helicopter that costs hundred of dollars should be far more controllable than the Havoc Heli. I would not pay over $30 for a RC helicopter similar to this one.
The second thing you should know about the RC Havoc Heli is where it is meant to fly.
This RC mini helicopter is meant to fly indoors in an uncluttered and calm area.
Kids will definitely be tempted but, because of how lightweight the toy is, I would advise not flying the Havoc Heli outdoors. The RC toy can be stolen by a gust of wind similar to a kite.
Any sort of air draft in your house will affect how the helicopter flies, and could cause it to spin out of control and break.
This RC mini helicopter is fairly durable. At least I have crashed the Havoc Heli many times and it still works fine. But flying it an area without a lot of things for it to crash into will decrease the chance of it breaking.
The third thing you should know is how to decipher the Havoc Heli packaging.
If you’re buying more than one Havoc Heli for your kids, pay attention to what channel (A, B, or C) is listed on the box and buy a different one for each kid.
The Havoc Heli packaging reads “LiPo battery and charger included”. Some people might read this and think they don’t have to buy extra batteries to work this RC helicopter. But you need to know that the 6 AA batteries needed for the controller are not included. Also, you will need a tiny Phillips head screwdriver to open the controller battery case.
So, be sure to have those items if you are giving the RC Havoc Heli as a Christmas gift. There is nothing more annoying to a kid than not being able to play with their new toy right away.
