Update: I’m being told that this is just a re-branded Syma S107, a $20 product that seems to have unanimously positive reviews in our comments. Save your money and buy one of those with physical controls.
The HeloTC is a $50 remote-controlled helicopter that seems like it would be a good buy. The helicopter itself looks great and is constructed of plastic and metal; this is a much more robust package than other similarly priced helicopters that sport foam bodies. You’re also given an extra set of rotors, a charging cable, and a dock so your iPhone can be used as the remote control.
The problems become clear once you start trying to fly the thing, unfortunately.
You need a stick!
You download an app for your iPhone to control the helicopter, and you can use either a virtual stick or motion controls to fly. this doesn’t do you any favors, as it’s tricky to fly any sort of craft without tactile feedback. The Parrot AR.Drone worked well with the iPhone as the controlling device, but that product is both much more expensive and filled with powerful electronics to keep the drone steady. The HeloTC has no such advantage, and making flying a touchy, frustrating affair.
The helicopter looks great, and is built well
Even after adjusting trim, it was nearly impossible to keep the helicopter stable in flight. even without touching the controls it seemed to pitch forwards or backwards, leaving me both fighting the controls and trying to correct for the hardware’s need to randomly move in different directions. I’m not a master pilot of model aircraft, but I’ve put in a number of hours on a number of different products, and I’m at least proficient. I never found it possible to get a stable, enjoyable flight out of the HeloTC.
The helicopter is well constructed, so even after a number of brutal crashes it still worked fine. I got around eight minutes of flight time out of a 30-minute charge, but the USB charger for the helicopter doesn’t come with an adapter to plug into an outlet. You can connect it to your computer, sure, but why not give customers an actual power supply? I ended up using the power adapter from my iPhone for charging. Once the battery is charged and turned on, a series of blinking lights turns on across the helicopter’s body, making it just as much fun to crash in the dark.
The virtual controls on the iPhone. The dock connects to your phone via the headphone jack
I did everything the instructions stated: I only flew indoors, I made sure the line of sight was clear, and I stayed within a small range of the helicopter. I simply could not get a stable flight out of the HeloTC, no matter how many times I tried. It’s a neat idea, but ultimately not worth your money.
Yes, this is an inexpensive toy, but even for $50 we expect better. I can’t fly this for more than a few seconds indoors without a crash, I can’t use it to annoy my cats because they can best it in battle, and without accurate controls I can’t even use it to terrorize my children.
Verdict: Skip