Gearhead Mom

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Post-Holiday Round-up:  Lame or Game?  The RC Helicopter

Posted by Jenny M. @ 8:11 AM

For Christmas, my mother has a tradition of buying a toy for the whole family to enjoy.  It’s usually something motorized; over the years there have been race cars and trains, remote-control boats and monster trucks.  It’s always something that is opened last and will occupy everyone’s attention in the lull between gifts and dinner, when my brothers in particular could burn a little competitive steam. 
This year, my mom bought three remote-control helicopters.  You might have seen one at the mall, where I saw a few hovering before me like annoying mosquito/dragonfly combos controlled by the Store Demo Guy as I tried to efficiently complete my holiday shopping.  I can appreciate them so much more now, even though I never really got to fly one:  my brothers, my dad, my husband, and my brother’s friend (whom we adopted for the holiday) all jockeyed for pilot time as the rest of us marveled at just how far RC technology has come. 

It didn’t hurt that my parents’ home has a living room with a cathedral ceiling—so the little copters could go way, way up high without hitting anything indoors.  But my brothers report that they were also relatively easy to maneuver (they even had a “land-on-a-postage-stamp” contest).  The only downside, my littlest brother admitted, is that the same piece seemed to break off all three aircraft eventually:  something called the “pitch arm” (?).  Apparently it’s also the only part with no replacement to order.  Nevertheless, by unanimous agreement, this toy was super fun and worth the price.
Note:  in our extended family, the helicopter was not exactly kid-tested beyond the scant minutes my six-year-old nephew was allowed to commandeer the craft.  However, I am told these would make great father/child gifts—dueling helicopters?  Hey, Father’s Day isn’t far off…

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