The Air Hogs Helix from SpinMaster is a toy-grade, electric indoor micro RC helicopter aimed at ages 12 and above. The manufacturer gives it an intermediate skill flight difficulty rating. Does that mean it's hard to control? Yes and no. Hovering is fairly easy but due to sluggish response to the controls and the heavy body design, the Helix can be slightly difficult to maneuver in flight.
Control Basics
The Helix hovers well once you get it calibrated and adjusted using the included instructions. The transmitter has simple 2-stick controls. Moving the right stick forward moves the helicopter forward or pull back to go backward. Pushing the stick to the left or right moves it in that direction. The left stick of the controller is the throttle. Push forward to increase throttle. Releasing the left stick results in a gradual, not instant, deceleration.
Power Drain
While it is easy to attain and sustain a hover, it requires more finesse to keep the Helix in the air once you start moving forward (or backward or any other direction). To compensate for the slow response time from the controller you need to increase the throttle while also using the directional controls. This also increases the power drain on the battery and drastically reduces the run-time.
Nerfy Body Design
The body design of the Helix also hinders sustained flight and maneuverability. In my opinion the Helix is too heavy and oddly-shaped -- it looks sort of like a Nerf football with side fans and a tail. And it flies like one too. A lighter more streamlined body would probably make the Helix easier to keep aloft and easier to control. In fact, I removed the body from my Helix and found that it looked better -- or at least geekier -- and it handled better as well.
Not Bad, Not Great
I don't feel the ease-of-use or the performance of the Helix measures up to other similar micro helicopters. It's not a bad little RC but I'm afraid it wouldn't provide the long-term entertainment you would expect for the price.
