Air Hogs Twin Thunder Micro Tandem RC Helicopter

This Air Hogs RC helicopter by SpinMaster not only looks cool with its twin rotors and search light, it's also very easy to learn to control making it a good choice for beginners and kids. Overall I give this little micro RC heli a fun factor of 4 stars.

Recommended for ages 6 and up, I'd say that a patient 6 year old (do they exist?) -- with some adult help -- should be able to learn to fly this RC helicopter faster than some others.

Pros

• Nifty little search light that is really bright for its size.
• Forward and backward movement for more realistic flight.
• Built-in charging station on transmitter.
• Easy and more stable flight than the Air Hogs Havoc Heli.
• Very little skill needed to master.

Cons

• Moving left/right controls too fast can cause sudden loss of control.
• Backward flight is not truly backward flight -- just "sort of"

The Twin Thunder micro tandem RC helicopter is suprisingly easy to fly -- more so than other micro RC helicopter toys. I was amazed at the stability of its flight characteristics. It has a 3-channel tranmitter and, like the Havoc Heli (also made by Air Hogs), the transmitter doubles as the charging unit.

The 3-channel remote allows for forward, left, right, and hover. The box says that it can also fly backwards but it's marginal backward flight. See more about that in the video section, below.

There is a bright LED search light for simulating search and rescue missions or to just look cool in the dark. The search light is switched on/off remotely from the transmitter which is much nicer than a light that is always on. The Twin Thunder comes in three different color schemes red or orange or yellow. I have the yellow one but all three color schemes look cool in my opinion.

Stable flight is easier to maintain, in part, because the trim controls on the transmitter are thumb wheel type trim adjusters instead of having to push left and right trim buttons (while in flight).

While more proficient RC helicopter pilots might find the flight controls somewhat limited, new pilots and kids will appreciate being able to spend more time in flight and less time recovering from crashes. It's much less finicky than the popular Havoc Helis and similar indoor RC helicopters.

I would love for Air Hogs to do the same thing with the Twin Thunder as they did with the Battling Havoc Helis. Imagine how much fun you could have with that idea. With the easier-to-fly characteristics of the Twin Thunder you can spend more time trying to shoot down your opponent. Glow in the dark blades wouldn't be necessary. I'll use the search light thank you very much!

Found a modification posted in a YouTube video showing how a little snap ring on the right control stick pops out to give you a little more control over the backward movement of the Twin Thunder.

After trying out this little mod I found that the Twin Thunder will do backward flight a little better than without the mod. However, what it really does with the ring removed is fly backwards in short little bursts of backward movement, sometimes with almost a backward floating movement. Not truly backward flight but it does give you more movement options and another flight skill to master.

Here are a couple more videos of the Twin Thunder:

• Twin Thunder commercial showing the red and orange ones.
• User video showing how easy it is to keep the Twin Thunder in flight.

• Yellow: Compare Prices or Buy Direct from eToys.com
• Red: Compare Prices or Buy Direct from eToys.com
• Orange: Compare Prices

You'll need 6 AA batteries for the transmitter/charging station.