X-Craft Hovercraft

November 2012
air hogs heli cage

Street Price: $70-80 US
Manufacturer: Fast Lane RC
Mfgr's recommended min. age: 10+
Our recommended age range: 8+
Primary use: Outdoors
Top speed: n/a
Runtime per charge: 10 mins
Controller: 27mhz AM
Includes:

  • Assembled vehicle
  • Controller
  • 12V rechargeable NiMH battery
  • Wall charger
  • 9V battery for the controller
  • Instructions
Requires:
  • Just a driver!

Overview

The moment I saw the Fast Lane RC X-Craft hovercraft at Toys R Us (the only place that sells it in the US), I made a mad dash towards it, arms outstretched, to pluck it off the shelf to purchase. I didn't even look at the price. The thing looks hot (to me at least) and I think it's the most advance design of toy-grade RC hovercraft ever to be released. It features a real, self-inflating rubber "skirt" to contain an extra large cushion of air beneath the craft, and it features digital proportional RC controls. It also comes with batteries included, though I'm a little concerned about the proprietary rechargeable main battery; I haven't seen any compatible replacements for sale anywhere.

Let's take a closer look at the X-Craft and see how well it performs!

Test & Review Video

Conclusion

Well, that deflated quickly. Pun intended! Fast Lane's X-Craft really looks like an amazing RC hovercraft, and it had a lot of potential, but the flimsy & fragile skirt proved to be a real Achilles heel. The fairly low play time per battery charge is forgiveable, but not if it's nigh impossible to get an additional battery pack so that you can run more than once in a day. I had high hopes for the X-Craft, but it let me down.

D