Air Hogs Hover Assault
Street Price: $34.99 US
Manufacturer: Spin Master
Mfgr's recommended min. age: 10+
Our recommended age range: None really
Primary use: Indoors
Top speed: Slow
Runtime per charge: 5+ mins
Controller: Infrared
Includes:
- Assembled assault craft
- Controller/charger
- 4x plastic missiles
- 2x cardboard targets
- Instructions
- 6x AA batteries
Overview
The Air Hogs Hover Assault is a helicopter that drives on land. No, scratch that. It's a car that flies. No. Missile launching gunship maybe?
Actually, it's all of those things. At its core, I suppose you can say it's based around a 2-channel RC helicopter, as all of its power to move about comes from two co-axial, counter-rotating heli rotors up top.Ultra-lightweight, but oversized wheels are made of solid pieces of molded foam, attached to the main body via thin suspension arms. These are completely free-spinning and unpowered. The front two are fixed facing forward, but the rear two can move slightly side to side to allow the Hover Assault to turn. To make things even more interesting, there are four missile launchers built into the nose of the craft, and you can shoot from the ground or in flight.
The controller is pretty straightforward, like a normal entry-level heli transmitter, with throttle on the left and yaw (turning) on the right. Unlike most land-based RCs, this one has no reverse. The controller does double as a charger for the Hover Assault, and charging takes about 30 minutes.
Test & Review Video
Conclusion
That didn't go very well, did it? Part of me feels guilty for being so hard on the Air Hogs Hover Assault; I wanted it to do well. Looking at the raw driving & flying footage, though, and recalling the hands-on experience, there's just no way I can recommend this thing with a straight face. It simply does not perform as advertised, and its novelty wears off too quickly to make up for its lackluster & frustrating performance.