[OT] Christmas gift question regarding mini helicopters.

[Dan Linder]

My 11 year old wants one of the small RC helicopters for Christmas.  I have one from about 3-4 years ago that still works but it's a real pain to control and I've heard the new gyro ones are a lot easier.

This has to be in the "small gift" price range (~$25), but I wanted some feedback from others who might have purchased one and know of a specific make/model to look for.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

DanL

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[Ryan Stille]

The S107 is a great heli that is durable and easy to fly. Don't let the low price of $18 fool you into thinking its sub-par, I've seen these selling for $50 at the mall. It uses a lot of metal parts and is pretty much indestructible as long as you power down before running into something. They sell replacement parts for it though (unlike a lot of other toy helicopters) in case you do break something.

http://www.xheli.com/56h-ii-s107g-red.html

The Air Hogs stuff (available at Target and other places) is good too. Just make sure to get a dual rotor one (two coaxial rotors on top), the single rotor ones (like this one) are difficult to control.

-Ryan

[Brandon Norris]

I can second this.

I have one that at least looks the same as that one.

Ive crashed it a lot of times, and it still flies great.

-Brandon

[Collin Holcomb]

I can third for the S107 - have had one for two or three years, it sees brutal use during Christmas and then sits for months, flies right away each time.  Totally capable of playing 'pick up the bent paperclip / ornament hanger' and other games like 'land on the folding chair' and 'get tangled in Grouchy Aunt's hair' - Got mine on Amazon, have bought a few more as gifts in the past few years, don't pay more than $20 wherever you get it.  Mind that you often have to 'pair' it to the controller, the LED on the heli's greenboard will stop flashing once it's paired, which it'll do automatically each time it's turned on.  Just have the remote pointed at the heli's butt and it'll pair quicker.  Also note, and do not be put off by, that the remote often will be built with a user-selectable two-channel doohickey, but the controller's case is stamped for a 3-channel. 

[Brandon Norris]

I think this is basically the same heli, only with a 2.4ghz radio instead of the IR

https://www.google.com/offers/ppo/SELF/L35Q112N7OMKZ2H9

And the price is right.