- Feb 14, 2004
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It's summer and it's time to get a tan and some fresh air, so go buy an Aero Ace and rid yourself of that computer tan! The Aero Ace is a $30 remote control airplane that you can pick up at Toys R Us, Target, etc., or online. All you need is 6 AA batteries and a small park to fly at.
I picked up an indoor r/c chopper from the Dragonfly thread over in Hot Deals about a week ago and have really been having a blast with it. However, it doesn't fly outdoors very well. After doing some reading online I decided to pick up an Aero Ace, a tiny remote control airplane. Toys R Us and other places have them for $30; just slap 6 AA batteries in the back (requires a screwdriver to open the panel), charge up the plane, and you're good to go. The airplane actually charges from the transmitter (weird, I know), but it's nice because you don't have to go back to your car or in the house to recharge it. I've gotten 6 or 7 charges off the batteries already and it's still going strong. Unfortunately the airplane's battery is non-removable so you can't have spares charging, but for $30 what can you do? I have a set of rechargable AA batteries I'm using; Thomas Distributing sells 2700 and 2900mAh AAs which give you pretty long life.
The controls are simple. It has a trigger for going right or left and a trigger that acts as both vertical lift and speed. To fly steadily you give it about 1/3 power, and to climb you push it all the way up. There are two motors on it; turning it right or left cuts power to one of the motors so that it pushes it around in a circle. It flies suprisingly well for the size and cost. It needs a small park or some other decently-large area (a room is way too small) to really fly well. It can handle slightly windy days but mostly likes calm days.
It's no performance king, but it flies pretty stable with the dual wings. You can also try adding some weight to the front, either a screw with tape or some hot glue (even a dime is too heavy!). They also include some small metal stickers if you need to adjust the rear tailfeathers at all. The plane is prone to porpoising, which is where it bobs up and down in the air like a canoe or boat. If you learn how to play with the throttle you can get it to fly pretty well despite that tendency. Again, adding weight to the nose helps there as well. There is also a steering trim dial on the transmitter to help tweak it to fly straight.
For better performance, you can peel off the bottom wings and struts. It's a bit harder to handle but climbs a lot faster and has much better performance. Here's a couple photos of mine with the lower wings removed:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kaido/aero1.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kaido/aero2.JPG
You can see from the size of my hand how small the airplane is. I would suggest flying it for a couple days stock to get used to it, then ripping off the lower wings if you want better performance. It's a bit tricker to fly without the extra wing for stability and adding a bit of weight to the nose can really help.
It's not a little kid's toy - I wouldn't give it to a 3-year-old - but I think most kids over 6 or 7 could do pretty well. It's made of foam, so it's fairly indestructible as far as crashing goes. It helps to fly off a hill if you have one available, you can get a lot better of a view to fly it. Range is pretty good, I've gone about 100 - 150 feet away and was still able to control it (my parks is enclosed by trees, so I couldn't go any further). It can go pretty high too, but you want to be careful because it can be calm on the ground but windy in the sky.
In summary, it's the best waste of $30 I've spent in a long time. They had a few other models at the store, including a jet and a bomber wing, but from what I've read the Ace is the best option. There are 3 different frequencies available so you can fly with a couple friends. If you're interested in modding, there's a website that sells some aftermarket parts here:
http://www.aeroacemods.com/aam/
You can also buy the plane from them. They sell things like LEDs for flying at night, landing gear wheels for taking off from the ground for touch-and-gos, and a modified transmitter that can change frequences and has the throttle spring removed. There's also a big thread over at Ars on the little ah heck:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/34709834/m/971008549731
Cliff's:
1. Buy an Aero Ace
2. Go outside - far, far away from your computer
3. Profit!
I picked up an indoor r/c chopper from the Dragonfly thread over in Hot Deals about a week ago and have really been having a blast with it. However, it doesn't fly outdoors very well. After doing some reading online I decided to pick up an Aero Ace, a tiny remote control airplane. Toys R Us and other places have them for $30; just slap 6 AA batteries in the back (requires a screwdriver to open the panel), charge up the plane, and you're good to go. The airplane actually charges from the transmitter (weird, I know), but it's nice because you don't have to go back to your car or in the house to recharge it. I've gotten 6 or 7 charges off the batteries already and it's still going strong. Unfortunately the airplane's battery is non-removable so you can't have spares charging, but for $30 what can you do? I have a set of rechargable AA batteries I'm using; Thomas Distributing sells 2700 and 2900mAh AAs which give you pretty long life.
The controls are simple. It has a trigger for going right or left and a trigger that acts as both vertical lift and speed. To fly steadily you give it about 1/3 power, and to climb you push it all the way up. There are two motors on it; turning it right or left cuts power to one of the motors so that it pushes it around in a circle. It flies suprisingly well for the size and cost. It needs a small park or some other decently-large area (a room is way too small) to really fly well. It can handle slightly windy days but mostly likes calm days.
It's no performance king, but it flies pretty stable with the dual wings. You can also try adding some weight to the front, either a screw with tape or some hot glue (even a dime is too heavy!). They also include some small metal stickers if you need to adjust the rear tailfeathers at all. The plane is prone to porpoising, which is where it bobs up and down in the air like a canoe or boat. If you learn how to play with the throttle you can get it to fly pretty well despite that tendency. Again, adding weight to the nose helps there as well. There is also a steering trim dial on the transmitter to help tweak it to fly straight.
For better performance, you can peel off the bottom wings and struts. It's a bit harder to handle but climbs a lot faster and has much better performance. Here's a couple photos of mine with the lower wings removed:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kaido/aero1.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kaido/aero2.JPG
You can see from the size of my hand how small the airplane is. I would suggest flying it for a couple days stock to get used to it, then ripping off the lower wings if you want better performance. It's a bit tricker to fly without the extra wing for stability and adding a bit of weight to the nose can really help.
It's not a little kid's toy - I wouldn't give it to a 3-year-old - but I think most kids over 6 or 7 could do pretty well. It's made of foam, so it's fairly indestructible as far as crashing goes. It helps to fly off a hill if you have one available, you can get a lot better of a view to fly it. Range is pretty good, I've gone about 100 - 150 feet away and was still able to control it (my parks is enclosed by trees, so I couldn't go any further). It can go pretty high too, but you want to be careful because it can be calm on the ground but windy in the sky.
In summary, it's the best waste of $30 I've spent in a long time. They had a few other models at the store, including a jet and a bomber wing, but from what I've read the Ace is the best option. There are 3 different frequencies available so you can fly with a couple friends. If you're interested in modding, there's a website that sells some aftermarket parts here:
http://www.aeroacemods.com/aam/
You can also buy the plane from them. They sell things like LEDs for flying at night, landing gear wheels for taking off from the ground for touch-and-gos, and a modified transmitter that can change frequences and has the throttle spring removed. There's also a big thread over at Ars on the little ah heck:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/34709834/m/971008549731
Cliff's:
1. Buy an Aero Ace
2. Go outside - far, far away from your computer
3. Profit!
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