There was once a time when flying an RC plane cost thousands of dollars and required months of practice to avoid accidentally destroying your investment. That’s no longer the case, because for just $US60 Hot Wheels’ new Street Hawk puts you at the controls of a bona-fide remote control plane that’s surprisingly easy to fly, and remarkably durable while you learn.
Hot Wheels has positioned the Street Hawk as a sort of RC plane/RC car hybrid, allowing you to limit its speed with a switch on the controller so it can be driven on the ground. But it’s better to think of the plane as being able to taxi for extended periods, because without a reverse option (it’s powered by two electric motor-driven propellers which only turn one way) you can’t back up, which means it can get easily stuck.
Where the Street Hawk excels, though, is as an RC plane that’s actually able to take off at fairly low speeds thanks to its ten-inch wingspan and incredibly lightweight foam body. It means you won’t need a long stretch of pavement to get it airborne, and once flying you don’t need to be as quick at the controls to avoid a crash. But when the Street Hawk does go down, it can instantly bounce back from even the worst of crashes.
Six AA-batteries are needed for the wireless controller which doubles as the Street Hawk’s charger, but you can also tether the controller to a USB port during charges to help extend the life of those batteries. On a 45-minute charge the plane will fly, with intermittent crashes and recoveries, for a solid ten to fifteen minutes which is pretty decent.
If you’re a skilled enough pilot, which actually doesn’t take that much practice, you can get the Street Hawk as high as 60m in the air, giving you enough altitude to pull off a few tricks on your descent. But even if you aren’t, with enough open space and minimal obstacles, you can easily keep the Street Hawk airborne for long enough to be more than worth its price tag. [Hot Wheels]