TobyRich SmartPlane Toy

I'm surprised it is a toy but to a hobbies not bad at all. Could have been put together better or it was the shipping?? All together it's nice.

I bought this plane as a quick way to try flying RC planes. it's RTF (Ready To Fly), USB charged, with an app on my iPhone to control it. i fly it in the gym at a school. i crashed it many times getting the hang of it, with no visible damage to the plane. took maybe 4 charged flights until i could fly around the space for longer than 2 minutes without bumping into a wall. it's important to develop the habit of pulling the throttle back to zero the instant you know you are going to crash - then less likely to damage the prop or motor. but after 10 charged flights, something went wrong. the plane would turn hard one way, very soft the other way. i couldn't see any damage. i posted to the companies help board and they responded. then i had a problem with not enough power. don't know what the issue is. they told me there was going to be a software upgrade in a few weeks, i hope it fixes it. i really don't mind tho. it's a fun plane, nothing else to buy (if you have a smartphone already. but of course you do.) i figured when i got the thing, that if i ruined it i would break it down and scavenge the parts to make a scratch-built of my own. the company are very responsive and cool guys. i would buy another one as a present. now that i've had a taste of RC flying, i want to move up to something with more controls, which is exactly why i bought this one - to see if it was a whim or a real interest in a new hobby.

I only write this review so you know what you are gitting in to:I ordered the plane and it came in non-functional. A quick look in their forum revealed that this was one with a battery problem and I got a new one shipped out quite fast. So excellent customer service for sure.Now with the new one:1.) The range at first was about 10-15 feet. Not the claimed 60 ft. Now I removed their white plastic cover and pulled the antenna straight out and now I get the 40-50 ft easily which is plenty.2.) During one of the flights the rudder suddenly stopped working. I used a oscilloscope to measure that the signal was still coming off the board - so I had to trace the rudder wire for a broken piece, and yes, under the rear white sticker there was another small piece of electronics where the wire came off.3.) Now today after the 12-15th flight the actual plug connector came out with the USB micro plug - ripped right off their electronics board. Dont get me wrong, you have to be very careful anyway with taking the plug off as otherwise the Styrofoam comes off anyway. I will be able to fix it again with the soldering iron and no coffee in the morning to dissect the electonics out of the foam and solder the mirco connectors again.Its really fun doing dog fights at work with my collegue, but its a pain in the a.. quality and quality control. Its way to much trouble to the price.

Not sure what all the negative reviews are about. Quality product, for a reasonable price.This is a high-density foam starter drone, but it has some advanced functionality. Being controlled by a smart-phone enhances the performance characteristics considerably. The app has a tower function and a weather function, which talks to you constantly, as if you were in the cockpit.It sometimes takes a moment to load the app/sync the BT, but that is consistent with most non-apple products.The plane has a controllable throttle, which is a nice touch, and definitely bridges the gap between a younger pilot (slow speeds) and older ones (faster speeds). The Heads Up Display (HUD) on the app is similar to most flights sims, and is very responsive, sensitive even. I have flown the plane over the house (two story), so it definitely has the range needed for flight.The body is thin (you know, for flight!), but quality, high density foam. It has endured many hard hits being flown inside and outside the home, with no resulting damage. The location of the propeller makes it the sacrificial impact point, but TobyRich includes several extra propellers, which slide on with minimal pressure. The rudder is ABS plastic, but is well protected by the dynamics and flight profile of a flying plane. If it does pop out, it can pop back in easily.Most of the reviews mention issues that are overcome by reading the enclosed directions, IMO. Buy this, for $28, you wont be disappointed.

Fun to play with - just wish it worked with Android phone too.

The rudder was weakNot stable

Was very disappointed. I am finding it difficult to get a quality low priced rc plane/drone. The plane is such thin foam that I was afraid to take it out of the package. I then plugged it in to charge and the included charging cord was so tight in the plane that it ripped the small circuit board out. Pushing it back in and attempting to fly it makes me think it's now unbalanced. Very disappointed. Had hoped for something a little better than this from the Toby Rich Company. :-(

does not turn on after charging with multiple charges and chords.Please send and address to return or return my money asap. Thanks, Jerod