Ho ho ho, Merry Chri—Star Wars! Happy Hanuk—Star Wars! Happy Kwan-Star Wars!
I can't help but have Star Wars on my mind 24/7. We're so close — mere months away — from the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens that I can feel the Force coursing through my very being.
The latest Star Wars tech toy to hit Mashable HQ is the Air Hogs Remote Control X-Wing Starfighter. If you’ve ever played with an Air Hog R/C toy, you already have an idea of what to expect.
But if you’re like me and have never flown an Air Hog before, and have only seen them on TV commercials as a kid, you’re going to be disappointed.
Let’s clear this up before there’s any confusion. The $70 R/C X-Wing is not a drone or a quadcopter. Spin Master, the company that makes Air Hogs, sells a R/C Millennium Falcon drone for $140, but the X-Wing is nothing like it; it doesn’t hover.
Flight check
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
The X-Wing is made from foam, and while it looks flimsy, it's actually quite durable. Even after getting banged around pretty hard indoors and outdoors, the only damage on it is a paint scrape from the office walls on the transparent "wings" that flank each side of starfighter.
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
The foam paint job is well done — airbrushed to look battle-scarred and worn out. It's just like in the movies. Spin Master did a terrific job nailing the starfighter's details. There's even a little R2-D2 on the top.
The remote control that's used to steer the X-Wing has a X-Wing Red Squadron design. It's about the size of an Xbox 360 controller and has controls for thrust and steering. There's a little knob on the bottom that you can turn to switch between turning and drifting, but that's it for piloting controls.
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
Six AA batteries are needed for the controller. You also need a philips-head screwdriver to open the battery compartment, which is a huge pain if you need to swap batteries outdoors. It's silly to expect people to carry around a screwdriver.
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
There's a little hatch on the right side of the controller that opens up to reveal a charging cable for the X-Wing. To charge the X-Wing, you need to plug that cable into the X-Wing and then a Micro USB cable (not included in the box) into the remote control.
Tons of turbulence
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
The child in me wanted to believe the X-Wing was going to soar in the air and zig and zag left and right like a beautiful bird.
To fly the X-Wing, you have to launch it by throwing into the air, while having one thumb on the thrust on the remote control. Once it's in the air, you're supposed to use the right steering control to maneuver it left and right. The problem is, the controls feel like they don't do anything most of the time.
I first tested the X-Wing in the office, throwing it into the air and trying to get it down a long, but fairly wide hallway, but it barely stayed in flight for more than a few feet. Then I tried getting it from one end of our office to the other in the hopes of zipping over everyone's desks, but it crashed within 20 feet and landed on a co-worker's desk, startling her.
After multiple failed attempts, I concluded that the X-Wing wasn't suited for indoors flight. So much for the "Indoors and outdoors, master the skills of precision racing and stupendous stunts" product description.
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
Flying the X-Wing outdoors was equally disappointing. I took the X-Wing to Central Park and thrust it into the air. Nine times out of ten, the X-Wing went up and then quickly fell down with a thud in the grass. The handful of times it did glide in the air smoothly, it didn't stay up very long — just for a few seconds.
The X-Wing has a flying range of 250 feet and while I didn't measure the distance, I'm certain it didn't fly that far. I estimate, the X-Wing only flew up to around 50 to 100 feet on the few successful flights.
Controlling the X-Wing is not like controlling an R/C toy car. To make turns, you have to anticipate the turn well ahead of time and that's challenging, especially when the wind can ruin it all.
IMAGE: JHILA FARZANEH/MASHABLE
The popularity of drones has created a renewed interest in remote-controlled toy vehicles. I was beyond excited to fly the Air Hogs R/C X-Wing and perform trench runs down our office hallways. It's too bad the starfighter barely flies and when it does it needs a huge open space to do so, and the right wind conditions.
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