Reviews (35)

Must be tall to fly
I have repeatedly taken my children out to fly the defender with no sucess.It just goes straight to the ground.My husband can get the plane to fly.I was quite upset because I do know how to fly RC planes.Then, I discovered the controls take a few seconds to get in gear.You need a drop greater of4-5 feet to have the plane fly and have the controls to take over.Well, I'm only able to get it about 5 1/2 feet off the ground.My husband is 6ft and is able to get at least another foot so, the controls have enough time to take over before it hits the ground.With me it nosedives.So, if you are tall its okay.However, us short people definitely have a annoying time with the plane.

One ToughAnd Fun Bird
I've flown mine for a few months in all different conditions (including moderate winds).It took about 4 flights before I had the hang of it.I even took it inside my church and bobbed and weaved around the tables in the Children's Ministry auditorium.Everyone who flies it or sees it fly wants one, I even took it up to my parent's house and buzzed my Dad while he was in the second story watching movies, he went out and bought one the next day!It stood up to several hard crashes before I put some electrical tape onto the leading edges to reinforce them.The only downside to this aircraft (as with its predecessor the intruder) is that the flight processor wont accept input for several seconds after launch, the easiest way to overcome it is to go to an elevated spot (4-5 feet) and launch down hill and into the wind.From there it's easy to climb up 25 feet or more above starting altitude.Happy Flying!!!

Difficult at first, but awesome with practice
I don't know what all these people are saying about how it flies for 2 seconds then crashes. Most of that is just human error. They just expect it to work like the videos in the commercials. If you just practice enough, you will wonder why you didn't pay more. On my first flight I managed to go about 30 feet, then i crashed into a hillside. Two weeks later I could go at least 150 feet and still perform a soft landing. This thing can really take a beating. I've crashed into everything from trees to brick walls and it can still meet or exceed the manufacturer's distance level. That level is 300 feet, with a mint condition plane. My plane has tons of small dents on the front of the wings, its propellers are glued on because I lost the nosecones when I was replacing the propellers, and the plastic piece on the bottom is falling off, but I can still make at least 350 feet. If you want to buy this, keep in mind that this plane takes practice to make it fly well. If you are willing to do that, it will be worth every penny. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fun for a little while
My son lost his plane in a bean field as well. His dad thought he saw where it landed, but after many trips by all the relatives looking for it, we gave up until the field was combined. Luckily the farmer in the combine spotted it, about 300 feet out in the field...about 200 feet farther than we were looking. The bad news is, after we got it back, the pump cracked on the first time the kids decided to play with it again. Hence, this is a fun, but short lived toy.

We'll find it after harvest
This plane is amazing.We were getting well over the 300 ft. advertised distance per flight.Flight control is a crap shoot.You have no idea where it's going to land.The control surfaces were laughable.You should have planty of room to fly, preferably standing in the middle of a 400 ft. radius treeless circle.On the first day of flight, the aircraft made it to the bean field.10 volunteers and 2 hours later, the search was called off (and we "saw" where it came down).Black is not the ideal color for this toy.Perhaps dayglo orange or some color that beeps would be a better idea.I'll look for wreckage after the combine does its thing this week.

Long range flyer
Great toy, but be careful on windy days.The advertised 100 yards is an understatement in a stiff breeze where mine went out of the park on Martha's Vineyard Island and flew out to sea.Probably drifted to Nantucket by now. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Mother of 3 small children
Our son received this toy for his 5th birthday.It was difficult to figure out at first but once we got it working it was a lot of fun.It works best in an open parking lot with lots of space for the cycle to go.Fun toy for the price.

great toy
My son received this as a gift, and it is a great toy.A whole lot of fun, works great, does wheelies, goes really really far. My son is 7 and it took him about 10 minutes to get used to doing it.He loves it, and no batteries!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Vehicles    2. Planes   

Subjects:  1. Vehicles    2. Planes   

Reviews (2)

YoungMax Says:Rip Flyers are awesome
Okay kids, first, I live in Texas and I'm 5 years old. So my Dad is typing this review for you.
First thing is that the plane flies.I have a lot of planes that don't fly or take too much fiddling with to get airborne.
Second, I like the different colors.Orange and grey.
Third, I like that you just have to pull the string to make them fly and that gives me strong muscles.
Forth,I like that they have propellers that might cut your fingers off.(Only parents will understand this appeal, although imaginary.)
I think this toy would make a nice present and I'm lucky my daddy got this for me and I promise to be good ....forever.
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Lawson Says:Rip Flyers a Hit
Dear Reader, this toy is a must have.A pull string launcher that holds up, an interface to tranfer the energy to the plane is the best I've seen.The well designed rear propeller plane won't hold up to a kid's foot crunch, it will handle just about anything else.The prop bearing system is wonderful and after suffering a crunch it wobbled badly and wouldn't fly but some bending fixed it right up.The foam plane construction is the soft pliable type that if need be is fixed with scotch tape.Did I mention the launching system? You remember those old helecopter like spinners with the cheap launchers?Thank goodness they are a thing of the past.Don't be afraid to give the Rip Flyers an adult yank, you'll love the performance and your children will run after them with delight. I didn't think there was much of an educational value until I saw the coordination, that we take for granted, it takes to hold out the flyer and give the flyers a flyable yank.What worked best for my child was to aim the flyer straight up at first, then any flight has a nice hover quality about it and encourages more tries which leads to better coordination.... ... Read more