Arctic Hobby Sky Rider 111

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Introduction

While we pride ourselves on consumer electronics reviews, there are some times that we like to get outside to breathe in some fresh air. Arctic's hobby division has the perfect thing to get you outside in the nice weather with the Arctic Hobby Sky Rider 111. Yes, you can have fun outside!

About Arctic

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The increased heat emission of modern computers has put the production of powerful and quiet coolers beyond the means of most manufacturers. The raised noise levels of PC systems have a negative impact on productivity, since a quiet computer is the basis for pleasant working conditions. ARCTIC initiated the trend towards quiet cooling systems for desktop PCs in 2001 and has led the way ever since. When ARCTIC COOLING was founded, we began by focusing on Switzerland and Germany. In 2002 ARCTIC COOLING (HK) Ltd. was founded to develop relationships with our Asian production locations. From 2005, we started to expand business in North and South America and provide optimum service to our customer base there.

ARCTIC is now a leading manufacturer of CPU coolers, GPU coolers and case fans. In recent years we acquired a far-ranging expertise in the field of consumer electronics. The company’s product range has been further enhanced by new lines unrelated to PC cooling which was the reason behind the 2010 change in our brand name and logo: ARCTIC COOLING became the ARCTIC brand umbrella.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/about-arctic/our-history.htm

Packaging



The traditional white and silver Arctic package is gone for this hobby product. It is more of a brown box type of thing that screams "hobby." This is the target market, after all. The Sky Rider 111 is a flying bird that is recharged through the remote and powered by 4x AA batteries.



The back of the box states that the wings move like an authentic bird. We don't see this being mistaken for food by a predator, though. The Sky Rider 111 also has 4 wings.

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Specifications

• Transmitter Battery 4 X HR6/AA
• Sky Rider Batteries 3.7V-70mAH Li-Po
• Charging Time 15-20 min
• Flying Time 5-8 min
• Frequency 27.145 MHz
• Net Weight 14 g
• Control Distance 10-20 m
• itemnumber TOAHO-AHB0100-GB
• UPC 0872767003569
• Weight 0.55 kg

Marketing Summary

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Glide in the sky freely with Sky Rider 111. With this remote-controlled bird, you can learn how to fly easily without being afraid of breaking it when it falls. The lightweight Sky Rider 111 can bear all kinds of landings and thus, perfect for beginners of all age groups. Great for picnics and flying in your backyard, the Sky Rider 111 for sure becomes the center of the spotlight among your friends and bystanders!

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/hobby/sky-rider/123/sky-rider-111.html?c=2218

Package Contents



The Sky Rider 111 kit comes with the flying bird, the remote control, 4x Arctic AA batteries (a nice touch on branding), and a manual. Most people will probably disregard the manual as the Sky Rider 111 is very intuitive in use.

Sky Rider 111



It's a mechanical flying bird! The Sky Rider 111 is, basically, a remote controlled bird made of four wings and a back tail rotor for turning. The flapping action keeps the bird relatively steady, but it does take some practice to get control of the Sky Rider. The bird is made of a hard foam and can survive impacts since it will happen often. The wings are made of a lightweight plastic material to give the bird lift.



The remote is fairly simple and since Arctic gives you the required batteries, you're ready to fly when you receive the package. There are tons of toy manufacturers that don't bother to provide the batteries needed to have fun out of the box. We applaud Arctic for this move.



The bird mounts to the remote control for charging. There is an internal LiPo battery on the bird that gets charged by the AA batteries in the remote. This is the same as all the tiny toy helicopters that use the remote for charging. Flying time is about 5 minutes or so and the recharge time is about 15-20 minutes. This is pretty much inline with other toys that fly.

The only difference is that the bird cannot be flown indoors. It is a strictly outdoor product since it doesn't hover. It constantly moves forward and you'll need a pretty open area for controlling it. A school gym would be fine as well, but go outdoors. You'll thank us later.

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Flying

Flying the Sky Rider isn't hard, it just takes some practice. Once you get the hang of using the throttle and turning, it becomes pretty enjoyable. There's always a learning curve with flying toys, but since the Sky Rider is durable, crashing isn't that big of an issue... And you WILL crash it. Landing is pretty interesting since you can actually just catch the bird out of the air or let it fall to the ground without a problem.

Mechanically, the bird is very sound. The movement is smooth and flight is good. It is a pretty big flying toy, so it must be used outside. That's a plus since it gets people to actually go outside.



Conclusion

It's nice to see when companies put out an enjoyable product and the Sky Rider 111 from Arctic Hobby is a good gift for someone that likes electronics. It's also a good way to get someone to get outside for a bit. Arctic makes some very interesting products and it is nice to know that the Sky Rider 111 works as intended. It is an excellent gift. Just make sure you can handle crashing during the learning curve. The price is about $35 and it falls inline with other products of this nature.