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Wow Wee Bladestar Flame Indoor Flyer | 
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| Brand: Wow Wee
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $37.37
You Save: $12.62 (25%)
New (16) Collectible (1) from $24.00
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 1220
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries: 6
Batteries Included: No
Age: 8 - 99 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 3 x 10.6 x 12
MPN: 4055
Model: 4055W
UPC: 771171140566
EAN: 0771171140566
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
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| Features:
| • | Safe for Indoor Use in Autonomous Mode, or Use Remote Controller in Pilot Mode | | • | Built In Sensor Detection to Avoid Obstacles and Fly Away from Them | | • | Ultra Light and Flexible / EPP Body Construction | | • | Two Wings that Spin with Helicopter Like Movement | | • | Choose Between Beginner and Expert Level Settings |
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| Accessories:
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Bladestar is a revolutionary indoor flying machine that changes helicopter flight as we know it. This is the first flying toy with a sensor-based navigation that enables it to glide itself through the air as it avoids ceilings and other obstacles. Alternatively you can control it with the three-channel digital IR controller, and with the dogfight accessory attached you can face-off two bladestars to see who will win. When you notice power loss, simply recharge right from the controller. Made from light "high-flex" materials and designed to be crash-resistant, Bladestar is built for indoor flight. Requires 6 "AA" batteries, not included.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Bladestar fumbles January 6, 2009
S. Parson
It took a little while for us to figure out exactly how to steer or make it rise and fall, but after that was figured out (by reading the manual....imagine that!) it has been fun for everyone!
 Interesting concept, but range is too short January 3, 2009
Customer (Ohio)
This toy definitely has an interesting concept, but its main shortcoming is its limited control range--as soon as it gets around 10 feet away from you in any direction, it shuts off and falls to the ground. This really ruins it for me, since such a short range almost defeats the purpose of it being remote controlled.
Also, as mentioned by other reviewers, moving it in other directions besides up and down is fairly slow and more limited than it would seem, but it works better than a lot of the RC helicopters in this price range. In all fairness, a lot of people expect RC flyers to control like a video game, but the fact is that all of them are subject to real physics and require practice to pilot properly. Perhaps with practice, it would be possible to control it more effectively, but with its 10 foot range, it requires following the thing around and keeping the controller pointed directly at it at all times.
In my experience, the Wow Wee DragonFly is the best RC flyer in this price range. If you're looking for something that controls well (with practice), flies fast, and can get more than a few arms lengths away from you without shutting off and falling to the floor, I would highly recommend that instead.
A hands on lesson in gyroscopic effect January 2, 2009
William Courant (California)
I am both amazed and saddened at some of the negative reviews about this little wonder. "It is hard to control" "it's cheap" blah blah blah.
I saw this little buzzer at my local radio shack, and as a pilot and dabler in aeronautics, was quite amazed at what I was seeing. So I got one for myself.
After very easy assembly and just as easy initial charge, it was ready to go. Looking at it you are not looking at just any flying machine, there is no way a camera can be put on it presently due to the fact there is no non-spinning part on it when flying.
After a bit of a learning curve I soon discovered that like all gyros this flier reacts to control inputs much differently than one would think. The way the controls work is quite ingenious, if inefficient. Directional control is done by pulsing on motor on and off for a split second at a specific point of rotation. The problem with this is, just like with a twin engined aircraft, the loss of power on one engine results in a 75 to 80 percent of overall power for flight. For this flier that results in substantial altitude loss for a fraction of a second until the other motor compensates for this by increasing power. You will notice this by a slight to drastic dip in height when trying to maneuver. Now for those complaining about this, do you not understand the complexity of this operation? This is amazing stuff. This is not an airplane, or helicopter, it is a design all it's own. The reason for its "cheap" construction is because it is a tiny flying machine, and like all flying machines is limited in its weight, which unfortunately leads to very "cheap" looking parts which are really not all that "cheap".
Oh, I have gotten smacked by one of the wings, in the face. For the person that was saying this was a dangerous toy, I can safely say you are completely wrong. One's face does more damage to the flier than it does to you.
Instead of complaining and whining why don't people just understand that this is quite a feat of engineering, and like many feats of engineering are not easily learned. I have been able to take off, fly around and bring it in for a soft landing within one day, with the damage to only one set of wings.
The AI or autopilot leaves a little to be desired, as does the IR control signals. But I would think a radio type control may add a bit too much weight. Because of the type of control signal the control must always face the spinning flier. The avoidance system (AI) is just a bit too sluggish. Also if you get too close to the ceiling the rotor down force will literally suck the unit against the ceiling which requires cutting power entirely to bring it back down, which usually results in a rapid descent that takes a bit to recover from before ground impact.
This thing is fun, pure and simple, once you learn all its quirks.
I recommend it for those that don't mind putting some effort into such a thing
fun...for about 3 minutes- then broke! January 1, 2009
S. Levenseller (Portland, OR)
Thought this would be a great Christmas present for a 12 year old and 15 year old boys. For starters it was complicated to get it to fly- never did get the autopilot to engage. Once we got it off the ground it was fun- for about three minutes- that's when the propeller broke after a minor bump into a wall. Second flight snapped one of the arms that the propeller attaches to. Tomorrow it is getting returned. For as much as they cost they should be a little more durable for their intended use. Big disappointmnet!
 Too fragile to use - avoid the Bladestar! December 30, 2008
t-lab (Waterloo, ON, Canada)
My son received this as a birthday present. The helicopter is made of light, fragile materials, probably to maximize flying time. The result, though, is that parts like the propellers break easily under normal use. Only two spare propellers come with the package, and the manufacturer's prices for replacement parts are exorbitant.
Avoid this toy!
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