The Estes R/C plane is made of styrofoam and easily glues back together. Getting the plane to turn has its difficulties but it is made to make photos so the stabiliy is needed. Make sure you have plenty of take off and landing area unobstructed.

Made a great gift and easy to use.

I just got this yesterday. It is pretty awesome. It is amazing how much extra stuff they give you in the box. Like the two main batteries and extra batteries for the camera pod (needs 2 and they give you 6). They give you both a wall charger and a car charger. Setup was easy and fast…and it actually looks pretty cool. I flew it for the first time yesterday. It kind of surprises you. The sling shot thing is a little weird. The first time I tried it, it just skimmed on the ground. The next time, it skimmed on the ground for a couple seconds and took off! I was so surprised I kind of wasn’t paying attention and slammed it right into a tree at full speed. It is amazingly durable. The wings partially fell off (by design), the horizontal stabilizer fell off (by design) and the tail broke off (oh...not by design). The Styrofoam that it is made of is very hardened so when it does break like this it doesn’t shatter, so it can be easily fixed. I bought some 5-minute epoxy (as suggested in included repair guide) and glued the tail back on. You can barely tell that it was broken. It really fixed up well. Here are a couple gripes for those who are interested. First of all, I don’t know if you are wondering how it works but the plane does not actually have control surfaces (ailerons, flaps, rudder, elevators). The only method for control is by changing the velocity of each of the two ducted fan engines. If you want to go up you hold max velocity. It doesn’t really give you a realistic flight experience. The other minor gripe is the software for the camera pod. You cant just grab their drivers and use windows xp for the picture managmenet, you have to install their crappy tool to download pictures, which sucks but works. I can't wait to get in the sky again, but i am really pleased with my purchase. I'm glad it’s accommodating for idiot fliers like me.

Patience is Key My first flights with this plane were not very successful, but patience was key. You will crash it several times before you master flying it. Here is what I have learned 1. Play with the plane on the ground. I found it helpful to set the plane on the ground and work the engines with the transmitter. It gave me a good understanding of how the engines worked and how it might perform while in flight. 2. For successful launches, I recommend hand launching it from the top of a hill versus using the supplied catapult system. If the hill is high enough you don't necessarily have to launch it into the wind, but do allow for a loss of altitude before the plane will climb out (5 to 10 feet over 15 feet). I recommend finding the steepest hill possible. I launch my plane near the Missouri river from the top of an earth levy that is about 20 feet high. 3. Don't fly in high winds. I have had this plane get away from me because I have flown it in winds greater than 10 MPH. 4. Make sure you turn the camera on and don't turn it off until you download the pictures to your PC. I have lost pictures by not following these rules. 5. The camera does not take good pictures in low light conditions. I recommend sunny days for taking sharp and clear pictures. 6. Be careful not to continually depress the camera button. When you press the camera button, all power is diverted from the engines to take the picture. During one flight, I unknowingly had the camera button depressed and the plane dove into the ground. 7. Pulse to turn. It clearly states this in the instructions, but I had a tendency to hold the control stick left or right. After several flights, I discover a way to make very sharp turns. It is a little tricker but can be done by gaining sufficient altitude, letting off the throttle stick, and holding the control stick left or right. After completing the turn, make sure you push the throttle stick forward quickly because your plane will lose significant altitude performing this maneuver. I purchased this plane over three months and since then I have flown it almost every weekend.