Hobbytron’s new Hornet 3 was crafted as a direct response to the success of the Silverlit Picoo/Picco Z. Both mini remote-controlled helicopters have a foam body and are controlled via a two-channel infrared remote. They both are available for around $40.

My suspicion is that Hobbytron developed the Hornet 3 on their own so that they could get a better margin on the product, as well as make some slight improvements to the overall design. The primary improvement is a higher capacity battery than the Picco Z, offering up to “nine minutes of flight time” according to Hobbytron. In my test flights—did I mention they sent me one?—I was easily getting ten minute flights out of the Hornet 3, but I also get ten minute flights out of my Picco Z.

The Hornet 3’s body design is more plump than the Picco Z, completely encasing the primary gears and electronics. That may be the reason that the Hornet 3 tends to have a worse control response time than a Picoo. I suspect the infrared receiver in the Hornet doesn’t catch as many infrared bounces or have the same angle of response as the Picco. That means there are times when the Hornet doesn’t respond to your commands, which isn’t usually a big deal unless it’s on the floor and refuses to cut off its motor, causing it to skitter all over the place. I’m sure it could be fixed by digging out the infrared sensor from the foam body, but that’s a bit of a hassle.

The flight characteristics right out of the box were a little funky. I think they should sell these things with a slight bias for forward flight, because as it stands they ship tuned towards a straight hover—but the hover never quite works correctly. My Hornet 3 wanted to drift backwards all the time, which was annoying, and I find that with a little forward momentum the little choppers fly a lot more steady. Hobbytron provides two stick on weights that can bring the nose down for forward flight. The weights work, but I would have preferred a fin/wing system instead. I made a custom one for my Picoo that causes its nose to be pushed forward by the wash of the main rotor and it works much better than weights, as the weight tends to cause the choppers to wobble forward and backwards in the air instead of plowing steadily ahead.

These are all detail quibbles for most office pilots. While the Hornet 3 has its quirks, it’s more solidly constructed than the Picco Z and should provide plenty of entertainment. I’m looking forward to opening mine up and seeing exactly how similar its guts are to the Picco and seeing if I can work out why it seems to occasionally drop signals.

Oh, and before I forget, the landing skids on the Hornet 3 are pretty thin and seemingly fragile, but they have enough give that they shouldn’t snap too easily. They do make it easier to hang the Hornet up on obstacles, but they also provide a wider landing base than the PIcoo’s foam “wings,” so it’s yet another trade-off that is neither better nor worse.

Product Page [Hobbytron.com]