Tons of Fun with an iPhone and iPad Controlled Helicopter, Griffin's Helo TC [Review]

There are great things you can do with an iPhone. One of the things that people actually don’t do that much, is making a call, but who wants to make a call when you can fly a helicopter? At least one that is a toy.

I’ve been playing around with Griffin’s Helo TC for a couple of weeks now and I must say that I have some fun with it. Let’s get to know the Helo TC a little bit. 

It is a small helicopter that actually you can hold in one hand. It has four blades and lights that turn on while you are flying. It is completely controlled through an iOS app that comes free with the purchase of the Helo TC.

Helo TC Flight Deck

Equipment

The Helo TC comes with what it’s called the Flight Deck, that connected to your iOS device via the headphone jack, sends commands to the helicopter. The Flight Deck works with the iOS app and together control the Helo TC. 

It also comes with a USB cable for quickly charging the Helo TC. Spare propellers are included with the Helo TC in case you need to replace the originals. 

Performance

You use two different modes to control the Helo TC. You either do it with a virtual joystick or you can tilt your iOS device to maneuver.

The Helo TC is not that easy to control. First of all it is recommended to use indoors and after flying it the first time I saw why. It is hard to maneuver, you have to go slow on the power and go easy on it why you learn how to fly properly.

I recommend you use it on a place at your home where you are sure you won’t hit valuable stuff. I crashed my Helo TC a couple of times with the wall and floor. But don’t worry, the Helo TC can take hits and even if it’s damaged, the Helo TC comes with some spare parts.

When you learn how to fly it properly, you can then record your flights in what it is called Flight Plans, which in the future you can use and the Helo TC will perform the exact route that your recorded on those Flight Plans.

Conclusion

The Griffin Helo TC is one great iOS related product that can deliver some fun. It has a great design, and although I really dislike the Flight Deck’s design, its functionality makes up for its ugliness.

While it takes some time to learn how to fly the Helo TC, I actually think that it’s just the start of the fun. Once you learn to fly it then you go to the extreme flying it slow pass all the things at home and even close to people. Don’t hurt anybody!

For its price ($49.99), available here, the Helo TC is a cheap toy that will make you say “why didn’t this exist when I was a child?”. Totally recommend it. 

Don’t have an iOS device, but have an Android device? No problem, Griffin has an Android version too.