Christmas gift ideas....

[NJMac]

Last year we got my best friend's kids a couple science experiment type gifts for Christmas. They loved them. They're enamored with my plane so i asked their parents if they might do a model plane kit. They thought it would be cool.

 

So asking the group, does anyone know of an age appropriate elec or gas airplane kit for a 6 and 7 year old? Am I starting them on this too young?

 

What all aviation wise did you all give to kids you loved at roughly this age?

 

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[carusoam]

I can start the bidding...

1) Started earlier with a biplane in place of a rocking horse...

2) Moved up to P51 Mustang on a string...

3) Movies of cartoon airplanes probably were under the tree somewhere...

3.5) LEGO makes great kits for planes and helicopters!

4) The Best Mooney gift... Flying up to grandma’s house on Christmas... only a few gifts in the plane...  When we got there, Santa had delivered the whole load the night before... at grandma’s house..! Use caution with this... awesome Mooney power... they will think Santa uses AI to know where the kids are going to be.... no matter where they went to bed the night before...  It took two flights, one to deliver a planeful of kids stuff on one day. and the second to bring the family there.... getting all the stuff home with the kids in the plane was a bit of a volumetric challenge....

Its been more than a decade since my kids were that young...  

Best regards,

-a-

[M016576]

4 minutes ago, carusoam said:

I can start the bidding...

2) Moved up to P47 Mustang on a string...

-a-

-a- I’m sure this is just an oversight... but technically the P-47 is a “Thunderbolt”... the P-51 being the “Mustang”....

BUT!  I will say this- while shopping for small foam throwable airplanes for my son, I found some made in China- and the names vs the pictures were all over the map!  To the point where the picture showed a C-130, but the caption said “P-51 Mustang”

[M016576]

57 minutes ago, NJMac said:

 

Last year we got my best friend's kids a couple science experiment type gifts for Christmas. They loved them. They're enamored with my plane so i asked their parents if they might do a model plane kit. They thought it would be cool.

 

So asking the group, does anyone know of an age appropriate elec or gas airplane kit for a 6 and 7 year old? Am I starting them on this too young?

 

What all aviation wise did you all give to kids you loved at roughly this age?

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Those things are a bit aggressive for a 6-7 year old (gas powered balsa)... 

I would look towards the foam, ducted fan, ARF electric planes.  They are under 200-300 bucks and are very very easy to build.  Servo’s and such are already in the plane- all you really need to do is charge a battery and go... and they go FAST!

i just bought my son (just turned 6) a “Sky Viper Explorer” UAV- it’s also surprisingly fast! And has a stunt mode that my son loves.  If you pair it to your iPhone- it has a camera on it that you can record video with and watch real time.  Battery lasts about 10 minutes.  Here’s the best part though- if it loses signal, or gets low on battery, it will return to where it took off from and auto land... something my son has tested on numerous occasions.  Edit: almost forgot- they cost about $85 at target- which is far better than 300 when you think about the possibility of a crash)

i know a little 4 engined drone might not seem sexy- but I think it’s the perfect intro to aviation that won’t end up in a devistating crash.

Edited December 3, 2018 by M016576

[carusoam]

Oops, I was supposed to edit that after I wrote out the word Mustang.  

The Mustang was great.  It went everywhere... until one day, it lost a blade...

The three blade prop was so imbalanced it couldn’t work...

Fortunately, Mooney taught us a two blade Plane is often faster than a three blade plane...  balance was restored on the prop and in the universe!

Best regards and thanks for memory help,

-a-

 

[NJMac]

Those things are a bit aggressive for a 6-7 year old (gas powered balsa)... 
I would look towards the foam, ducted fan, ARF electric planes.  They are under 200-300 bucks and are very very easy to build.  Servo’s and such are already in the plane- all you really need to do is charge a battery and go... and they go FAST!
i just bought my son a “Sky Viper Explorer” UAV- it’s also surprisingly fast! And has a stunt mode that my son loves.  If you pair it to your iPhone- it has a camera on it that you can record video with and watch real time.  Battery lasts about 10 minutes.  Here’s the best part though- if it loses signal, or gets low on battery, it will return to where it took off from and auto land... something my son has tested on numerous occasions.
i know a little 4 engined drone might not seem sexy- but I think it’s the perfect intro to aviation that won’t end up in a devistating crash.

I wanted to get a 2 cycle 50 cc dirt bike last year for them for Christmas. They're not ready for that yet then or now. No kids of our own yet so i keep forgetting the age limitation thing, hence my ask here. I'll look into your suggestions. Thanks

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[NJMac]

I can start the bidding...
1) Started earlier with a biplane in place of a rocking horse...
2) Moved up to P51 Mustang on a string...
3) Movies of cartoon airplanes probably were under the tree somewhere...
3.5) LEGO makes great kits for planes and helicopters!
4) The Best Mooney gift... Flying up to grandma’s house on Christmas... only a few gifts in the plane...  When we got there, Santa had delivered the whole load the night before... at grandma’s house..! Use caution with this... awesome Mooney power... they will think Santa uses AI to know where the kids are going to be.... no matter where they went to bed the night before...  It took two flights, one to deliver a planeful of kids stuff on one day. and the second to bring the family there.... getting all the stuff home with the kids in the plane was a bit of a volumetric challenge....
Its been more than a decade since my kids were that young...  
Best regards,
-a-

Love it. Thanks!

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[M016576]

2 minutes ago, NJMac said:

I wanted to get a 2 cycle 50 cc dirt bike last year for them for Christmas. They're not ready for that yet then or now. No kids of our own yet so i keep forgetting the age limitation thing, hence my ask here. I'll look into your suggestions. Thanks

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Man... I got a Foam ARF F-18 for my birthday a couple years back- and I crashed it... and fixed it... and crashed it... and fixed it.  They are fast.. and it’s hard to “put yourself in the cockpit” depending on the direction the airplane is flying... at least for me... because the left can be right and the right can be left depending on if the plane is coming or going from your position.  That said they are FUN!

the Sky Viper drone is great because if you do nothing- drop the controller- whatever- it just hovers wherever it’s at.  Helps if you lose your bearings!  It’s a great trainer, I think, for an actual remote control airplane.

[carusoam]

The fun never ends...

Boys and girls both have the ability to love airplane stuff equally.   

Probably something I learned from Jolie... while she probably called me a Neanderthal for thinking this out loud... 

Flying RC planes... probably more in line with 10- 12 years of age, with significant flight instruction involved...?

Drones are all the rage for some kids...  much easier to fly than an RC plane.

Best regards,

-a-

[bob865]

I had this little RC plane many years ago that would be perfect.  I'm searching for a similar or same plane to link you to.  Hopefully I can come up with something.  Anyway it was a 2 channel plane, Throttle and rudder.  It was super light, only a few grams, so it was super slow and flew inside perfectly well(meant to be flown inside).  Fixed trim so it always flew the same speed, throttle up->altitude up, not speed up.  Super light too, so a crash didn't have enough energy to damage the plane.  You're not going to do any stunts with this plane, but it's perfect for kids as you describe.

There was also a company that made indoor fliers, parkzone I think.  It's been many years since I was really active in RC so I don't know all what's available now.  Check nitroplanes.com and towerhobbies.com.  They are the big hitters in the hobby sector.  Being the holiday, they may even have an ad that will point you straight to what you're looking for.

[steingar]

You might think about a book of paper airplanes.  The barrier to get flying will be less, which will be helpful for children at that age.

[Shadrach]

I had several Cox .049 U-controls when in that age range. They were a bit advanced for my young piloting skills.  Not because it required a tremendous amount of coordination but because I was so transfixed by the noise and motion that I’d forgot to fly the airplane. 

Sadly Cox ceased to be a going concern in 2007. What used to cost $20 in the 80s can command a high price now on eBay. It seems no one is making out of the box,  ready to fly U-control aircraft anymore.  This is a simple rudder and elevator RC that is light, slow and can be flown indoors.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/PKZU1180?KPID=PKZU1180&CAWELAID=320011980000049618&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=35962941278&CATCI=aud-428582954639:pla-519098177904&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl5DfmOmD3wIVVwOGCh03aQMWEAQYDiABEgL_XPD_BwE

 

[flyboy0681]

38 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

I had several Cox .049 U-controls when in that age range. They were a bit advanced for my young piloting skills.  Not because it required a tremendous amount of coordination but because I was so transfixed by the noise and motion that I’d forgot to fly the airplane. 

Sadly Cox ceased to be a going concern in 2007. What used to cost $20 in the 80s can command a high price now on eBay. It seems no one is making out of the box,  ready to fly U-control aircraft anymore.  This is a simple rudder and elevator RC that is light, slow and can be flown indoors.

 

Man does that bring back memories as a kid in the 60's. I remember having a propeller nearly taking my finger off and the flameless fires from the fuel. Glow plugs were always a great source of burns and the noise could be deafening. Given these safety issues, there's no way these products could be sold to kids today.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, flyboy0681 said:

Man does that bring back memories as a kid in the 60's. I remember having a propeller nearly taking my finger off and the flameless fires from the fuel. Glow plugs were always a great source of burns and the noise could be deafening. Given these safety issues, there's no way these products could be sold to kids today.

The "spring start" was a selling point in my day. Prime the little intake port midway down the cylinder, crank it through and then attach that weird 4 prong clip to the glow plug, wind it up and let a rip. awkwardly try to remove said weird prong just an inch from the spinning prop.  I definitely lost some knuckle skin staring those .049s.  I have a very strong olfactory memory of the fuel; I'm sure I would recognize it today without fail.

[flyboy0681]

11 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

The "spring start" was a selling point in my day. Prime the little intake port midway down the cylinder, crank it through and then attach that weird 4 prong clip to the glow plug, wind it up and let a rip. awkwardly try to remove said weird prong just an inch from the spinning prop.  I definitely lost some knuckle skin staring those .049s.  I have a very strong olfactory memory of the fuel; I'm sure I would recognize it today without fail.

 

[carusoam]

You guys survived...

With one Cox .049 engine, you were....

• working with organic chemicals
• working with hot devices
• working with electricity
• working with spinning blades
• working with flammable materials
• breathing in partially burnt exhaust fumes

Aside from that, you learned a ton of important engine related things like fuel flow (reed valve), ignition (glow plug), and mixture setting (needle valve)...

Did you at least get the big red rubber spinner for safety?   

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

4 minutes ago, carusoam said:

You guys survived...

 

-a-

Don't get me started on Mattel's Thingmaker, which contained an extremely hot heating element to bake the toxic Plastigoop into a solid.

[Shadrach]

49 minutes ago, flyboy0681 said:

Don't get me started on Mattel's Thingmaker, which contained an extremely hot heating element to bake the toxic Plastigoop into a solid.

It's Baaaack! Decidedly more expensive than the original and decidedly less dangerous.  I'm not going to get into a "kids today" rant as mine are only 1 and 2 years of age.  I will say that I will facilitate as much hands on experience as I can in a controlled environment. I want them to have an understanding of the physical world. Bumps and bruises along the way, so be it. 

 

https://uedata.amazon.com/Mattel-DYH71-ThingMaker-3D-Printer/dp/B01BT0TQA4?ie=UTF8&dpID=311BvZH3hmL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR138%2C160_

Edited December 3, 2018 by Shadrach

[NJMac]

You guys survived...
With one Cox .049 engine, you were....

• working with organic chemicals
• working with hot devices
• working with electricity
• working with spinning blades
• working with flammable materials
• breathing in partially burnt exhaust fumes

Aside from that, you learned a ton of important engine related things like fuel flow (reed valve), ignition (glow plug), and mixture setting (needle valve)...
Did you at least get the big red rubber spinner for safety?   
Best regards,
-a-

See that's what i tell my wife. People don't raise their kids right anymore. Kids survived all that back then. Why can't they still survive all that now?

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[Shadrach]

I just took this pic in my potting shed. To be clear I’m 44 years old and married with two kids. My wife says I’m a packrat. I think I’m beginning to see things her way...

[flyboy0681]

9 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

I just took this pic in my potting shed. To be clear I’m 44 years old and married with two kids. My wife says I’m a packrat. I think I’m beginning to see things her way...

Truly amazing. And what's even more amazing are all of the warnings on the can and we still played around with it.

[jasona900]

I got one of these for my daughter (2 yr old)  this year for Christmas:  http://www.battatco.com/collections/battat/take-apart-airplane

Probably not too exciting for a 6 or 7 year old... but I can think of at least one 40 yr old who is looking forward to helping her put it together in a few weeks! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shadrach]

4 hours ago, jasona900 said:

I got one of these for my daughter (2 yr old)  this year for Christmas:  http://www.battatco.com/collections/battat/take-apart-airplane

Probably not too exciting for a 6 or 7 year old... but I can think of at least one 40 yr old who is looking forward to helping her put it together in a few weeks! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just ordered one for my two-year-old. He’ll be thee in January. He’s going on the young side but seems to have apptitude for spatial orientation.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Shadrach

[Niko182]

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/aircraft-buying-guide/aircraft-under-%24100/aircraft-under-%24100/champ-rtf-hbz4900
 

I'd start off with these. I was into RC big time before i started flying. thats a great starter.

[NJMac]

22 minutes ago, Niko182 said:

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/aircraft-buying-guide/aircraft-under-%24100/aircraft-under-%24100/champ-rtf-hbz4900
 
I'd start off with these. I was into RC big time before i started flying. thats a great starter.

I'm really excited about that one. I'll fumble around the site this evening and see what else Santa needs to order too.  Appreciate the link. Thanks 

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Edited December 3, 2018 by NJMac