POWERUP 4.0 Paper Airplane Kit - Smartphone App Controlled RC Plane Motor

This gets a 1000/10 on the fun scale. I have never used the Invader fold that comes with the kit; I've always used POWERUP 4.0 with my original fold that I've been developing for years (see images; I'm a nerd.) Best place to fly for me has been an empty hotel ballroom, or an empty parking lot. (An empty ballpark or gymnasium might be good too.) My longest flight time is 7 minutes and 7 seconds, and it ended because the battery died. The flight time graph in the POWERUP app goes up to 8 minutes. Flight time probably depends on how draggy or efficient your fold is, and how you fly it (lots of climbs and tightly banked turns use a lot of thrust). The flight controls on the phone are very easy, but might seem awkward at first. There are presets for which model you have. There are also three "Custom Plane" presets, which worked for me perfectly for me without any adjustments. To fly, you hold your thumb down and that unlocks the plane's thrusters, and you slide up for more thrust, and slide down for less. Your thrust application changes your altitude. When you tilt your phone side to side, that is how your steer. (There is another control setting where you use two thumbs, but I don't use that one...) There is an "auto pilot" system that tries to make corrections and aids in your flight (for example, if the nose goes too high, it will cut the thrusters so that the plane doesn't stall). This can help your flight, but I find it can also cause odd oscillations to occur. You can try to dial in and tune your flight characteristics in the app (which is VERY COOL), but I honestly think it's way easier to adjust your fold for better flight before editing the characteristics in the software... If you want less "auto pilot" intervention, you can turn on "Acro Mode" which, I think, turns a lot of that computer stuff off. I only fly in Acro Mode, and my plane flies amazingly. As for frustrations... You CAN get really frustrated, especially when you're testing a design and you only have 8 minutes of flight to test. It takes about 15-20 minutes to fully charge. I usually use that time to fold another spare wing, or to try a new fold. Just keep in mind that you can easily wait 20 minutes for a charge and then waste the entire charge crashing every 15 seconds... Spare parts and accessories are easy to find, and they're pretty cheap. I have the landing gear installed, which, at first, I thought was silly and made the plane look silly, but my folds last longer because the landings are much softer now (even though not perfect). I never take off from the ground though; I always throw it, as there isn't much control when it's on the ground. A couple notes for success... Understand which ways the propellers rotate and which one goes on which side. There is a distinct left and right one; they are not the same! If you use tractor mode (where POWERUP 4.0 is installed with propellers in front) you'll have to swap the left and right propellers to reverse the direction of thrust. POWERUP says tractor mode hasn't been tested. I still think it's a challenge, but be careful when trying to fly in this configuration. I feel I get MUCH better flight control with "Acro Mode" on. Lastly, never fly with your phone in "Low Power Mode" as I've found there to be way more Bluetooth dropouts (it's generally a very stable connection though). Have fun!!!

I was somewhat skeptical that this would be so easy to fly but i was wrong. The first time it left my hand it was up and flying. Like anything, it takes a moment to get a feel for the controls and a couple flights to get the trim set but in the mean time you're already flying and having fun. Easy to hook up with phone and rechargeable battery is long lasting on one charge. Also seems to be good quality and is durable. Worth the cost for so much fun right out of the box.

This item was fun to build and takes some learning/patience to get it to fly well. Once our nephew (11) got the hang of it he really enjoyed the challenge and trying to set new records for height and distance. The parts are fragile and it does come with some extras (absolutely necessary), but it won't last long for younger kids. The learning curve will alone can be tough on the plane and the landings are unforgiving. I suggest a very wide open space with lots of soft grass, and be prepared to search for components that fall off during the landing.

Amazing and really fun! Flies much farther and is more resilient than we thought. Takes some practice to control, but our whole family had a blast with it until it ended up in a tree. Our advice: find a large field to fly in, not your back yard; and buy two so you have a spare.

Received mine in a smashed box. Upon opening , the foam body board is immediately inside and dinged up a bit (meh, it’ll be fine) first “flight” the nose piece broke (shipment damage) used a little scotch tape, lasted another three “flights” before the nose was just completely separated. Foam body it is essentially 💩 at that point. Haven’t messed with the paper bodies included. Probably should used them for testing in hindsight. The app is also subpar in my opinion. Flight control relies on physical movements of your phone for navigation of the craft.

The first one arrived broken but a replacement came quickly and the second one is really fun. Our record for paper airplane flight is 38 seconds!

I bought PowerUp v1 many years ago for my son. We were disappointed in its performance as all it seemed to do was send the plane into a nose dive after ten feet. However, I like that the inventor has constantly made improvements and didn't give up fine-tuning his creation. If he didn't give up, I didn't want to give up either. I feel like v4 gets it right. It's an easy-to-use upgrade to the traditional paper airplane. Creating the plane and pairing it with the app on a tablet was simple enough. Launching is a two-person operation -- one to throw and the other to control. Make sure you have plenty of open space because this plane moves fast. My boys didn't have a lot of control over the plane, but it stayed in the air doing loops and spins for over a minute which is an eternity to a child. They thought the plane was going to just be an accelerated paper airplane. They were excited to see it stay in the air and do acrobatics. Unfortunately, the battery only has a ten-minute lifespan. That's understandable given its size. But it also means you need to be prepared for all the fun and excitement to be short-lived before it needs to charge. Also, don't expect to have the fine-grained control you would have from a drone or more expensive RC airplane. But it's a fun way for kids to create and test different designs and learn about experimentation. I've only done a few flights and so far nothing has broken.

The PowerUp 4.0 may seem a bit pricey at first, but it is absolutely worth it. My 10-year-old has spent hours and hours playing with it—far more than any other Christmas present this year. What I love most is that it genuinely inspires creativity, invention, and problem-solving. He enjoys building planes from the app as well as designing his own, constantly tweaking and improving them to see what flies best. As a bonus, it gets him outside and moving, running after his planes and testing new ideas. It’s rare to find a toy that blends STEM learning, creativity, and physical activity so seamlessly, and this one really delivers.

I have a bit of time off work, and wanted to buy myself a new toy to have some fun with. I love to tinker, so this seemed perfect. Once I got a decent plane folded and mounted, it ended up being the most fun I’ve had for ages! I was itching to go again after I had run out of battery, but I was running out of daylight as well. It had to wait until the next day. Today is day four, and I’ve had it out multiple times every day. It’s quite exciting to see your plane continue flying on beyond what a paper plane should, and very cool to see it turn with a twist of the wrist. It has attracted a few interested spectators too, who seem equally impressed. The only downside is it is coming into winter, and the grass is wet. So, before a session is over, my plane is basically trashed. I’ve folded up a few spares now, so I can keep going but I’m keen to build one out of something more durable (balsa?). It still feels like a bit of an extravagance to spend so much on motorising a paper aeroplane, but now that I’ve tried it, I have no regrets. I’ll definitely be getting enough enjoyment out of it to warrant the expense.

Bien empacado, excelente calidad, entregado en tiempo establecido, el kit se ve mejor físicamente ,altamente recomendado.

Ich habe nach einem einfachen und günstigem Flugmodell gesucht und bin durch Zufall auf dieses Modell gestoßen. Ich finde das Konzept ein Papierflugzeug mit einer per Smatphone steuerbaren Flugeinheit zu kombinieren sehr spannend. Deshalb habe ich mich für das Modell entschieden. Nicht allein der Aufbau ist spannend, weil ich mein eigenes Flugzeug bauen konnte. Zusätzlich macht es wirklich Spaß damit zu fliegen. Nach wenigen Versuchen, konnte ich das Flugzeug bereits über eine Minute in der Luft halten. Spannend finde ich auch die App internen Piloten Rankings. Das motiviert zusätzlich. Einzig bei starkem Wind und Nässe nicht zu fliegen. Ist eben nur ein Papierflugzeug. Trotzdem ein sehr nettes Spielzeug.

It is so cool to play with, but you have to know that it’s easy to break and get lost. So be careful

The module itself is amazing, the airframe didn’t last very long but an email to the support team and they made things right. It is a bit expensive but knowing the work put into the maker foam, it’s more understandable