Ladies and gentlemen, rev up your competitive spirit for the coolest racing drone out there.
While drones were some of the most popular gift items last holiday season, toy companies this year are decking out their drones with more features than ever before. Skyrocket Toys‘ Sky Viper Hover Racer combines racing with video game battling to let kids go head to head against their friends or on their own.
Available in either black or red, the Hover Racer includes everything kids need to get them started. All kids have to do is pop in batteries into the controller and four beacons, and they’re all set! The beacons are small devices that use Bluetooth to use indoor location technology. The packaging even has replacement blades (let’s face it—we all crash), and the spare parts are easy to swap out with the included screwdriver and screws. I was really happy that the battery (charged with a USB) was fully charged out of the box because this means kids can start flying their new drone right away.
While this drone can is completely functional without using any extra features, all of the fun is in the racing aspect. The first thing to do is to download the Hover Racer app that is available for smartphones. The app will guide you through connecting the remote and Hover Racer using Bluetooth, and then will walk through a one-time set up of connecting the four beacons, which are each color-coded to make it easy not to confuse them.
In single player mode, kids can race in custom tracks and complete time trials. I definitely recommend for kids to warm up using the time trials before they start leaving their competition in the dust. I must admit that I’m not the best flyer, and while mastering flight takes some practice, the Hover Racer is filled with features to help flying approachable, such as auto launching, auto landing, and maintaining a hover 3 feet above the ground (unless you tell it otherwise)!
Once kids are ready to race, they can choose from up to 20 predesigned tracks, or create any of their own custom tracks or obstacle courses with the beacons. The beacons act as checkpoints to help track time and status, and courses can be made more interesting with more objects that need to be passed or flown around between checkpoints. The possibilities are literally endless!
After I flew the drone for a little while, I have three words: This. Drone. Slays. The Hover Racer completely brings it and is so fast—it can go up to 20 mph! I was having a blast zooming the racer around the office and dodging obstacles.
For more gaming and battle, kids can link up to four Hover Ravers for multi-player races and battles. They can race as 2 vs. 2 or everyone for him or herself, and the five aerial battle modes include Race Battle, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and more! And—better yet—they can combine their beacons for up to 16 checkpoints. Also, coming soon, co-op mode will let two kids pay at the same time with one drone, and they will race as pilots and co-pilots.
As drone racing is becoming a more popular sport, the Sky Viper Hover Racer is meant to engage and entertain kids for hours.
