Aero ace

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The Aero Ace is a small R/C Ready-To-Fly plane sold by Spin Master (Air Hogs) in the United States and Canada. The design was by Silverlit, and was originally called the X-Twin. Silverlit is a Hong Kong based company. This little radio control airplane is one of the most popular ready-to-fly toys in the US. The reasons for this is good flying time and ability to fly in a 30ft x 30ft yard. Even experienced R/C pilots love this little marvel and modify it to improve its flying characteristics.

The Aero Ace is powered by two 7mm coreless pager motors and a light weight Lithium Polymer battery which is recharged through the built-in charger on the transmitter. Control of the plane is provided exclusively by varying the thrust of the motors.

The Air Hog's Aero Ace was originally introduced in the US in the fall of 2005 as a biplane (one of the original X-Twin styles) and was followed up in the spring of 2006 with a jet body style. Like the biplane, the jet is an unrealistic form. Some say that it resembles a "squashed F-22" fighter. The jet's electronics are virtually identical but it offers significantly different flight characteristics. Though it can still be flown in relatively small spaces, it requires a bit more room to turn than the biplane. As a trade-off, it has a slightly higher air speed, can handle a slightly stronger breeze and offers a far superior glide ratio.

In late 2006/early 2007 Spin Master introduced the Acrojet. This is another jet body style but this more resembles a civilian aircraft with canard wings and a "T" tail. While this was not labeled as an "Aero Ace" it is based on another of the X-Twin bodies and uses the same electronic and motor package as the Aero Aces. It also retails for the same price (approx. $30US). Some have reported stability issues though simple modifications can remedy this.

In early 2007, a new Air Hogs model was introduced. This is a high wing mono plane with a rounded nose resembling a sail plane in form (though not proportion). Early reports are that this body style is highly stable. This model has been labelled the Aero Ace Sport.

The second generation of the X-Wing based biplanes hit the shelves in late January 2007. Currently available, the newest Air Hogs biplane is labelled Power Hawk. It differs most significantly from the original Aero Ace in that the rear half of its fuselage and its tail section (the empennage) are molded from expanded polypropylene (EPP). The original Aero Ace has a hollow plastic straw tail boom and empennage cut from 1mm thick depron foam. The Power Hawk also has a reshaped nose, a free-spinning nose propeller and its wings are curved from wingtip to wingtip. This model is based on the Silverlit X-Twin Classic Trainer.

There is a growing number a fan made videos being posted on video sharing sites such as YouTube.^[1]

Silverlit has also created a micro RC helicopter known as the Picco Z. It has a proportional 2 channel infrared radio that doubles as a charger also. This micro helicopter has also been remarketed as an Air Hogs product called the Havoc Heli and retails for approximately $30US. The Havoc Heli appears only to differ from the Picco Z in packaging.

The Picco Z and Havoc Heli have acquired a relatively large following amongst hobbyists outside of the typical toy market, which is due at least in part to the potential for various user modifications that alter flight characteristics.