Sky Gliderz product reviews

We were lucky enough to be given some of these to review and my 6 year old daughter was busting her gut for the weekend to come as I'd read the pack which said they were supposed to fly up to 35 meters... and decided we needed to forget trying these at the house and head for the park... and luckily we did!

Yes, these do fly 35 meters and more! My husband, daughter and I struck a fine day today and got to try them out. The first thing I noticed is that they seemed sturdy (for a foam toy) - you could tell they weren't just from the cheap dollar stores, however I do already need to put a small amount of glue on a couple of parts as although they are just made to slot together, there is glue holding them and some of it is already coming undone. The launcher was sturdy too - although it does warn not to leave it in the sun. I haven't had the toy long enough to fully test the sturdiness though.

They mention on the pack different ways to do certain tricks, flying them sideways, or straight up etc. and it really did work. You could also bend the wings down slightly for different aerobatics. The 3 of us loved it, and half the fun was chasing the planes afterwards... lucky Miss 6 enjoyed doing that part - it was a great fun way for her to let off energy. The pack suggests age 8 and upwards, but she was able to fly the planes by herself with no problems. Initially she couldn't get them going as far as us, but by the end she was flying them further than I could! I have to say that the stunts the planes performed seemed really random - wind direction, angle of the wings, launching direction and strength of the launch probably all came into play but it did seem rather unpredictable but that's where I see this more of family fun rather than an activity for flying enthusiasts.

The only shame is that there are 2 planes but only 1 launcher. I could see that it would double the fun to be able to fly them against each other. If you could buy a launcher separately by itself (I must check that out!), then I'd be doing that for sure! I have to note too, that we didn't have any issues with the safety of the launcher as others have seemed to - no one got pinged or anything like that!

This is a great family activity and I'm checking them out further for Christmas presents this year - they really are that much fun for a relatively small amount of outlay - well worth the money in my opinion! "Awesome" as my daughter kept saying!

When it comes to toys I am more fascinated by those which fly or glide, so these planes were quite fun. I once had a plane like this, but I never used it, and by the time I wanted to use it, the elastic of the slingshot was melted in the heat of a summer sun, but I noticed that the elastic of this slingshot is a bit more sophisticated, made of a stretchy rubber that does not look or feel like the type used in rubber bands, so I would expect it to be more durable, although so far there hasn't been enough time to prove or disprove this yet.

The plane design is good, the first time I took these planes for a test flight, they managed to stay airborne for quite a long time, which means that the design is aerodynamic enough to function well. The foam is well made, it can hold it's shape well, meaning that one should not have to constantly change the angle of the flaps or the bend of the wings every time the plane is launched. I will, however, state that once the flaps are aligned, any modification of them whatsoever makes it very difficult to to put them back into alignment, so the planes I have now often move in erratic trajectories once launched.

The propulsion provided by the launcher was quite shocking, the plane was accelerated very quickly, and it was able to travel around 20 or so meters before landing, provided the glide was right and that it was launched at a high enough angle. This product was easy to use, you do have to be quite athletic to go and run after the planes though, so it isn't good news for someone with low blood pressure, like me. Also, the tab you grab to pull the plane back, it is rather hard to keep a grip on when the launcher is at full stretch. At one time I had to hold the plane in launch position to pose for a photo in the "Say What" eZine and my grip slipped, so I would say that there is room for some improvement there.

The price is good, it seems to match up to the quality of the product itself, and it is also affordable to most people as well, and since it is coming up Christmas at the time I am writing this, this product might make a good present for the young ones. Actually, there is a point, this product is also suitable for a large age range, granted, if you are not athletic you will have trouble running after the planes, but then that's when you get someone who is to go and play fetch! . All in all, I am impressed with this product, and I think that it will be something fun to do in the summer, maybe take it with me if the family ever decides to go for a day out at the beach. *nudge nudge*!

This was one of those products that is either hit or miss, and on most points, it gets it right.
Checking out the instructions on how to correctly throw them, I went to open the packet and realised the first issue. Only one launcher. Why only one? If I had two, then I could have competitions with friends. Instead it instantly became a "watch me have fun" toy.

One thing the manufacturer should be wary of is that one of my gliderz stuck to the packaging, and lost a piece of its wing (nothing major, but if I wasn't careful, it could have been worse). I went to my front door as it was a cold day, and gave it a gentle launch; which launched it far through the air, across the garden, down the driveway, across the road, and into the driveway of the house across the road. A shockingly good distance.

Having sprinted across the road to reclaim my plane, I decided to layer up and go to a park. I fired off another glider at full strength and watched it fly straight, and way over the 35 metres mentioned on the back. I was initially confused by the lack of acrobatics, and noticed some secondary instructions printed in grey on the slightly lighter grey wing of the glider, specifying to bend the wings gently for acrobatics. So I bent the wings slightly, and fired it off, watching it do a flip. Collecting them again, I was able to vary how the wings bent, and change the way that the gliderz reacted in the air; sometimes spiralling, sometimes looping.

I had no problem firing the gliderz safely, but I could easily see how a young child could ping themself in the hand. But overall it's a fun toy, and it does what it says (once you find ALL of the instructions) but would be a lot better with another launcher, so I could play with other people at the same time.