Air Hogs Helix Sentinel Drone Review: Does it Work?
• Obstacle avoidance sensors
• Foam exoskeleton for indoor use
• FPV Goggles included
• Height Lock Stabilization
• Short battery life
• Limited camera swivel
• Range is limited compared to hobby grade drones
Helix Sentinel Drone is marketed toward kids as a sort of entry-level drone, but is not priced as such. You can find less expensive entry-level hobby-grade drone with many of the same features. While it does offer some of the features you'd find in more expensive drones, the dismal flight time and inability to rotate batteries makes this an expensive novelty drone that can't compete with hobby grade options, even those that are priced similarly.
Helix Sentinel Drone
The Air Hogs Helix Sentinel Drone is a toy drone marketed to kids. Can it compare to similarly priced hobby-grade drones? Read our Helix Sentinel Drone review.
Claims & Features
- 120-degree wide angle camera that shoots in 720p.
- Wifi streaming
- Record to your phone
- 2 smart device view modes: Mounted on your controller or inserted in the goggles
- Easy to operate.
- Height Lock, intelligent obstacle avoidance
- Ages 10+
- Requires 4 AA batteries for controller, which aren’t included
Cost & Availability
You can find Helix Sentinel Drone at Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, or Amazon for about $200.
The package includes the drone, goggles, controller, storage case, USB cable, 4 ceiling protection sticks, a 4 gig Micro SD card, removable foam body, and instructions.
Helix Sentinel Drone Commercial
The TV commercial below has been airing as of this writing.
Helix Sentinel Drone Review
Helix Sentinel Drone is a toy by Air Hogs that brings the drone hobby to kids. It features a built-in camera that can be viewed via your smartphone. You can also record video from your flights to the included 4 gig Micro SD card. It comes in an attractive case for easy storage or portability.
This drone by Air Hogs sports a basic drone body, which has since been supplanted by hobbyists by more robust frames in more current (and higher end) models.
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons.
Pros
- Complete Kit. You get a full-featured set right out of the box, including VR goggles, drone, controller, case, Micro SD card, and foam body for indoor use.
- Obstacle avoidance. This is not a perfect system, but it does help the drone from running into objects or people, especially when it isn’t flying too fast.
Cons
- Batteries. The controller requires 4 AA batteries which aren’t included, and the drone uses a non-removable battery. The flying time is quite limited – perhaps 10 minutes on a good day, and as little as about 5 minutes, depending on what you do with the drone. Then it takes another 45-60 minutes to charge again.
- Range. The WiFi range is very limited to maybe about 150 feet.
The limited range and battery life may be unacceptable to casual hobbyists who are accustomed to significantly longer flight times and range.
Similar Products
If you’re looking for an inexpensive drone for kids, you may want to consider the $43 Syma X5C, which sports a 4+ star rating among over 3,600 reviews on Amazon.
For a little more, you may want to look into entry-level drones such as the DBPOWER UDI U842 or the UDI U818A, which sell for about $130 and $140 respectively.
Epic Conclusion
Helix Sentinel Drone is marketed toward kids as a sort of entry-level drone, but is not priced as such. You can find less expensive entry-level hobby-grade drones with many of the same features as this Air Hogs offering. While it does offer provide of the features you’d find in more expensive drones, the dismal flight time and inability to rotate batteries makes this an expensive novelty drone that can’t compete with hobby grade options, even those that are priced similarly.
Have you tried Helix Sentinel Drone? Please give it a star rating and comment below.
