Kinetic 800 Mini Glider from Hobby King

This plane was a surpise for a few different reasons. Fisrtly we hadn't intended flying a plane on the day we filmed the video below.

We were going to be flying a new large hexacopter with a DJI Wookong flight controller, but we ran out of propellers so I couldn't finish the build. So I said why not unpack that Bixler plane from Hobby King that's been sitting in the corner for two weeks.

Here we had another surprise because when I unboxed the plane it wasn't a Bixler but something else entirely that I'd completely forgotten about ordering - probably because I ordered it after the pub a few weeks ago.

So anyway, I was expecting a plane with a pusher prop when I slid the polystyrene from the cardboard box, but was presented with a powered glider that has a snazzy-looking fold back propeller on the front. 'Ahhh, the Kinetic 800 Mini Glider I ordered from Hobby King a couple of weeks ago," says I. "I did wonder if I actually clicked 'Buy' when I was a bit tipsy the other night, I guess I did."

If you don't know Hobby King, they are a massive Hong Kong-based RC model company, with warehouses around the world, that sells RC planes, RC helicopter, RC boats, RC cars and a mind-boggling collection of related accessories and spare parts. They are also known for selling RC stuff very cheaply and, if you can wait two or three weeks, you can save yourself a fortune compared to buying locally. However, buying from Hobby King is often a bit hit and miss, to say the least, in regards to quality - especially at the cheaper end of their stock. Some rc planes I've bought from Hobby King, ranging from $40 (US) to $150, have been real pigs. Flimsy, whimsicle disappointments. But they draw you in because they're so cheap, which is why I often find myself late at night, with a few dollars in my Paypal account, browsing the Hobby King aircraft.

The second however, however, is that every now and again you strike it lucky anf find a little gem of an aicraft - for me the Kinetic 800 Mini Glider is one of those.

As soon as I got it out of the box I had a good feeling about it. It felt sturdy, all the lines looked right and the front and rear wings attached in a very pleasing manner. In fact the rear wings are full elevators like you get on fighter jets, with the moving mechanism actually sitting inside the tail in the form of a device with plastic square hole that you insert a square rod through from one wing to the other so that the entire rear wing moves up and down and no control wires are outside the plane at the back.

I put in my Futaba reciever and a 3 cell 800 mah lipo battery and it was ready to go, from out of the box and ready to fly in 10 minutes tops.

My acolyte, Kevin, who does the filming, usually expects the worst when we go out with one of my spur of the moment Hobby King RC plane buys, and I usually warn him that it will most likely end up in the bin on the way home, just like the Mig, the Dolphin and the Cessna, but this time I had a very good feeling that this was going to be a good flyer, and even said so on the way to the field.

Turned out I was right, the Kinetic 800 Mini Glider hand-launched into the air like a hawk and flew beatifully right away, which is all I really want from an RC plane. It was so graceful to watch, flying up into the sky under power then watching it soar when I cut the throttle.

It really does glide like an eagle and stays nice and level, but will easily perform loops and barrel rolls whenever you ask it to - especially with a bit of power on.

The motor it comes with is very powerful, so much so I never really went much above half throttle. If you do throttle all the way up while climbing it shoots straight up, almost vertically, into the sky.

The flight time was very good, the five minute video is just one of four videos that I edited taken from the same flight on the same battery - so I guess I was larking about for 20 minutes at least without the battery getting low.

I'm not that into planes since I discovered multi-rotor drones, and I'm usually disappointed by the few I do try and can never be bothered writing about those - I have no enthusiasm for writing how crap something is, and prefer to just throw those in the bin and forget about them. So I'm very pleased to find a plane I liked right away and know I will have more fun in the future with my Kinetic 800 Mini Glider.