I'd like to say that it was me flying the Honey Bee in this video, but unfortunately that wasn't possible. You see, the day we went to shoot the video for this article the Honey Bee had a spill and the rotor head broke, and I was out of replacements.

So instead we put some video together from our test helicopter as well as flying footage from Hobby-Lobby.com. So it should give you an idea of how the Honey Bee can fly, just not when piloted by novices like us....

In any case, click here to view a short video showing the E-sky Honey Bee in action.

Conclusion

The E-sky Honey Bee Mark 3 Ready-To-Fly kit

This is my first foray into RC helicopters, but I can conclude a few things from my experience:

Firstly, the Honey Bee fixed pitch helicopter is a decent machine. It's not the most featured or fanciest RC helicopter out there by any means, but it's solid. This is no hunk of junk or a disposable toy. The Honey Bee is a serious RC flying machine.

Secondly, from what I've seen of prices online, you get a lot more than I would have expected. This box buys you absolutely everything you need to fly right out of the box. For a beginner this is really a necessity I think. I've seen ATF almost-ready kits that look like a good deal but end up requiring a lot more money to buy the parts that make them flyable.

The only problem with the Honey Bee is that it's a little large for smaller spaces: if you don't have a large living room or basement, or you live in an area with a windy outdoors, a smaller coaxial helicopter might be a better buy.

But assuming you have the space or live in an area with little or no wind outside, I can easily recommend the Honey Bee for beginner RC enthusiasts. It's sturdy, fun and won't break your bankbook by a long shot.

Author's Opinion

It was nice to go out of the box for a bit and review something as fun to play with as the Honey Bee. I'm curious if any of our regular readers thought this review was a fun break from the norm, or if you consider it a bad idea to stray from hardcore PC hardware. Please let us know your thoughts in the forums.

Join our discussion on this topic