Paper airplanes have been a fun toy for kids for a long time, having the joy of building, or in this case folding their own flying machine. Nowadays, even though these paper airplanes are still as fun as they were, they have been mostly replaced by toy remote control helicopters, or even complicated drones for the more dedicated consumers. Drones in particular are now becoming very popular (and controversial), since they are pretty much the gateway to personalized air service and fun. Tacocopters (don’t ask), scouting vehicles and much more have been made out of drones, but if you want a good one, they are very expensive. Even the toys are somewhat expensive. Shai Goltein and his crew decided to make a cheaper toy that still gave access to the sky, and they came up with PowerUp 3.0.

When you throw a regular airplane, it glides and spins for a while (if you’ve done it right) and then it crashes. In the best scenarios. PowerUp 3.0 is a add on to your regular aircraft. On the front, a aerodynamic capsule contains all the necessary chips and a 60 yard control radius Bluetooth chip. A rod, about the size of a average paper airplane connects the front caps lot the back, which is a propellor and a rudder. Sounds simple enough. The propeller is steered by the rubbed, giving it the ability to move, and stay in flight when any other plane would fall.

To control the PowerUp, all you have to do is stick it on your plane, set up the app and start flying. The app is very easy to use and pick up for first timers. To control the altitude, you pull a joystick up and down. To turn the plane, you motion with the phone like you are trying to get a cell signal. There is a screen showing you a basic image of where the plane is, but other than that, that’s all you have to do.

PowerUp 3.0 will definitely revolutionize the flight toy industry, probably not completely taking out toy helicopters, but certainly becoming the cheaper and more hands on alternative. There is only a couple cons to the PowerUp, one of which is the low 10 minute battery life. That is not a very big deal though, since (1) that is not any less than normal toy helicopters and (2) it can be recharged. Overall, the PowerUp is a great toy for the new generation.