Tell you what: I've had more fun with this $40 gadget than some of my models costing ten times that much.

All is not unicorns and rainbows, but the bad stuff isn't bad at all.

My first Proto X coughed up its motherboard less than a week after I'd bought it. No need to return it, said Hobbico. A brand new unit arrived less than a week later.

One new Proto X meant that the faulty Proto X now equalled a bunch of spare parts!

I liked mine so much that my wife and I got our adult son a Proto X of his own for Christmas and he loved the heck out of it until one of the motors started acting up. Since he doesn't have soldering equipment and I do, I offered to fix it.

Out came one of the motors from the original unit and onto my son's Proto X it went.

Success! It flies like new, if not better.

Less than a week later, my replacement Proto X started exhibiting many of the same symptoms after heaven knows how many flights. Same deal. Out came a motor from the faulty unit to be remounted on the good one.

Again, success! Between that motor swap and an earlier battery replacement with one from Common Sense RC, my own Proto X is going to be flying for a long time to come.

I really like the thought of having repaired two units for a total cash outlay of zilch.