PowerUp 4.0 review: A high-tech paper airplane for the 21st Century

Our Verdict

The PowerUp 4.0 is a fun manner to take paper airplanes to the adjacent level

For

Customizable
Flies well
Inexpensive

Confronting

Learning curve
Requires a lot of infinite to fly

Tom's Guide Verdict

The PowerUp iv.0 is a fun way to take paper airplanes to the side by side level

Pros

+
Customizable
+
Flies well
+
Inexpensive

Cons

-
Learning curve
-
Requires a lot of infinite to fly

The PowerUp four.0 takes the humble newspaper plane and propels information technology, literally, into the modernistic era. This little gadget, which has a pair of propellers, clips onto a paper airplane and lets you fly information technology using your smartphone.

As I discovered when testing it for this PowerUp 4.0 review, in that location's a fleck of a learning bend, simply in one case y'all go the hang of it, the PowerUp four.0 is a ton of fun. It's also one of the best cheap drones around. Just brand sure you fly it in a very big field.

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PowerUp four.0 specs

Weight: 19 grams
Flight fourth dimension: ten minutes
Wireless: Bluetooth
Range: 230 feet

PowerUp 4.0 review: Price and availability

The PowerUp four.0 has been bachelor since October 2020. It costs $79.99 and is for sale on PowerUp'south site besides every bit Amazon.

PowerUp sells the PowerUp 4.0 in several bundles: The Pro package ($129) includes balsa wood kits, a foam F22 jet, and a landing gear. The PowerUp 4.0 Flight Manual bundle ($99) comes with x airplane templates, 2 waterproof airplane templates, and a desk stand up. A Nightflight package ($99) includes LED lights that run along the airplane's wings.

PowerUp 4.0 review: Design

Like previous PowerUp models, the PowerUp 4.0 consists of a command unit of measurement housing the battery and processor connected by a long thin carbon fiber tube to a pair of propellers. The control unit has a small on/off switch and a microUSB port for recharging its battery.

The kit comes with four sheets of paper with folding instructions, but you tin can use any erstwhile slice of newspaper to create the aeroplane. I recommend something a picayune heavier than your standard printer paper, though. You can also apply the PowerUp with calorie-free balsa models as well as styrofoam airplanes, so long as they weigh less than 20 grams.

PowerUp has instructional videos on how to fold the airplanes, and you can download templates from its website.

Folding the airplanes takes equally long as information technology would typically take you lot to fold a paper airplane. You'll likewise need some scotch tape, which is not included. Nonetheless, the kit does include a mini USB charging cable and a spare ready of propellers.

PowerUp 4.0 review: App

For such a uncomplicated toy, the PowerUp app (Android, iOS) has a surprisingly deep well of features.

The main screen of the app has a large throttle button that lets you lot control the ability going to the propellers. In the background is a horizon level, which lets you run across at a glance which mode the PowerUp is pointing.

Higher up the throttle are two gauges, one showing the bombardment life and another showing the forcefulness of the Bluetooth connection to the plane.

At the bottom of the screen is a small icon for settings, which lets you adjust a boundless array of things such as pitch, roll, and yaw. Yous can also get instructions for making 14 different airplanes; the app shows the maneuverability, speed, and endurance of each.

PowerUp 4.0 review: Flight performance

While flying a regular newspaper airplane is as simple as but tossing information technology into the air, the PowerUp 4.0 takes a fleck more do. That'due south considering its propellers are quite powerful and will cause the aeroplane to shoot off in whatsoever direction. More than a few times I tossed the aeroplane into the air only to take it nosedive right into the footing.

Information technology helps to acquire how to throw the PowerUp 4.0 with your non-ascendant hand. That way, information technology's a lot easier to control the aircraft from your smartphone with your ascendant mitt. Otherwise, you're prone to flight the PowerUp out of control.

After a few difficult crashes, the PowerUp itself was undamaged, merely the paper department was torn, making the plane unflyable. Five minutes and another folded paper airplane later, and I was set to get back in the air.

Make sure you find a large field — football or soccer-sized, preferably — to use this plane, because it wants to fly. While PowerUp advertises a range of up to 230 feet, when connected to my iPhone XR, I found information technology had a range of virtually 120 feet. And, once aloft, it'll keep going. After one flight, I spent an broken-hearted xv minutes searching for the plane afterwards it flew out of sight.

PowerUp advertises that the battery in the plane will give you nigh x minutes of flight fourth dimension. That doesn't seem like much, but given that most flights will concluding a minute at best, it should be more than enough to keep you satisfied. The bombardment will fully recharge in well-nigh thirty minutes.

PowerUp 4.0 review: Verdict

Having used — and been somewhat frustrated by — before PowerUp airplanes, I had a tremendous time with this new version for my PowerUp 4.0 review. It's not as piece of cake to control as a quadcopter, merely information technology's immensely fun to see it skid the surly bonds. The fact that you can customize the PowerUp four.0 with paper, balsa, or cream airplanes of your own design makes this a drone that's not only fun, merely one that challenges your imagination and inventiveness.

Michael A. Prospero is the deputy editor at Tom's Guide overseeing the home, smart dwelling house, drones, and fettle/wearables categories, likewise as all ownership guides and other evergreen content. When he's not testing out the latest running watch, skiing or training for a marathon, he'southward probably using the latest sous vide car or another cooking gadget.