This Flying Skyhawk On a String feels cheaply made and is a little short on detail, but it is colorful and functions decently. The instructions leave a little to be desired, and I suspect some people will misread/misunderstand them and be (unduly) disappointed in the toy's functionality as a result. First, you have to assemble it and apply the included decals. This takes about 3 to 5 minutes. Then, you have to mount one of the included swivel mounts to your ceiling with three screws. This part is a bit frustrating, since I was hoping installation wouldn't require a drill and screw mounts. So you have to be pretty sure about where you want to mount it, and then once you do, you'll have a length of fishing line dangling there semi-permanently (fortunately, you can at least unhook the plane to save your head from bumping into it). This is one of the main reasons I deducted two stars. It should be possible to unhook the fishing line from the mount, so that you can leave the mount screwed into the ceiling without having a dangling line. Instead, to remove the line, you'll have to unscrew the mount--leaving behind three holes in your ceiling. Once the mount is screwed into the ceiling, you hook on the plane, turn it on, and give it a push in a "clockwise direction." Here is where the instructions feel most confusing (another reason I deducted stars). Since it's hanging overhead, I bet most people will think of "clockwise" as moving in a circle from left-to-right AS YOU LOOK UP AT THE FLIGHTPATH. But actually, they mean clockwise AS YOU LOOK DOWN (FROM ABOVE) AT THE FLIGHTPATH. Of course, trial and error will fix it. After two minutes of watching it fly in a pathetically angled (almost sideways) attitude, I tried pushing it in the opposite direction and suddenly it was flying beautifully. A final word of caution: You'll need about a six foot diameter UNOBSTRUCTED space for this to fly. Since we have a ceiling fan in our daughters' small bedroom, it was tricky but we found one corner where it could fly without hitting the wall or the ceiling fan (though the fishing line swings unnervingly close to the latter). And as the plane flies, ours emits noticeably whirring as well as a rattling noise. I would expect a toy this simple to function more quietly (yet another reason I deducted stars). All in all, not a bad purchase if you have a budding aviation buff, like my one-year-old daughter, who squeals with glee when she sees a plane. You get what you pay for and this is adequate, but some more detail, a detachable fishing line (from the mount), and less rattle as it flies would make it substantially better.
