Hot Wheels Disney Pixar Lightyear Space Mission Explorer RC Review

The Lightyear Space Mission Explorer is a gyro-copter style flying RC controlled via an included wrist-mounted control panel. Presentation-wise, this toy looks very cool. The controller is very creative, compared to your standard RC fare, and the Explorer itself is light, glossy, well detailed, and precisely painted. The cockpit even opens to accommodate an included miniature Buzz pilot. The controller requires 3 AAA batteries, which are not included. The Explorer you can charge via the included cable, so long as you can find a USB port. A rechargeable battery is always a plus!

Once charged, flip the switch on both controller and RC, wait to pair, and then press the green Flying Motions button once to prime, then again a moment later after the voice prompt to launch. The RC will rise up to a reasonable height and float. If it encounters an obstacle, the motion sensors in the front and back are responsive most of the time. However, this is where we ran into a few challenges with the Space Mission Explorer. The main issue is that you have extremely limited control over it. You can command it to do different stunts depending on how high in the air it is, but you can’t reasonably “steer” it. This will lead to frequent collisions when playing indoors, even with the sensors. Sometimes, the Explorer would rapidly ascend, seemingly at random, only to collide with the ceiling and plummet. On rare occasions, the propeller blades would get stuck and be unable to rotate. The landing feature does work well, but all in all, this RC is best suited for outdoor play, and even then, it can have a mind of its own.