Griffin launch AppPowered Helo TC iPhone helicopter

As part of the newly launched AppPowered range (which links hardware with smartphone apps), Griffin today reveal their Helo TC helicopter, an iPhone/iPad controlled chopper that looking to land in your Christmas stocking.

Using either an on screen virtual control stick called “the cyclic” or a “Tilt-to-fly” set-up using the smartphone’s accelerometer, the Helo TC is designed to fly about your living room, rather than outside down the park.

Charging over USB in just half an hour, the built-in lithium battery will be good for 8 minutes of flight time per charge. You can then programme up to three flight routines once you’ve got the manual controls mastered, meaning you can show off your best tricks at a simple push of a button.

These things can be a little tricky to control at first, leading to a fair few tears when a rotor blade snaps after a big crash. Thakfully Griffin have accomodated for such eventualities by providing a spare set of main and tail rotor blades for the bumbling stunt pilot.

Hitting shops just in time for Christmas, it’s yours for £34.99 – a fair sight cheaper than the Parrot AR.Drone which has a similar control method.