Come fly with me! (ELC Fly 'N' Go Jumbo)

Member Name: historywitch

Product:	ELC Fly 'N' Go Jumbo
Date:	15/08/07 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Appealing, great for imaginative play, inexpensive but very sturdy and well made

Disadvantages: THE NOISES!

My 2 year old is absolutely fascinated by anything that moves; planes, trains, diggers, cars, lorries and tractors etc all make her scream with glee, jump up and down and demand a running commentary on their manoeuvres (arghh). So last Christmas a fair proportion of her presents reflected this interest and her haul included this plane from the Early Learning Centre.

As I have said on previous reviews on ELC products, there cant be many people who are unaware of this company. I have fond memories of visiting ELC stores when I was a child (I only ever wanted to play in the Cosy Coupe) and when we return to the UK the ELC is usually our first port of call. Their toys have a reputation for sturdyness, for appealing to children and for containing some creative or educational element. Their wooden toy section in particular has been the source of some of my daughter’s best loved toys, and she plays everyday with her ELC plastic fruit and veg.

ELC say this toy will help your child to enjoy their imagination and will help your child use their hands effectively and develop good reflexes. The one thing they don’t say is that this toy may well drive a parent crazy if misused!

***Packaging**

The plane arrived in a large white box with part of the front cut away so you can see and touch the plane. It is wired firmly into the box, as are all the little people so if you are buying this as a present either do the unwrapping first or be ready with the pliers. It took me ten minutes to release all of the ties and I was rather red in the face and close to swearing by the time I had finished. This is not a place for a discussion on toy packaging but really this was excessive, unnecessary and just plain wasteful.

***Size***

25 cms from nose to tail.
21 cms from wing tip to wing tip
17 cms from floor to highest point.

These measurements are approximate as my measuring was being ‘assisted’ by my toddler

***The Plane***

This is a chunky white plane, made of strong shiny plastic. There is a cut out section on the top allowing access to the blue plastic inner section, which has two moulded ‘seats’ for the figures. This section also has two round windows at either side. At the front is an open section with a blue plastic hole for the pilot to be slotted into; the blue plastic depresses when pushed as it is a button to make the noises. Under each wing is a red engine, the centre of which lights up when the noise is activated. At the back is a small flip down section for placing the two suitcases. The red ‘On/Off’ switch is located on the bottom of the plane, as is the battery panel which is held in place with a screw. I believe the plane came with batteries installed so it could be tried out in the shop, so that is one less thing to think about, although if you have young children you will probably have new batteries on hand anyway. The plane is designed so that if you press gently on the tail of the plane it rests easily in the ‘take off position’ on the floor, and a smart push on the tail end when the plane is in the ‘normal position’ sends it a satisfyingly long way on our tiled floors.


***The All-Important NOISES***

When the pilot is pushed down a very efficient voice will boom out ‘This is your captain speaking, please fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off’. As the plane is moved and lifted into the air it produces an engine noise that changes as you taxi the plane, take off and then swerve and bank around the room. The engine lights flash at the same time. Its quite an effective noise and does sound quite like a plane and it does encourage the child to run around swooping and diving with the plane. However, my problem is with the ‘captain’ voice, more specifically with the fact that there appears to be no limit to the amount of times the button can be pressed. If I was designing a toy like this I would only make it possible for this noise to be produced after a certain amount of time or after a certain amount of movement. Fair enough if you press the button again while the captain is speaking it doesn’t cut in and start again, but there is no explaining just how psychologically damaging hearing that same phrase over and over again can be. Maybe I am just a miserable humourless cow, but it sets my teeth on edge!

If you press the plane just a little and leave it sitting before ‘take off’ it makes a repetitive engine turning over sound, which also tends to grate and leads to me to give the plane a swift kick until it stops or makes the take off sound. At certain times the plane has even been hidden to save my sanity.

***Extras***

As well as the pilot, you get two gaudily dressed tourist figures and two little plastic suitcases to go in the luggage area at the back. The figures are firm moulded plastic with the requisite hole in the bottom to allow them to stand in the moulded plastic holes. They are about 8cms high and are reminiscent of the Little People range of toys. We also have the Mighty Digger from the same range and the construction workers from that set get to have lovely holidays on the plane as they also fit in the seats.

***Price***

Its £15, which surprised me when I found out as I would have put it at £20 + , having seen similar toys available at higher prices which do less.

Catalogue number: 113857

***Age Range***

1-3 years old

***My Impressions***

As you may have guessed this plane is the bane of my life when the switch is placed in the on position, but in the off position it is one which makes my life much quieter and more pleasant. My daughter will happily play with it, even without the noises, for 30 minutes or more without any input from me and loves to pretend to make it take off and fly in ways that make you pity the passengers. I mocked up a landing strip out of a piece of card and Olivia made a few buildings out of duplo to make an airport, so it can be the centrepiece of a more imaginative scenario. The little boy I look after is happy to spend twenty minutes or more running around at top speed with the plane, burning off lots of energy and is the one toy he always asks for when he arrives, so its definitely popular here!

I believe we got another figure with it, a smaller figure in a tie and blue hat who resembles a flight attendant. He doesn’t have the same hole at the bottom as the others but I am 99% sure he came as part of the pack to stand on the ground by the plane. Having looked at the ELC website this extra figure is not mentioned, so it could be that he has been discontinued, but he is a source of infinite frustration to my daughter who is forever trying to jam him into the holes!

I would certainly recommend this toy as a good item to stimulate imaginative play in young children. It is strong and chunky, with no fiddly little bits to lose or struggle with and the noises can be turned off thank goodness. The luggage bay door has come off several times and seems to be the weak point on the plane, but it also easily clicks back into place without too much of an effort. Fully loaded it is weighty, but not so heavy that my 2 year old struggles to lift it and swoop it around, less than a kilo I would say. If toys with noises bother you the on/off switch is great (although my daughter has worked out how to turn it on), but the option of taking the batteries out completely is also there. The price is excellent for a toy of this type and it is a good quality item that, apart from the noises, was a very welcome and appreciated present.

Summary: Great toy for imaginative play