fun takes flight with guillow’s gliders :: review + giveaway

When the opportunity to try Guillow’s foam gliders, motorplanes, and balsa wood gliders came my way I jumped at the chance! I knew that these would be a great way to give my girls something to chase outdoors (read ‘run off energy’) and boy was I right! The first sunny and not too windy day here on the farm was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the current fascination with planes my girls have and test out the Guillow kits.

These kits are very easy to assemble, but the recommended ages are 8+ so if younger kids are going to be involved I suggest that a parent do the assembly. Each kit took approximately 5 minutes or less to assemble and I was done assembling the Sky Raider, Delta Dart, Space Shuttle, Eagle Balsa Glider, Jetfire Balsa Glider, Sky Streak, and Jetstream kits in about half an hour.

The Delta Dart is packaged as a 2 pack and the wingspan for each of these foam gliders is only 4 inches, making them the perfect gliders to entertain my kids as I finished my assembly line. Even though they are also foam gliders, the Space Shuttle has a 10 inch wingspan and the Sky Raider measures in at 24 inches, making it a little more concerning on what my kids would manage to break if I let them loose in the house.

After my assembly line was complete we packed up the remaining foam and balsa wood gliders and went outside to enjoy the sunshine, warm temps, and our Guillow’s planes! Mom, Dad, and both the kids (ages 4 and 6) had fun flying the various foam gliders, balsa wood gliders, and motorplanes. The girls couldn’t quite get the hang of winding or launching the Sky Streak or Jetstream, but they sure did have fun watching those little motorplanes zoom across the yard! The Sky Streak has a 12 inch wingspan and must be launched by hand, but the slightly larger Jetstream with it’s 13 1/4 inch wingspan can fly hand launches or right from the ground!

Once we were outside the 9 inch wingspan Eagle and 12 inch wingspan Jetfire were the girls’ favorites. These Balsa Gliders were perfect for their little hands and less skilled techniques. We are already looking forward to warmer temps and hopefully less windy days again this weekend so we can all have another Family Flying Day!

Here is a little info about Paul K. Guillow if you hadn’t heard of Guillow’s planes before ::

Paul K. Guillow, Inc. is one of the world’s largest toy airplane manufacturers and oversees one of the most complete lines of flying toys available. For 80 years, the company has operated from the same building founded by Guillow, a World War I aviator and author, who outgrew his barn after the successful launch of his 10 cent kits. Guillow’s dream still lives on in the company today as young and old happily build and fly toy and hobby airplanes models. Since 1926 nearly every American boy, girl and young at heart have enjoyed the inexpensive balsa wood gliders of the Paul K. Guillow Company. Sunny afternoons flying Guillow gliders have created fond memories and helped imaginations soar.

Sky Raider :: $6.99
Delta Dart :: $3.99 (packaged as a 2 pack!)
Space Shuttle :: $7.19
Eagle Balsa Glider :: $1.79
Jetfire Balsa Glider :: $2.09
Sky Streak :: $3.09
Jetstream :: $3.59

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A SIMPLE GIVEAWAY!!
One very lucky SIMPLE reader will win a Guillow’s Gliders Prize Pack that includes the Sky Raider, Delta Dart, Space Shuttle, Eagle Balsa Glider, Jetfire Balsa Glider, Sky Streak, and Jetstream kits! (All shown in above photo.) Here is how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway