Yes, the auto shut off is a pain, but not nearly as painful as a prop or blade spewing finger parts on your carpet. I am personally familiar with that pain. The auto shut off after a hard knock is likely designed to keep your lithium polymer batteries from overloading and exploding. There are a number of videos on the web that show this and other problems with Li-po's. Fortunately, this one hasn't gotten me yet, but it's a safe bet that it will sooner or later.

I bought a Radio Shack Blade Runner because I needed a simulator that allows me to practice controlling an RC aircraft as it approaches me. It does this very well. Now, I am having a real blast with the the little bird and am seriously thinking about getting a Lama II next. The wandering problem doesn't bother me much, because it is easily controlled with the Left/Right stick. I'm guessing that the yawing problem is caused by the variable speeds of the twin blade; when you turn, one of the blades slows down and causes the heli to yaw to the left or right . Unfortunately, this problem plagues all helicopters, even the real ones. The helicopter pilot is always going to have to "fly the stick". It's the way they work.

The upside is the fact that you can fly the bird at night with high winds and blinding snowstorms, because all of that horrible weather is outside and you aren't. Moreover, later, after you have mastered a full function chopper, you'll be able to say with impunity that you did something that most folks can't. The Blade Runner is a good start.

Besides, what do you want for 50 bucks, already?