It does fly. Range is shortish - 5-10 minutes. Easy to "trim" so it doesn't spin on its own. Charging is sort of hard to interpret. Not sure if it fully charges if you use rechargeable cells in the charger.

Biggest flaw is the flimsy construction, if it falls from say 6 feet high, chances are something is going to break.

Then there is a weak spot and it starts breaking faster and faster every time it falls.

And it will fall because it is kind of hard to control accurately.
It will hit walls - it seems to be sucked over to them. If it hits a wall, you usually cannot recover, it will fall.
Also it is easy at first to hit the ceiling, usually that crashes it too.

Pretty soon it will be too broken to fly.

You can try outdoors but the slightest wind is too strong for it, it will blow away.
If it gets out of control range, it might keep the motors running, just flying away.
Or it might just fall down from 20' or so- that is usually game over, the whole frame breaks.,

You can try fixing it but it will be too heavy, or unbalanced, or your fix won;t fix the breaks.

It IS fun but if it were stronger (heavier with more battery) it would last longer.

Go slow at first. Be patient! Learn the various inputs and what the sphere does when they are applied. Learn one motion at a time. When you feel ready, make sure the sphere is fully charged. Apply 3/4 vertical thrust. The sphere will rise, and play with this motion, up and down until you master it. After that, apply the other controls gradually until you get more confident. Rushing is what what most people fail at. Remember when you first learned to drive, and be as patient as you were then. Good luck!

This toy is great as long as you only want to use it a couple times. We got two of these and both pooped out after very little use.

No question about this purchase, I wish I bought more of them. The product just works as long as your grandson does not sit on it.

I purchased a Flying Alien Sphere for my husband for Father's Day. He and my son flew it for two afternoons, and the tail propeller mount broke off the sphere. I called Excite to get a replacement sphere or a replacement mount, and the customer service agent was completely unhelpful. I purchased the sphere before Christmas, but held onto it until Father's Day. Because I purchased at Costco, I knew they wouldn't have them in stock anymore, so I called Excite customer service. They actually answered the phone (unlike other reviews I read), but refused to stand behind it. The agent even said to me "sometimes toys break." I asked her how she would feel if she purchased a gift and it broke after being used two times, but she wouldn't answer. My son and husband have had several rc helicopters and submarines, and they are well versed at the proper way to fly these rc vehicles. The wires holding the tail rotor mount broke completely off, making it a manufacturing defect. I called the company because I wanted a replacement, not a refund. All she could tell me was to go back and get a refund. She even agreed with me when I stated that the "sphere was poorly made and that the company would not stand behind it's products." When she asked if there was anything else she could do, I told her to tell her supervisors to Google the reviews of this product and read what people are saying about them and their products. That's when she hung up on me. I think the design is a great idea, but the customer service is awful, and the sphere is too fragile. When your own employees tell customers that the product is bad, that speaks volumes. Stay away and save yourself and your kids some heartache.