Amazing Air Shark-Updated Version

Another reviewer said this was the best purchase he'd ever made in his life. I admit it, I concur! I am sorry to hear that other people had trouble with it, because my experience was excellent. Keep in mind, however, that you have to get it inflated. In my opinion getting a tank of helium is a big waste of time. Just go to a florist or party store to have it filled. Not only is it much cheaper, but they will fasten the valve properly after filling the shark, so that you don't leak helium. Ours lasted more than a month. Also, you have to be prepared to devote an hour or so to assemble it, because the mechanism is fairly sophisticated. All well worth it. Once you get it flying, it's just wonderful.

I have had the shark for almost a week and it is still firmly full of helium and flies perfectly. I don't know why people are having such a hard time putting it together. The instructions suggest having two people to do the job. I assembled it in under an hour all by myself. Yes, the tape is a little tricky, but if you take your time (and especially if you have help), there should be no problem at all. The instructions were clear enough for the average person to understand. My only suggestion is instead of sticking the three fins on first, do them LAST. That way they don't risk getting pulled off while you are turning the balloon upside-down to put on the motorized track.

I don't understand all the bad reviews. You need to understand that this is simply a helium balloon with a very simple RF controller. This was a smash hit at my nephew's bday party (shark theme). If you're bad at building things or following directions watch the YouTube video on how to assemble. Keep indoors at all times and the bigger room or ceiling the better. Also remember that helium expands and contracts considerably with temperature (think ideal gas law) so don't be alarmed if it appears deflated in cold weather.

I bought 2 of these for my grandsons whose birthdays are in the same month. Finding helium to get these things blown up was a pain and everywhere we went said no. Apparently there is a helium shortage! lol They had an absolute blast with these things! I actually ended up buying a Clownfish air swimmer for my 7 year old daughter as well.

This thing is amazing! I read reviews on this item, and was leery about it as well as the helium tank. BUT. My doubts have been vanquished. It's a little tedious to put it together at first, but mainly because a few extra stickers, parts, etc were in the package that weren't needed for making the balloon (so I got confused). I also bought my helium tank from Party Supplies due to the negative reviews on the Toys R Us tank. I believe there is maybe one more fill left in the little tank ($50 for 2 fills is kind of lame) but it worked as desired. Ultimately, I would take this balloon to get it filled FOR YOU vs buying a tank...it can't be more than $5. As far as the finished product, I loved it. My 5 year old son loved it, too, even though he stopped playing with it after a week. The helium held for weeks, though the longer the balloon sits, the more putty you'll have to take out for even weight distribution.

All parts for assembly were included. The product was easy to assemble when using youtube videos. I did have to go to the hardware store to an purchase additional hook. There are two "X"s on the bottom of the shark symbolizing to apply a hook, however only ONE hook is to be applied. Since the package does not contain additional stick on hooks, I had to run to the hardware store and purchase one, because once I applied a hook on each "X", which you evidently are not supposed to do, ( very misleading) pulling them off would risk tearing the balloon. However, the purchased hooks worked just fine. It has been a week and the shark is still hovering around in a spare bedroom full of air. The stick-able fins fall off after a few days and there are no additional double-sided pads to reattach them. However, in my case, the item was only intended for a one time SHARNADO party and we were satisfied with its operation.

So I purchased this for my boyfriend's dad for Christmas, reading all the reviews and just knowing that it would be terrible to put together. I had this big plan to put it together and fly it in on Christmas Eve during the family party but, unfortunately, circumstances prevented this. Not doing this is my only regret of this purchase.

It took a 25 year old and a 26 year old about 30 minutes to put together (using the video link mentioned in the instructions) and we were able to get it filled at a local grocery store. It does require a lot of tape peeling so you'll want to work with someone who has even the slightest bit of nail. However, all that tape peeling pays off because it definitely helps to reinforce the parts. I only got to play with it for two days yet nothing showed remote signs of falling off.

This is one of the coolest things I have ever bought. The assembly is somewhat intricate but the results are well worth the time. I’ve heard that some people had their sharks deflate prematurely. Perhaps there is contaminated helium on the market but the stuff I purchased from the welding supply store lasted in my shark for months!! Sure, he became a little deflated over time but I was able to adjust the ballast and keep flying! This thing is tremendous. Everyone wants to try it when they see it. It really has a realistic swimming motion. Make sure you moor it somewhere out of the way. It got loose one morning and scared the crap out of me!

Gave this to my daughter (who likes sharks and "shark week") as a graduation present. We added "FIN-ISHED" stick on lettering to the side. We knocked on her door, hid, and then "swam" it into her apartment when she answered the door. She loved it! Be very gentle when you assemble it since the parts are necessarily very light weight, and you might want to have some epoxy on available (but unmixed) if you break something. Works well if assembled correctly (check out assembly videos). Fantastic idea. Very clever design! Great fun to fly and amaze people. You might want to locate a source of helium (such as a party shop or any store that sells balloons) before you purchase it. It has an ingenious clay ballast system so you just keep removing clay as it slowly looses helium. I think hers lasted about a month. We probably could have refilled it but by that time the fins and tail were rather damaged by collisions during parties.