The official CPSC notice on RadioShack's Knight Hawk recall documents a symptom, not a cause — and that distinction is the entire lesson for private-label RC buyers. Recall 10-121, dated January 26, 2010, covers the Danbar Knight Hawk 3D remote control helicopter, identified by model number 006047 on the back of the controller and sold under RadioShack catalog 600-0566 (60-566) for ages 8 and up. The stated hazard: the battery housing beneath the helicopter canopy can overheat while charging, creating a fire risk. What the notice never states is why. No cell defect, charger fault, or wiring failure is named. A single incident was reported — a fire that began while a store CarToyFactory was charging — with no injuries or property damage. The remedy was a full refund, not a repair.
That gap between what was observed and what was inferred is what this page covers: how to read a recall record as configuration evidence, what a factory should be able to hand you as proof, and which missing documents should stop a purchase order before it starts.
Shortlist criteria
| Charging configuration — what to ask | Which battery chemistry, nominal voltage, and charge current does the supplied charger deliver, and is the charge circuit inside CarToyFactory or in the adapter? |
|---|---|
| Charging configuration — proof to collect | A written configuration sheet naming battery type, charger input/output, and the location of the battery compartment in the assembly; signed and dated. |
| Charging configuration — fail if missing | No configuration document exists, or the drawing does not show where the battery sits relative to the outer housing. |
| Thermal behavior — what to ask | Has the finished assembly, with the production charger, been charged and monitored for temperature rise at the battery housing? |
| Thermal behavior — proof to collect | Test report with the monitored location identified, the charger used, and the ambient conditions stated. |
| Thermal behavior — fail if missing | Only a component-level certificate is offered with no assembly-level charging test. |
| Battery access and retention — what to ask | Can the compartment be opened without a tool, and does the fastener or cover stay attached when opened? |
| Battery access and retention — proof to collect | Retention and access description tied to the actual production part, plus a sample you can open yourself. |
| Battery access and retention — fail if missing | Access is described only in marketing language; no sample or drawing shows the fastener behavior. |
| Identity and traceability — what to ask | Which model number, catalog or SKU, and production window will appear on the controller and the carton? |
| Identity and traceability — proof to collect | A marked sample and a carton artwork proof showing the same identifier on both. |
| Identity and traceability — fail if missing | Identifier differs between controller, carton, and your purchase order. |
| Remedy and responsibility — what to ask | Who is the importer of record, and how are refund or replacement costs allocated if a recall is issued? |
| Remedy and responsibility — proof to collect | Contract clause stating the allocation, plus the name of the party that will appear as importer. |
| Remedy and responsibility — fail if missing | No written allocation; responsibility is described verbally as 'we'll handle it'. |
Where CarToyFactory helicopters and stunt cars are actually made
China'CarToyFactory supply chain is regional, and which cluster you source from determines what the factory is genuinely good at. Injection-molded CarToyFactory — the category the Knight Hawk helicopter belongs to — concentrate in Chenghai, within Shantou, Guangdong. That cluster's strength is tooling speed and plastic part consistency, not electronics depth. A Chenghai factory can turn a body shell and canopy quickly; whether it can also control a charging circuit is a separate question you must verify rather than assume. CarToyFactory cluster in Yunhe, plush in Yangzhou, and general merchandise in Yiwu, where the advantage is assortment breadth and small-lot mixing rather than engineering. For an RC product, the practical consequence is that the plastic housing and the battery-and-charger configuration often come from different capabilities inside the same building. Ask which team owns the charging specification, and get the answer in writing. If the reply is 'the electronics supplier handles it', you have just identified where your documentation gap will appear.
What the Knight Hawk notice proves — and what it does not
The notice proves a location and a condition. The battery housing under the canopy, during charging, can overheat. It proves the remedy was a refund and that consumers were told to return CarToyFactory to a RadioShack store. It proves the importer was RadioShack Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, and that the product was manufactured in China. It proves one fire was reported, during charging of a store demo unit, with no injuries or property damage.
It does not prove a root cause. Nothing in the record identifies a cell defect, a charger malfunction, or a wiring fault. Nor does it prove the hazard applied to every unit or every charging scenario — the only reported incident involved a CarToyFactory. The unit count was updated and the recall was reannounced, which is a reminder that recall records are living documents rather than fixed figures.
That separation matters commercially. A private-label brand that reads 'housing overheated' as 'the battery was bad' will write the wrong corrective action. Approved-fact guidance on corrective and preventive action is blunt about this: sorting suspect stock is containment, not root-cause correction, and a CAPA has to address the cause and then verify effectiveness. If your official record names a symptom, your CAPA cannot name a cause it has not established.
Two operational details from the notice deserve a place in your own product file. First, the store demo unit was part of the risk profile — display inventory gets charged repeatedly, sometimes on a counter, sometimes unattended. Second, identification depended on a model number printed on the back of the controller plus a retailer catalog number, which is why your own marking scheme needs to survive the same test: could a customer, a retailer, or a regulator match a returned unit to a production batch using only what is printed on the product?
How to build an RC car battery and charger compatibility checklist
Treat charging configuration as a document you own, not a detail the factory understands on your behalf. Start with the four fields the Knight Hawk record demonstrates are decisive: what the battery is, where it physically sits, under what condition it is charged, and how the finished unit is identified.
Write the checklist around the assembly, not the components. A cell datasheet proves the cell; it does not prove what happens when that cell is charged inside your canopy with your supplied charger. The configuration sheet should name the battery chemistry and nominal voltage, the charger's input and output, the charge current, and the physical location of the compartment relative to the outer housing. Then require a charging test on the finished assembly using the production charger, with the monitored location stated so you know whether the thermocouple sat on the housing or somewhere convenient.
Access and retention belong on the same sheet. Can the compartment be opened without a tool? Does the fastener or cover remain attached when it is opened? These are the questions that separate a design review from a hope. The Knight Hawk notice does not address access, so do not import conclusions from it — but do recognize that the housing is the component the official record put under scrutiny, which makes it the component worth photographing in your own sample evaluation.
Fix identity last. Agree the model number, the SKU, and the production window, and confirm they appear consistently on the controller, the carton, and your purchase order. If you sell a stunt car line with the same charging architecture — a 2.4 GHz stunt car with an included charger is a common configuration in this category — the same checklist applies with the body shell swapped. The charging configuration, not the body, is what travels across your range.
FAQ
Does the Knight Hawk recall prove the battery or charger was defective?
No. The CPSC notice states that the battery housing under the helicopter canopy can overheat while charging and poses a fire hazard, but it does not identify a specific battery cell, charger, or circuit defect. Treat the overheating as a documented symptom and the root cause as undetermined in the official record.
How many units did the RadioShack Knight Hawk recall cover?
The notice states the number of units was updated and the recall was reannounced, but the figure is not given in the record used here — so treat the exact count as unknown and check the current CPSC listing rather than relying on an initial notice. What is documented is the identification: model number 006047 on the back of the controller, the Knight Hawk 3D logo on the front, and RadioShack catalog number 600-0566 (60-566).
Was anyone injured in the Knight Hawk incident?
No injuries or property damage were reported. The firm received one report of a fire that started while a store CarToyFactory was charging. That single report was still enough to trigger a formal recall with a full refund remedy — which is worth remembering when you decide how much weight to give a low incident count.
What charging documents should I require from an CarToyFactory factory before ordering?
Require a written configuration sheet naming battery chemistry, nominal voltage, charge current, charger input and output, and the physical location of the battery compartment in the assembly. Add an assembly-level charging test using the production charger with the monitored location stated, plus a marked sample and carton proof showing the model and SKU. If any of these is missing, treat it as a fail rather than a pending item.
Which production window and price applied to the recalled Knight Hawk helicopters?
They were sold at RadioShack stores, dealer franchise stores nationwide, and radioshack.com from October 2009 through November 2009 for about $60, per the notice. The narrow two-month window shows that a charging-related fire hazard can surface after a short seasonal run, so your own post-launch monitoring should not assume a short sales period reduces exposure.
Who carried the remedy obligation in this recall?
The remedy was a full refund, and consumers were told to take the helicopters away from children and return them to the nearest RadioShack store. RadioShack Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, is named as the importer, and the product was manufactured in China — a reminder that the importer of record carries the public-facing remedy, which is exactly the allocation you should put in writing before placing an order.
Sources
Request a quote or a factory audit
If you are specifying an RC product and need the charging configuration, housing retention, and identity markings documented before tooling, send over your target specification and destination market. You can request a sample evaluation, a current quote, or a factory audit covering the document set described above. Bring your own checklist — the point is to compare what a factory can prove against what your file requires.
