OT- Weird RC flying machines

They've been advertising these two oddities on TV.
Hard to know what to call this... it goes around on grass, sand, snow,
water...then it takes off and flies around like a "Flying Flapjack"
fighter plane:
https://www.spinmaster.com/product.p...=16204&s=storm
I don't fully understand how this works... is it so light it uses body
lift? Something involving prop wash over the midget wings between the
floats? It appears to take off via wing-in-ground-effect. Whatever it
does, it would be fun to see one scaled up to human carrying proportions.
The other one gives me evil ideas....a tiny helicopter around the size
of a sparrow, controlled by RC in six directions, and designed so that
it can be flown indoors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wf2zoqanEY
See? It's flying over the bed.
You could conceal it in an ornate headboard for the bed, wait till the
Atreides heir is asleep, and have it fly out and stick a little needle
full of cyanide into him.
And that would be okay under the Laws Of Kanly.
You wouldn't even need a reason.
In the words of Jean-Paul Sartre, 'Au revoir, Muad-Dib'. :-)

Pat

Pat Flannery wrote:

They've been advertising these two oddities on TV.
Hard to know what to call this... it goes around on grass, sand, snow,
water...then it takes off and flies around like a "Flying Flapjack"
fighter plane:
https://www.spinmaster.com/product.p...=16204&s=storm
I don't fully understand how this works... is it so light it uses body
lift? Something involving prop wash over the midget wings between the
floats? It appears to take off via wing-in-ground-effect. Whatever it
does, it would be fun to see one scaled up to human carrying proportions.

I think it works on the same principles a theese craft.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question...cs/q0130.shtml
I kind of figured that you would have come across this before Pat.


The other one gives me evil ideas....a tiny helicopter around the size
of a sparrow, controlled by RC in six directions, and designed so that
it can be flown indoors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wf2zoqanEY
See? It's flying over the bed.
You could conceal it in an ornate headboard for the bed, wait till the
Atreides heir is asleep, and have it fly out and stick a little needle
full of cyanide into him.
And that would be okay under the Laws Of Kanly.
You wouldn't even need a reason.
In the words of Jean-Paul Sartre, 'Au revoir, Muad-Dib'. :-)

Pat

That didn't work too well the last time. I guess you have to make sure
no one else enters the room while your trying it.

Jay

Jay Walsh wrote:


I think it works on the same principles a theese craft.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question...cs/q0130.shtml I kind
of figured that you would have come across this before Pat.


I know all about these loony things, but they generally aren't designed
to go out of ground effect.
I'd love to see someone pull the Caspian Sea Monster up into a 90 degree
climb and see what happens.
As near as I can figure, the thing has a damn near 100% power to weight
ratio, and the wings (or whatever you call the things joining the
pontoons and center body) must work almost entirely for control rather
than being true lifting surfaces.
One of their ads talked about how their machines incorporate
autostabilization.
I think what this is is an example of RC fly-by-wire.
It's completely unstable, but uses self stabilization technology via
constant control inputs that it does itself, rather than operator
control inputs.

Pat

Pat Flannery wrote:



Jay Walsh wrote:


I think it works on the same principles a theese craft.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question...cs/q0130.shtml I kind
of figured that you would have come across this before Pat.



I know all about these loony things, but they generally aren't
designed to go out of ground effect.
I'd love to see someone pull the Caspian Sea Monster up into a 90
degree climb and see what happens.
As near as I can figure, the thing has a damn near 100% power to
weight ratio, and the wings (or whatever you call the things joining
the pontoons and center body) must work almost entirely for control
rather than being true lifting surfaces.
One of their ads talked about how their machines incorporate
autostabilization.
I think what this is is an example of RC fly-by-wire.
It's completely unstable, but uses self stabilization technology via
constant control inputs that it does itself, rather than operator
control inputs.

Pat

You might be able to get away with it in the Flarecrft. Put in a high
output gas turbine and you could probably get ahigh enough power to rate
ratio. I'm not sure that I'd like tobe in it the first time it was
tried, but if it worked it'd be a kick to ride in.

Jay