4 ms·

These RC Helicopter Acrobatics Aren’t AI Fakes, If You Can Believe It

27 points by peutetre 3y ago

zero_k 3y ago
Just go to an RC field near you, you'll see people flying like that. But don't forget, an RC heli is an accident waiting for a place to happen.
- SirMaster 3y ago
  https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/09/06/queens-man-19-killed-by-model-helicopter-shared-passion-for-remote-controlled-fliers-with-father/ https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/09/06/queens-man-19-killed-...
- simooooo 3y ago
  There is local lore get of a guy who lost all the legs of his kitchen table to his RC copter.
  - unstatusthequo 3y ago
    Lucky it was his table and not his own legs.
- bsder 3y ago
  They are flying lawnmowers, after all. Cool to watch, but I think I'll do so from a safe distance, thanks.
- jack1243star 3y ago
  >> But don't forget, an RC heli is an accident waiting for a place to happen. What isn't? I might choke myself to death the next second with mochi. Having said that, I nearly got hit by an RC turbine jet in a poor landing. Not much I could have done when my eyes must be on my plane. RC models are not children's toys.
SirMaster 3y ago
This makes me want to get into RC. I think FPV drone freestyle type stuff might be the cheapest and most accessible. I guess a good place to start might be with a FPV drone simulator game.
- drekipus 3y ago
  Having tried it the hobby, you have to buy a $175 radio to connect to the PC to be able to play the game in a way that's realistic. A much better intro is to get a little $200 "mini whip" kit off Amazon. Tinyhawk 2 et al. Much greater intro to the hobby in my opinion
  - SirMaster 3y ago
    I'm confused why connecting a radio to the PC makes it more realistic? Isn't drone control basically just 2 joysticks? I assume the modern simulators have got the physics down pretty well by now? But maybe not? I just figure it's not easy to fly a non-self balancing drone in full manual mode, and I thought maybe practicing on a simulator to learn the basics first would be better than crashing and breaking things over and over right away.
    - Ao7bei3s 3y ago
      The obvious difference is that the throttle axis on RC transmitters is not self-centering. 0% is at the bottom, not in the center. But beyond that, the stick throws are much larger than e.g. on an Xbox controller, there's much finer feeling, the end stops are harder, the sticks can be held differently (search "thumbing vs pinching", both are used irl but the latter gives finer control). It's just so different. And you can't compare at all to using two full sized joysticks, which would mean full wrist movement. Also, cheap gaming joysticks are terrible. Two high quality ones (VKB NXT or better) cost more than a high quality RC transmitter. It does not save money. Physics aren't really realistic. They're all enough to get the absolute basics down (e.g. that camera uptilt means that pitch left/right needs a corresponding yaw input to keep the view straight). But then different simulators vary. The most common, fairly ubiquitous complaint, is that it's too floaty (real quads drop much faster without throttle). It's not just due to bad physics, it's also because to be commercially successful they have to appeal to gamers too, maybe even primarily. Then there's the finer points, like wind, descending into your own chaotic vortex, or how easy you crash when you touch anything (sims are sooo forgiving). And of course every quad is different, 1" 1S, 3.5" 2S Li-Ion and a 10" 4S handle substantially differently, but if you haven't flown any for real then you won't know what is right. (If you're looking for a radio, unless you know what you want, just buy a TX16S please.) (There are exceptions to everything I said above. But this is the common case.)
FireBeyond 3y ago
Definitely not fake, and ironically, made me move from these style of RC helicopters to more scale model RC, as I could never make my brain be happy doing a lot of these maneuvers with a chopper.
Modified3019 3y ago
The video was way more amusing than I was expecting.

27 points by peutetre 3y ago

Just go to an RC field near you, you'll see people flying like that. But don't forget, an RC heli is an accident waiting for a place to happen.

SirMaster 3y ago
https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/09/06/queens-man-19-killed-by-model-helicopter-shared-passion-for-remote-controlled-fliers-with-father/ https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/09/06/queens-man-19-killed-...
simooooo 3y ago
There is local lore get of a guy who lost all the legs of his kitchen table to his RC copter.
- unstatusthequo 3y ago
  Lucky it was his table and not his own legs.
bsder 3y ago
They are flying lawnmowers, after all. Cool to watch, but I think I'll do so from a safe distance, thanks.
jack1243star 3y ago
>> But don't forget, an RC heli is an accident waiting for a place to happen. What isn't? I might choke myself to death the next second with mochi. Having said that, I nearly got hit by an RC turbine jet in a poor landing. Not much I could have done when my eyes must be on my plane. RC models are not children's toys.

SirMaster 3y ago

This makes me want to get into RC. I think FPV drone freestyle type stuff might be the cheapest and most accessible. I guess a good place to start might be with a FPV drone simulator game.

drekipus 3y ago
Having tried it the hobby, you have to buy a $175 radio to connect to the PC to be able to play the game in a way that's realistic. A much better intro is to get a little $200 "mini whip" kit off Amazon. Tinyhawk 2 et al. Much greater intro to the hobby in my opinion
- SirMaster 3y ago
  I'm confused why connecting a radio to the PC makes it more realistic? Isn't drone control basically just 2 joysticks? I assume the modern simulators have got the physics down pretty well by now? But maybe not? I just figure it's not easy to fly a non-self balancing drone in full manual mode, and I thought maybe practicing on a simulator to learn the basics first would be better than crashing and breaking things over and over right away.
  - Ao7bei3s 3y ago
    The obvious difference is that the throttle axis on RC transmitters is not self-centering. 0% is at the bottom, not in the center. But beyond that, the stick throws are much larger than e.g. on an Xbox controller, there's much finer feeling, the end stops are harder, the sticks can be held differently (search "thumbing vs pinching", both are used irl but the latter gives finer control). It's just so different. And you can't compare at all to using two full sized joysticks, which would mean full wrist movement. Also, cheap gaming joysticks are terrible. Two high quality ones (VKB NXT or better) cost more than a high quality RC transmitter. It does not save money. Physics aren't really realistic. They're all enough to get the absolute basics down (e.g. that camera uptilt means that pitch left/right needs a corresponding yaw input to keep the view straight). But then different simulators vary. The most common, fairly ubiquitous complaint, is that it's too floaty (real quads drop much faster without throttle). It's not just due to bad physics, it's also because to be commercially successful they have to appeal to gamers too, maybe even primarily. Then there's the finer points, like wind, descending into your own chaotic vortex, or how easy you crash when you touch anything (sims are sooo forgiving). And of course every quad is different, 1" 1S, 3.5" 2S Li-Ion and a 10" 4S handle substantially differently, but if you haven't flown any for real then you won't know what is right. (If you're looking for a radio, unless you know what you want, just buy a TX16S please.) (There are exceptions to everything I said above. But this is the common case.)

FireBeyond 3y ago

Definitely not fake, and ironically, made me move from these style of RC helicopters to more scale model RC, as I could never make my brain be happy doing a lot of these maneuvers with a chopper.

Modified3019 3y ago

The video was way more amusing than I was expecting.