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Did anyone else watch the linked video of the RC helicopter? It was amazing! I had no idea that those things were so powerful. The only ones I've ever seen are
by shitlord 13y ago
Did anyone else watch the linked video of the RC helicopter? It was amazing! I had no idea that those things were so powerful. The only ones I've ever seen are the ones at the mall.
- kabouseng 13y agoIs the helicopter in the video under manual control, or some kind of control system preprogrammed manuever?
- jamesaguilar 13y agoIt's under manual control. The tricks are performed by adjusting the trim on the blades to invert lift.
- kabouseng 13y agoThanks.
- BrandonMarc 13y agoAgreed. I was impressed by the RC pilot's skill, and noted the craft's behavior was, at times, very insect-like. Or hummingbird. ... and I couldn't help but think, if a life-size helicopter were even capable of such maneuvers, its human occupants would likely die from the G forces. Clearly such maneuvers seem only possible in an unmanned craft.
- h4rrison 13y agoA cursory glance around the internet suggests that these things are capable of 20G manoeuvres (!), far in excess of the human maximum of 5-10G (depending on axis of acceleration). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-force#Human_tolerance_of_g-force http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-force#Human_tolerance_of_g-fo...
- Zimahl 13y agoHuman maximum of what? Survivability or capable flight? The human body can survive more than 20Gs.
- h4rrison 13y agoIt varies hugely depending on the axis of acceleration, so given the manoeuvres in the video I opted for the lower end of the spectrum, which is probably a more realistic estimate than 20Gs.
- Theodores 13y agoWhat about the G-forces a Lego MiniFig? Do they have to have their heads glued on?
- eksith 13y agoThe mall is more "consumer friendly" ;) The video is from someone who lives RC. I've only seen one live demo of a "pro" RC pilot doing his thing and saying it was awe-inspiring is a massive understatement. These are folks that eat, drink and breath RC and the amount of time and enthusiasm spent is really astonishing. If anyone can find a way around the laws of physics, it's those in the RC community.
- look_lookatme 13y agoLink http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8t41avFuCc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8t41avFuCc The thought of a weaponized version of that is terrifying. A weaponized and non-human controlled version is straight up Cyberdyne level stuff...
- btown 13y agoIs it possible to scale one of those up to Predator-size? Would the limiting factor be that the power requirements wouldn't scale linearly? Are there properties of the atmosphere that model-scale aircraft can take advantage of that larger-scale ones cannot?
- jamesaguilar 13y agoYes. It would be called a helicopter. Full sized ones can have fuel engines, which can carry more energy per weight and can go further. On the other hand, they are heavier and not as durable because of that weight. They cannot change directions like this mid flight.
- yread 13y agoThis one has a gasoline engine
- hengheng 13y agoIt's battery powered, see the battery around 4:25
- aaren 13y agoCan you explain why? Is it to do with the bulk properties of the materials not varying with scale? Or scaling with some power of length < 3? If you tried to spec a full sized helicopter engine to make speed changes like those in the video would it tear itself apart?
- 13y ago
- rangibaby 13y agoWatching these RC helicopter "tricks" reminded me of the Black Shark helicopter: http://youtu.be/NQier6Fina8 http://youtu.be/NQier6Fina8
- jlgreco 13y agoFirst production helicopter with an ejection seat (the rotors have explosive bolts), which is pretty interesting I think.
- treeface 13y agoIt looked fake to me.
- zobzu 13y agothese things can chop your head off (as per a-month-ago-news-story). and yeah, they're very powerful.
- smoyer 13y agoI hope they never give him a license to fly a real helicopter!