RC Plane: Got me a "slow flyer."

[Bren]

Anybody here into RC aircraft?

I've had a few four-channel helis, and one quadcopter, but up 'til now, every plane I've flown has been only two-channel, meaning you've got left-right control and throttle, but no elevator or ailerons.

Which means if you add throttle, you climb, and the way to descend is to reduce throttle.

Historically, I've lost a lot of RC planes, and part of the reason is that with no elevator control, you can't increase throttle to fight the wind while simultaneously descending.

And the higher you fly, the more likely your plane is going to get lost or wind up stuck in a tree or crashed on somebody's roof.

The other issue has often been speed. Because an RC plane moving at even a moderate pace is soon going to run out of room, and you'd better make a good decision about whether and where to turn before that happens.

So, anyway, I'm thrilled to say I recently acquired my frist three-channel plane. And now only do I have elevator control, but it's also in a category called a "slow flyer," meaning this thing is specifically designed to be slow enough to fly indoors.

Having a plane that just cruises along slowly really changes the equation for me, because it's far less stressful. I'm able to spend less time worrying about whether I'm about to hit a tree, and more time just enjoying and exploring the plane's flying dynamics.

In order to achieve this slow flight, the plane is as light as a feather. That means it can't be flown on windy days at all. This is essentially a kite with control surfaces.

I like it a lot.

Here are some videos of my plane flying around the dog park.

Why the dog park?

Because the adjacent walls provide shields from the strong San Francisco winds.

Check it out:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQYEznhkxFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2iVIQ57Nyc

[ukimalefu]

Oh, it's actually a slow flyer. Such level of control in such a small thing is mazing, and the LEDs are really cool.

But don't fly at the dog park when there are dogs there. Because a dog will try to catch the plane. ANd some dog owner may get mad at you, even if that plane is to light and slow to hurt a dog.

[TOS]

weaponize it

[ukimalefu]

weaponize it

what can he do? scare people who are afraid of butterflies?

[dv]

weaponize it

what can he do? scare people who are afraid of butterflies?

No. Scare people who are afraid of "drones."

[Bren]

Did you watch either of my videos? This thing isn't capable of carrying weapons or scaring anybody.

[TOS]

weaponize it

what can he do? scare people who are afraid of butterflies?

mount pepper spray, nerf guns, submachine guns, 20mm gatling guns, anything is possible