Slashdot Mirror
Transatlantic Model Airplane Flight to Begin Shortly
dtmos writes "An update on this old story -- Maynard Hill's attempt to fly an 11-lb. model airplane across the Atlantic (from Newfoundland to Ireland) is due to begin tomorrow night, Newfoundland time. This would be the first transatlantic flight by a true model under FAI rules (this plane was too large to qualify). News and updates, background information, some technical info."
...he's in the General Services department at National Geographic (and a better code and hardware hacker, in all senses of the word, than anyone in our IS group). This guy's spent months trying to build a GPS that would fit on your watch face.
/. and to cap it all off, who's doing a TV special about it? Discovery. Ain't that a swift kick in the crotch.
The funny thing here is that he went to NG to offer them coverage - he wasn't looking for funding or anything - and they declined, saying there wouldn't be enough interest. Well now it's in the Post, it's on
Congrats, Foster - clear skies =)
"I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing."
Here Looks very cool!
And don't even get me started on the inadequacy of the power source to last that long. Crazy dreamer.
Have you seen the weather here?
It will be saturated before it gets here!
Check http://www.met.ie/
Phil
Stuart Little will be able to visit his relatives overseas!
As the airplane approaches Spain... Air Traffic controller: "Unidentified plane, identify yourself" Air traffic controller turns to coworkers, "This can't be a plane it's too small, what's going on here." Unidentified Aircraft: "Umm... I just took off from here and I'm coming back to land, I ran into this strange green light and I think I shrunk."
I'm continually stunned by what mankind can accomplish in this day and age. A century ago, crossing the Atlantic meant going by steamship. A century before that it meant sailing, and hoping you weren't boarded by pirates. A few centuries before that it was impossible! Now we can do it with a model airplane; what next?
Ha. I won't be impressed until they can do it with a paper airplane.
This is important how?
Is some great scientific breakthrough being made?
What are the implications and how can this be used in the future?
for the environment! Smaller planes is less polution!
It's not that amazing. The blasted thing is a model plane... still uses fuel, still can fly on its own accord. Wow...
Call me when they do the first transatlantic paperplane.
And don't cheat and use a paperclip on the nose.
I hope they remember to wind that rubber band up really really tightly...
Common sense is what tells you the world is flat.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
At the risk of sounding like a troll, there are some issues here:
1000lb is a bit more than 11lb, and in fact can be already done. That is why the military have radar, guns and missiles. The clever bit here is that this is very small. Very impressive if it makes it all that way.
What would happen to the US if a bomb did go off at the Oscars? Very little. Yes it would be a disaster/massacre of innocents, but it won't affect the economy like the twin towers attack.
This is not a useful model for any type of private cruise missile. Spy plane, maybe. Secret courier, yep. Heavy weapon, erm...nope.
No, the bomber was not invisible because it was the size of a bird. The bomber is huge. It was invisible because it had the radar signature of a bird.
Have been asking about using this for bombs... Well, the US already has these that carry bombs, we're using them in Afghanistan. As far as this actual plane goes and any citizen trying to use one, it could never carry a bomb. It could, however, carry some sort of airborn biological weapon, but there are numerous examples of how hard it would be to actually hurt someone with a small amount of bio warfare.
~ now you know
Plus, why would terrorists try to do something like that pilotless? It's higher-tech (meaning harder to acquire and costing more), and (for a while yet) less reliable than a suicidal but reasonably-well-trained human pilot.
:( -- for some time yet.
I don't think we'll see a pilotless terrorist bomb/plane anytime soon -- it'll be crazy guys at the helm of a Cessna -- or a Jetliner
Xentax
You shouldn't verb words.
[NG] declined, saying there wouldn't be enough interest. Well now it's in the Post, it's on /. and to cap it all off, who's doing a TV special about it? Discovery. Ain't that a swift kick in the crotch.
And NG is writing articles, too. Imagine that, NG having to play catch up!
Bart: The ironing is delicious.
Lisa: The word is "irony."
Bart: Huh?
If Nalgene water bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Nalgene water bottles.
With all the "good" actors/actresses dead, the MPAA will have to charge us even more money for even worse movies. This would be very tragic indeed.
The hardware design and source code are all GPLed and available. The most recent releases have an OpenGL helicopter simulator for you to play with as well.
-- http://www.swcp.com/~hudson/
I see your point, but I fail to see how this will have any major effect. Anyone that wants these drugs can find them fairly easily. Bringing in a few model planes with 11 pounds of coke or something isn't going to change things much. The big problem is people bringing in 30 or 40 pounds in their tires or gas tanks, and drug trafficing cessenas that make it to the states. Until the DEA can catch all of these guys, the little 11 pound planes aren't going to make much of a difference. When they can catch all of the other methods of bringing narcotics into the country, then they will need something else to do, so they can try to catch model planes/boats/submarines that have a little bit in each of them.
Here we go again! Just like the baloonist flew "around the world", we have another fake world record attempt at "crossing the atlantic".
The "around the world" baloon flight was no more than a circle around antarctica.
Traditionally, I think "crossing the atlantic" means crossing THE WHOLE THING. From US east coast, to Europe's west coast. I'm sorry, but Newfoundland to Iceland doesn't cut it. Granted, flying a model plane over that distance is an admirable feat, but I don't think it would qualify for a world record.
Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
Charles Lindburg pilot figureen?
Anyone interesting in getting into model airplanes, esp. the new 'parkflyer' electrics (if you can't stand glow fuel, caster oil 'slimers') should read up at RC Groups - you can get a pretty good flight at the local soccer field with nice, quiet parkflyer electrics. I've just finished something called a Wing-E and it's a ball to fly in my nearby school yard, get's at least 10 minutes of aerobatic fun off one battery charge.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Well, i guess the next OBVIOUS step is a plane that can cross the Atlantic on nothing but thermals and tailwinds!
I mean, when you can keep an unpowered plane aloft for 36 hours, why not? Well, so far the straight-line distance record is only 226km, but with a GPS autopilot, and a thermal detection unit (get the scientist working on the tube technology immediately!), who knows!
FAI RC Model Records for Gliders
Lift!
thelocust[dot]org
This article makes me want to drive my radio shack remote control car across the US. All goes well until its run over by a semi.
We already have planes with this capability. Predator/Darkstar can stay aloft for almost a day and have a significantly longer range. Not to mention that they take off and land by themselves and can carry missiles.
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
Where do we send the money for the "51" prize?
I figure it's got to be organized, the competition to send a unmanned R/C plane with a wireless webcam over Area-51 is just too geeky to pass up.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
We are thriving, healthy, and accomplishing more than any species ever has before. ... and destroying our environment, our basic source of life, everyday. For Christ's sake, the profits of a couple of friends of George W. Bush is more important than trying to save our environment from fatal changes (Kyoto).
Don't be afraid about the our planet dying because of us, it will simply change. The problem is it's us that won;t survive these changes.
sigless
"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."
From the site:
Latest 09:20 EST 8/8/02 -
Last night the launch site at Cape Spear was covered with heavy fog--zero visibility and ceiling zero. Launch has been scrubbed and the team is looking for another opportunity.
Dude, That's IReland...not ICeland. BIG difference.
Do not confuse duty with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different.Duty is a debt you owe to yourself.
As already said, the stealth bomber is untrackable because of extensive use of stealth technology to make it radar invisible.
I once saw a copper-coated table tennis ball which, it was claimed, was used to test the anti-intruder radar. The placard claimed it was throw out of a high-altitude aircraft and tracked by radar as it fell to earth, beint blown this way and that by the wind. When it landed, they sent a man out to pick it up - which he usually did.
Sealth technology has a big impact on flyability. I would expect that this plane, unstealthed, would have a radar crossection bigger than my table tennis ball, and stealthing it would ruin the range.
Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
I've got a couple of these Hobby Zone Fighterbird's http://www.hobbyzone.com/fighterbird.html It's lots of fun because there is an IR or some other sort of sensor and transmitter on it so you can dogfight.
A couple friends of mine have 'em too and we've wasted waaaay too many hours 'shooting' each other down.
It's not as advanced as some of the newer park fliers but it sure is easy to fly, cheap, and lots of fun!
If this thing weighs only 11 lbs, including fuel, I'd venture to say it only has 1 to 1.5 gallons of fuel in it, MAX. Now, I don't know much about model aviation and how efficient their engines are, but even with the very light weight, thats quite a distance for that amount of fuel..
Don't Tread on Me
Finally, the tiny receiver buried inside the plane's fuselage made contact with the guidance satellite orbiting thousands of miles above, and the laptop came to life.
I could write a whole B movie based on that quote : )
You can't take the sky from me...
Dynamic soaring has just recently come into a practical reality. It is an absolutley insane way to have some fun. http://www.reeseproductions.com/mpegs/QuickTime/LT 1large.html/ QuickTime/LT 1large.html
I have heard some very serious discussion from Joe Wurts about developing Autonomous Dynamic Soaring aircraft able to cross the atlantic, like the albatross.
http://www.reeseproductions.com/mpegs
Dynamic soaring has just recently come into a practical reality. It is an absolutley insane way to have some fun. http://www.reeseproductions.com/mpegs/QuickTime/LT 1large.html/ QuickTime/LT 1large.html
I have heard some very serious discussion from Joe Wurts about developing Autonomous Dynamic Soaring aircraft able to cross the atlantic, like the albatross.
http://www.reeseproductions.com/mpegs
No they aren't, the Newfoundland flag is the first one shown on the page (depending on how you read things of course). The last time I checked, Newfoundland was still a part of Canada.
Once it goes down to -1 nobody can see it to mod it up.
Eat at Joe's.
It seemed a reasonable comparison of this year's factoid with last year's jokette.
Those Mods must be off their Rockers!
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
What's really amazing is how the parent post got modded down as flamebait. WTF? Here's some real flamebait for you: the crack-whore moderator responsible for that should be taken out back and shot. The gene pool needs some chlorine.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
this is useful stuff!
Where do I get the plans to build one of those gliders? That was awesome.
(B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
Another article I read indicated a fuel consumption of about 2 oz. per hour. Using a nominal 40 hr of flying time, 80 oz = .625 gal. Which would be about 3.5 - 4 lb of fuel.
Nice fuel consumption of 1900 miles per 0.625 gal or 3000+ mpg!!!
Laugh while you can, monkey boy!
Meaning half an hour later, right?
Won't mum be pleased!
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
... floating along in his rickety fishing vessel in the North Atlantic hundreds of miles off the coast and probably as far from any other human being when suddenly he looks up and sees....
nnnnneeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......
this little red plane buzzing by.
One of two things will happen. Either he'll jump overboard... or he'll finally give up the sauce.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
The stealth bomber is not invisible, its radar cross section is much smaller than conventional airplanes, many newer radars are able to track it. Its smaller radar signature only makes enemy radars not so efective in terms of range...
Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
http://www.morroida.com.br
wireless network you say? you must have better Pringles technology than available round these parts
This site generally has comments about articles that are posted somewhere else. People usually go read them and then come back to make informed comments about what they read. But somehow you missed that part.
-- Probability does not dismiss possibility --
Now we can lay our own trans-alantic cable.
Looks good on paper at least.
Table-ized A.I.
I'm staking out a place in a bog near Clifden.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
The site says the launch was delayed due to fog. If the thing is running on GPS-assisted autopilot, what difference does fog make?
-
Give me liberty or give me something of equal or lesser value from your glossy 32-page catalog.
The model described in the article isn't any kind of real terrorist threat due to its limited payload capacity and slow speed.
However, that doesn't mean that creating a low cost cruise missile isn't beyond the means of even the smallest terror group or nation.
Check out The Low Cost Cruise Missile for a pointer to where the real danger lies.
So does anyone have any info on the GPS componentry of their craft? I'm interested in different but related projects, but I have a tough time learning about the GPS modules that are available...