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Micro-Helicopter Fun
zymano writes "Now this is a cool toy for the office or home! RC microhelicopter here that is flat out cool but not for sale.
So small that it can drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee. It's 100 grams or lighter now. Some gallerys and videos on the page. You can buy one here and here."
The Pixel's aren't for sale, but some other models are. Geez.
Yeah, having had a look, the ultralight one they are talking about cannot be bought (the pixel X thing) and the links are to small helicopters you can buy.
;)
Which aren't under 100 grams etc etc.
So the blurb should read "here is a very light helicopter you can't buy and here are some that are a bit heavier but which are for sale"
Troc
Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
The Pixel page has been around for some time, and has served as inspiration for many RC enthusiasts to get in to electric helicopters. While the Pixel is not for sale, the Piccolo is a great place to start the hobby./ postlist .php?Cat=&Board=UBB1
http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads
Here is a bbs for the product.
The first link is to the prototype page, of the guy who designed the first and second versions in his garage. the last two are of the commercial, buyable version. 'nuff said
You've never flown a RC heliocopter before have you.
they are insanely difficult to fly weighing 16 pounds and having a 1-2 horsepower gas engine in a light breeze.. this little guy needs to fly in ZERO wind because of it's tiny weight. I am not an expert but after flying a gas powered RC chopper for 5 minutes I was exausted. the experts refuse to fly in anything other than a steady wind that is less than 10 mph gusty is asking for trouble and these things will instantly chase after any passing vehicle without the pilot wanting it to.
so if your intended target is sitting in a gym WITHOUT the ac running or any fans and won't move away from the attacking toy then your idea will work, otherwise pick a less dramatic deployment mechanisim that attracts less attention and doesnt feel like a poorly written James Bond novel.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The first videos seem to 404. Try this: http://www.planetinternet.be/pixel/clipfp1.avi (8.1mb)
If you look carefully, the site as seen its last update 2 years ago.
Those were hand made, but the guy helped IKarus to design the Eco Piccolo which is really small and comes in a kit form.
Then, there is also the MS Composite Hornet, which I personally prefer. Those 2 are a lot of fun to fly, but you have to be dedicated to them, because they need a lot of tweeking to get every bit of power from the cells, extra care must also be taken because of their small form. And they are also everything but cheap...
Anyway, a very geeky hobby that's for sure...
I'd rather be sailing...
Oooops.
Snelflight
Expect to have frequent, expensive crashes while learning how to fly. You will do save yourself a huge amount of time if you spend a few hours (or even a few minutes) browsing some RC forums before toy buy. eg, http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php is a good start.
Also, a mini RC helicopter is much harder to fly than a larger, specially designed trainer. Be warned.