Flying R/C Superhero
Videos for Engineers

Flying R/C Superhero - RF CafeOne advantage for me of having a hobby like radio control models is that since wireless technology is used for commanding the airplane, helicopter, boat, car, etc., any interesting application qualifies as a legitimate topic for RF Cafe articles. Such it is for this video of an R/C Superhero (formally spelled "RcSuperhero") model designed and built by Greg Tanous, of Portland, Oregon. The model shown is 78 inches tall, has a 47" wingspan (armspan) weighs about 3.3 pounds, and is propelled by a high-power brushless motor that generates more than 5 pounds of thrust; that is why RcSuperhero is able to take off straight up. Carbon fiber spars are used to stiffen the foam structure. Radio control is via a spread spectrum system that operates on the license-free 2.4 GHz ISM band (although a 72 MHz FM system would work equally well). According to Greg, RcSuperhero builds and flies as easily as an advanced trainer. Plans and entire kits for this 78" tall version and a 57" tall version can be ordered from his rcsuperhero.com website. If I had more time, I'd build one that looks like Stark Industry's Iron Man - that would be really cool. Hobbyist Gary Gunner has created a flight simulator model for RcSuperhero that can be downloaded for free.

I would like to suggest that the U.S. military fund a project to develop a version that looks like the god of certain terrorists who believe they have been commanded to kill all infidels. Maybe upon seeing it they will kill themselves instead, thereby hastening their own ushering into paradise to meet a specified number of virgins, sheep, or other promised rewards. Compact, field-deployable UAVs are already in daily use on the battlefield. I'm open for nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize (we won't have to fire a shot) for that idea if anyone cares to do the paperwork.

Videos for Engineers - RF CafeThis archive links to the many video and audio files that have been featured on RF Cafe.

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Posted January 3, 2012