Indoor RC flying

[ryan_walters]

Since it's cold up here for some of the winter, we make RC planes that can fly indoors.

Jim (Sharkie) is able to get use of a local paintball facility we can fly around in when they don't need it. We move all the paintball bunkers off to the side (the segway helped), and fly in the middle.

I figured I would combine segs and indoor flying.. Flying an airplane while on a segway is sure different to say the least.

Click for fullsize
http://forums.segwaychat.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14836/normal_Ryans_Segway_and_IndoorBlade.jpg
(http://forums.segwaychat.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=340&fullsize=1)
[me hovering my airplane while on my seg]

Click for fullsize
http://forums.segwaychat.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14836/normal_Chads_plane.JPG
(http://forums.segwaychat.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=339&fullsize=1)
[A friend hovering his new indoor plane]

[gbrandwood]

That's pretty cool. For smaller indoor environments, like in your office or living room, I'd love one of these:

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/store/assets/images/product/micmos/micmos_pop.jpg

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/micro-mosquito/index.html#top

Take off from your hand, twice around the cat and then back into your hand!

[SEGsby]

Radio Shack sells them here in the states. Lots of fun.

SEGsby

[asifjahmed]

What a coincidence - My father bought me one of these for Christmas (I opened it up on Thursday). LOADS of fun! Very, very stable. All you really have to do is put the throttle up and it will fly around on its own. Very durable, too (i've already run into just about everything!). Around $70 USD, and is available at most radio shacks

That's pretty cool. For smaller indoor environments, like in your office or living room, I'd love one of these:

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/store/assets/images/product/micmos/micmos_pop.jpg

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/micro-mosquito/index.html#top

Take off from your hand, twice around the cat and then back into your hand!

[BillPaxton]

that looks like fun - what is the battery / flight time on one of those?

[gbrandwood]

"A 45 minute charge is equal to a 10 minute flight."

[drmarty]

Pretty sure the battery is a Lithium Polymer. It has similar chemistry to Lithium Ion's - not our well behaved Saphion's with Lithium Iron Phosphate cathodes but the very common Li-ion's with Lithium Cobalt Oxide cathodes.
They are a little flat plastic bag. 290

These have very high energy density and fairly good internal impedence. They have really made many small aircraft possible.

Smallest I have seen is a 10mAh in a radio control plane that weighs less than a gram!!! Stunning
287 1.36gms
288 less than 1 gram
289 That's right - the scale says 715 mg. Less than 3/4 of a gram. That is lighter than 1/8 of a sheet of printer paper. And it is powered by an electric motor and is radio controlled. (some are infra-red controlled)
291 Here's a closer look.

marty