Thomlex - Flight

Micro Helicopter

bill — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 18:27:17 -0400

Alexander Van de Rostyne built Pixelito, a 6.9 gram remote-control helicopter. Pixelito is fully functional, with 4 channels of control via infra red. It has no servos and no swashplate. The swashplate is the mechanism that allows the spinning blades to be tilted forward or back or side to side, allowing the pilot to control where the helicopter goes. (link from Stocktrader).

Link

Ulra-Small Robotic Airplane Navigates Like Fly

bill — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 16:22:00 -0400

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has developed an ultralight robotic aircraft that mimics the navigational abilities of a fly. The plane is completely autonomous, weighs 10 grams and has a 14 inch wingspan. It is designed to fly indoors, which is difficult because of the many potential obstacles. It can fly around a room completely unassisted for nearly five minutes.

The plane contains low-resolution "eyes", a tiny gyroscope and an onboard computer.

Link

Build Your Own Airplane

bill — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 12:59:00 -0400

If you have $7,000 and 250 hours, you can build your own airplane. The Affordaplane has a wingspan of 27.5 feet, can cruise at 60 to 65 mph and can carry a pilot up to 250 pounds and 6'3". Plans can be had for $24.95.

Link