Video: 20 Foot Span RC B-25 With 2 Moki 400's! (First Flight)

 Really big RC models are intriguing because they can look so real in their getting-close-to-life-size dimensions. You also know that they have taken an enormous amount of work and dedication to reach completion. But for me, the biggest payoff comes with how real they look in the air. Small models are just too twitchy to look real.

 This 20 foot wingspan B-25, built in Germany over 5-1/2 years and powered by two Moki 400 5-cylinder radials looks incredibly real in the air. And while the Moki engines don't convince you that they're Wright R-2600's, they have unique radial sound all their own that is truly awesome. The music that two of them make, well, it's just perfect.

 Congratulations to the team in Germany on their amazing piece of work!

Video screenshot of this amazing 30% scale B-25 RC model

Check out the build page for the B-25 build team:
www.legendaryfighters.de/B_25/b25.htm

 
 Engine run of the real Apache Princess from Kermit Weeks' collection of flying aircraft. Check out the Fantasy of Flight page with info on this B-25.

Hat tip to my friend Christian for the link on the B-25 model.

Like this post? Tell your friends... use the 'share' or 'email' article links below - thanx : )

Aero Telemetry And Their Dedicated Hughes H-1 Website (H1Racer.com) - With Video

The real Hughes H-1 Racer which is now at the National Air & Space Museum

 Aero Telemetry has had some great experience with one of the the world's most amazing aircraft... they built the flying RC model of the Hughes H-1 Racer that was used in the Aviator film, and then they built a museum quality version of the H-1, that also flies, for the AMA 75th anniversary back in 2011. And now the fine people at Aero Telemetry have introduced H1Racer.com, a website full of interesting info, images, and video about the real H-1 and the scaled down versions they have Built.

 What else can I say? It's a must-see website and you should go there now!

The big and awesome Aero Telemetry 75th AMA Hughes H-1 flying RC model

Video: Brave New World Of Collective Pitch RC Quad Flying: Curtis Youngblood MantaRay

 If you're in the know about RC quad copters then you're probably aware that multiple world champion RC helicopter pilot and innovator Curtis Youngblood has pioneered the use of collective pitch blades into the quad copter concept. It's a lot like taking the tail rotor from an RC helicopter and adapting it for quad use... and tho the collective pitch adds some complexity, his design uses a single powerplant to drive all four rotorsets via belts and pulleys. His company CJ Youngblood Enterprises has been selling an electric collective pitch quad called the Stingray 500 since last year.

 What's especially unique about the video above is that this is a prototype for a larger collective pitch quad that also expands overall utility by being powered either by electric motor or via a gas engine. I only learned of the collective pitch quad idea yesterday, and in my research this morning I've seen how some in the traditional quad community don't see the advantages of a gas-powered quad... but the most obvious is the ability to dramatically increase flight time. It would also seem that payload potential would increase as well. Clearly the gas-powered quad is not meant to dominate the quad world, just dramatically expand it.

Video screenshot of the larger electric or gas powered MantaRay collective pitch quad 

 The bigger overall issue tho is the incredible increase in controllability that variable pitch blades allow. The smaller electric-only Stingray 500, which can be bought for $600, takes the quad into 3D hyper aerobatics. The two videos below give you a very good idea of what that really means. But the potential for a larger gas-powered quad like the MantaRay expands the commercial potential of the idea exponentially.

 Watching the video directly below of the Stingray is the closest thing I've ever seen to the flying robots seen in sci-fi films in the last 15 years... the ability and style in which this thing can be flown is straight up spooky. Beyond the extreme 3D nature of quads like the Stingray, Curtis is hoping the idea of extreme terrain racing might catch on where the capabilities of these amazing flying machines will break open an entirely new world of race courses and extreme pilots.

 Brace yourself for the brave new world... there's no stopping it now.

Hyper Scale PAPER Boeing 777 (The Fine Line Between Genius And Insanity) - MUST SEE!

(click pic to enlarge)  Luca Laconi-Stewart's UNBELIEVABLE paper 777!  (photo: flickr)

 If my research on this fresh and incredible internet phenomena is correct, Luca Laconi-Stewart lives in America and started this hyper-detailed 1:60 scale PAPER (manila folders to be more precise) Boeing 777 model five years ago! He took a couple years off the project while in college, but then dropped out to focus on the paper 777. The detail, especially in the moving parts is simply unimaginable.

 Watch the videos below and then go check out the extensive gallery of photos on the Luca Laconi-Stewart flickr page. 'Mind blown' is not hyperbole when you try to wrap your head around the reality of this effort.

 My understanding is that the project is not quite finished but it's getting close. And, he seems to be thinking he's gonna try an even better model next... that is if he doesn't have to go find a job to support this sitting-on-the-fence-between-genius-and-insanity obsession. 

 Bravo Mr. Luca Laconi-Stewart, BRAVO!

Video: 'Flexible' VTOL Powered By World's Smallest ICE - Wow!

 I figured I had three choices for what I was gonna post this morning: There was the successful Virgin Galactic flight on Friday, the third conducted using the rocket engine to power the suborbital spacecraft (story and video here)... then there's the Southwest Airlines 737 that mistakenly landed yesterday evening on the 3,738 foot runway at M. Graham Clark Airport, 7 miles away from the 7,140 runway at their intended destination of the Branson Missouri Airport (the only privately owned, privately operated commercial service airport in the US) - see the story here in case somehow haven't seen it 10 times already... and then there's the video posted a couple years ago on youtube of the 'flexible' VTOL aircraft that's powered by the world's smallest production internal combustion engine.

 I decided that you've probably seen one of the awesome previous rocket-powered test flights of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, and it was just back in November, just 240 miles from last night's mistaken landing that one of the DreamLifters landed at Col. James Jabara Airport in Wichita Kansas instead of the correct destination 8 miles away at McConnell Air Force Base. It seems that mistaken landings are fast becoming the norm in the heartland... But when have you ever seen a Cox .010 gas engine power a shop rag into vertical flight?

 Yeah, I'm pretty sure for most of us, this flexible VTOL with the screamin' 27,000 rpm Cox .010 engine is avgeek story of the day : )

Screenshot of the Cox .010 and the shop rag 'airframe' ready for engine start and flight!

3 Videos: The Future Belongs To The Wingcopter! (OK... Maybe Not Just Yet)

 The Bubbleship VTOL from yesterdays Oblivion movie post has me cranked up on vertical flight concepts, so I did a little digging to see what VTOL dreamers are up to. I turned over a few rocks on youtube and found: the Wingcopter... and I gotta say this is a very impressive concept from a small team in Germany led by Jonathan Hesselbarth. It's just an RC model at this time but after several prototypes they seem to be on to a really good thing.

An impressive VTOL concept: the Wingcopter!  (photo: Wingcopter)

 When I observe a verti that's meant to achieve traditional high-speed forward flight, I'm looking for just one thing to impress me: transitions from vertical to forward and back again. The Wingcopter demonstrates this in the video above with amazing stability and control! You might have to watch the video several times to see that the the motors and props are moved back into the VTOL position at about the 29 second mark. The aircraft then decelerates to near stall speed when power is brought in again to complete the transition back to vertical flight. It doesn't just look 'doable', it looks like fun!

Onboard camera view with transition to forward flight and back to vertical

 The only big drawback I see with the concept thus far is that if this was a full-scale aircraft and the motor/prop assemblies became stuck in the forward flight mode, you've got a set of propellers that are going to extend well below the landing gear. That's a problem. My criteria for truly successful VTOL allows for a no-damage landing in the event that the hardware can't get out of forward-flight mode (sorry V-22 fans) - I can imagine tho that there'd be several possible modifications to the concept here to be able to meet that criteria. Overall, this is some seriously impressive work, both in the mechanics and the programming.

Detail of the motor/prop transition mechanics

 You can learn more about the various designs that led to this current configuration, as well as the mechanism that drives the pivot arms on the Wingcopter.com 'prototype' page. And, if you're interested in getting in on the fun with this amazing little flying machine, check out this page where you can actually purchase a Wingcopter ARF! Note that these guys don't appear to be in the RC kit biz, they just happen to be cool enough to to be willing to sell their work so you can experience it. No price is listed, you have to follow their contact link to inquire. 

 It's too early to say, but this just might be a truly viable VTOL concept for the future... Bravo Wingcopter!

5 Year Anniversary For AirPigz! (State Of The Avgeek-Nation Address)

The entire AirPigz staff is feeling a bit stuck in the mud these days

 The experiment pointed toward 'avgeek world domination' known as AirPigz began exactly five years ago today. Happy Birthday? Well, it's been a long and difficult journey for everyone here at avgeek central, which of course means just me since there isn't any staff here. I wish there was, and in fact that was always the plan, but it's just never come together for that to happen. So, for right now I'm just gonna say it like this: Birthday!

 Being a one-man-operation is a huge pain... especially when the operation doesn't make enough money in a year to pay for the trip to OSH and a trip to Reno. And I sleep in the car and eat cheap on those trips! That means I have to work a day-job to support posting my regularly scheduled avgeekery. No surprise there as there aren't very many people who make a real living running a blog, but it's become a lot more difficult in the last two years for me. My day-job is as a ceramic tile installer and I work alone there too. Work was almost nonexistent when I started AirPigz in late 2008 but these days I'm constantly busy doing a very physically demanding job. I'm tired, worn down, and wearing out.

Like Freddy Flameout, I'm not giving up yet!  (photo: ilbasso via hobbytalk.com)

 
 AirPigz traffic remains strong with over 50,000 page views each month and well over 30,000 unique visitors each month, but I seem stuck in the mud. Lack of time and resources make it almost impossible to create more and/or better content, and growth well past these numbers just doesn't seem to be happening otherwise. More important is that I don't get a lot of feedback which makes me wonder a lot these days if all this effort matters at all. Add to that the fact that I have just emerged from the crushing financial crisis that ruled my life these past 5 years and I find myself wanting to sleep a lot. That part of my life was been a long and bloody war, and I feel shellshocked. 

 To keep the pig alive I wind up working on posts before work (like right now), sometimes during lunch, often in the evening, and very often late at night. For a while that's a lot of fun (for people like me anyway), but after several years of it, with no real income and not much feedback, it becomes a heavy load. It's one I'm still willing to carry, but I can see there will have to be changes for this to continue well into the future. Any normal, sane person would have given up on this a long time ago!

 As a young kid I had a plastic model of Freddy Flameout in my room that my dad built. I always thought it was cool just because it was so crazy, but now I see there's a lesson to be learned: don't give up. So I'm not giving up, just trying a little public complaining (aka honesty) instead to see if it makes me feel better : )

 I hope you have a great avgeek day!

Videos: Sweet 'Wheel Landings' With The Under-6-Pound RC C-47!

 I expect that you need to have some taildragger experience in your logbook (or loads of RC taildragger time) to really appreciate how cool it is to see this 10 foot wingspan C-47 making such wonderful 'wheel landings'. If you aren't fluent in 'taildragger', 'wheel landings' are the ones where the tail stays nice and high as the airplane approaches the runway well above stall speed, then the main wheels are (preferably) gently planted on the runway as some forward pressure on the stick is applied to hold the airplane on the ground... hopefully without some sort of bounce, bounce, bounce thing happening. Wheel landings are a real challenge in many aircraft but they are sooo much fun when you know what you're doing. Add a nice grass runway to the mix and you have the stuff avgeek dreams are made of!

Video screenshot of the 10 foot span C-47 and shadow... pure awesome fun!

 
 Given the often twitchy nature of small RC aircraft, wheel landings are usually extremely difficult to master. However, my friend Gary in New Mexico with his awesome 10 foot wingspan C-47, that weighs less than 6 pounds, has it mastered! The very light wing loading and extra large size allow for incredibly realistic looking wheel landings. Lots of practice and some bona fide skill bring it all together beautifully.

 The video above is just one nice trip around the pattern for you to enjoy, shown twice tho, once from the 'hatcam' and once from the onboard cam. (check out that middle-of-nowhere flying field!) The video below is several touch-and-goes giving you several more great wheel landings to appreciate.  #LoveToFly

Video: Wow! Full Size Aircraft Flies Inside Building!

 Never mind that full-size for a Cri Cri is only a 16 ft 1 in wingspan and just under 13 ft long... but that does still make for a pretty big RC model! And when a model like this is built out of foam to keep the weight crazy low, you get such wonderful flying qualities. Did you see that video of the 10 ft wingspan C-47 that weighs less than 6 pounds? I just love these big and slow indoor flyers : )

 Hat-tip to my friend Elliot at Scaled for the link on this full scale Cri Cri flying indoors, and for that C-47 link a few years ago too!

 Keep 'em flying -

Screenshot showing the full size RC Cri Cri flying indoors back in 2011

(btw, I drove 12+ hours yesterday to Oshkosh and back to get CampBacon staked out for OSH13. Same place as the last two years, just bigger, better, and currently it's much dryer than 3 years ago and much greener than last year! Bacon Parties, here we come : )

Video: 19 Foot Wingspan RC B-17 In Austria - Wow!

 Dude, that's one big RC B-17! And since we played with a B-17 in the Caption Contest last week, I figured now was a perfect time to post the video of this amazing piece of work. It appears to be both built and flown by Peter Pfeffer in Austria. The first flight, as seen in the video, is from just over 2 weeks ago.

This view before completion gives a great perspective on the size of this RC B-17!
 

 This beast has a 19 foot wingspan, is 14 feet long and is a whopping 187 pounds of retro WWII UAV! The four engines appear to be VT 42 single cylinder four-strokers like in this video. They come from Armin de Vries, a model engine builder in Germany, and are known for high power, low weight, and a great sound.

 You can also see an extensive gallery of construction pix at this flickr page.  Truly an amazing accomplishment of both construction and flying... long live the Flying Fortress!

 Man and machine... Peter Pfeffer and his 1:5.6 scale RC B-17