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Toys

Micro-Helicopter Fun 201

Posted by Hemos from the get-it-with-napalm-dispensers dept.
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."
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Micro-Helicopter Fun More

Micro-Helicopter Fun

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  • then my micro military will be complete!

  • Man... (Score:5, Funny)

    by gvonk ( 107719 ) <slashdot@NOsPAm.garrettvonk.com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:46AM (#5823971) Homepage

    OK now. Seriously. Whoever wrote that blurb had their RC helicopter drop some seriously fucked-up sugar cubes in their coffee this morning. "It's not for sale" "buy one here" "Some gallerys and videos on the page" "100 grams or lighter now."

    Lay off the acid, please...

    • Re:Man... (Score:5, Informative)

      by troc ( 3606 ) <troc@@@mac...com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:54AM (#5824016) Homepage Journal
      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
    • Just be glad they didn't talk about "Coming to work in one this morning".

      BTW, this is a repost, they had these up with Zip-Zaps way back in december.

    • Re:Man... (Score:3, Funny)

      by TopShelf ( 92521 )
      "Lay off the acid, please..."

      Or at least bring enough to share with the rest of the class.

    • Re:Man... (Score:5, Funny)

      by SEWilco ( 27983 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:03AM (#5824807) Journal
      That phrasing "So small that it can drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee." isn't too great either, as it isn't an indicator of being small.

      Sikorsky makes helicopters that can also drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee, or can drop an 18-wheeled truck full of sugar into your cup of coffee.

      • Re:Man... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by UrGeek ( 577204 )
        Oh, man! Sikorsky does NOT make a single helicopter that can:

        Land on my kitchen counter and be loaded with a sugar cube, then take off and fly the 11 feet to my coffee table and drop that cube in my cup.

        I don't even think they make one that will fit through my apartment door! Not with the rotors fully deployed.

        Get real!
    • "So small that it can drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee."

      A full-scale CH-53D [fas.org] could do this as well. Of course, instead of trying to maneuver the bird into position to drop one cube into your coffee, it'd probably just dump 6.35e05 cubes of sugar onto and around your cup of coffee, which, while not terribly useful, would look pretty damn cool.

  • I wonder.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Chris_Stankowitz ( 612232 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:47AM (#5823976)
    If something like this could be used for making films. The idea being scaled modles of a scene. That would really help out student film projects, giving them something better to work with than plastice models and fishline.
    • sounds like fun - attach a lightweight, solid state wireless video camera to one of these and it would be endless fun for surveillance! Perhaps with the RF unit connected to a serial port and a video output on the screen you could carry out all sorts of remote missions.

    • Re:I wonder.... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 )
      These little tiny helicopters are seriously difficult to fly. Of course, all of them are. But should you take the time to master flying them without running them into walls, you will now have to worry about anchoring every little model on your set as the wind to push even a light heli around is not inconsiderable.

      Also, because of the fact that they are lighter and smaller, they will not move anything like a real helicopter. Clever work with models will produce more realistic-looking motion.

      Ultimately, C

  • When are companies going to (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Angry White Guy ( 521337 ) <CaptainBurly[AT]goodbadmovies.com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:47AM (#5823980)
    build a USB controller for these things? I'd love to be able to run a network of these things from my pc.

  • Can't buy one? (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I didn't get a chance to read the whole thing, but if you can't buy one, why are there links to buy one?

  • Aha! (Score:1, Funny)

    by termos ( 634980 )
    Aha! This could explain the sounds coming from my bosses office!

  • RTFA (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:48AM (#5823987)
    The Pixel's aren't for sale, but some other models are. Geez.
    • Blame it on poor English. "You can get one" means the one aforementioned.

      "You can get similar ones here and here" or "you can get other micro-helicopters here and here", and we could have discussed about the topic for a change...

  • Finally (Score:5, Funny)

    by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:49AM (#5823990)
    I've had this model fake volcano/mountain for like six years, and it took until now to find the appropriate mini-Airwolf. Now I just need to order one of these babies, paint it black, and get out my Ernest Borgnine figurine.

    *starts humming Airwolf theme*

    • Re:Finally (Score:5, Funny)

      by gotroot801 ( 7857 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:07AM (#5824091) Homepage Journal

      I've had this model fake volcano/mountain for like six years, and it took until now to find the appropriate mini-Airwolf. Now I just need to order one of these babies, paint it black, and get out my Ernest Borgnine figurine.

      ...or just order the Airwolf fuselage halfway down the first order page...

    • Keep a look out for old "Black Hole" action figures - including surely the only commercially produced Ernest Borgnine figure in human history. In grey, IIRC, and as unmistakable as you'd imagine. Probably about the right size, judging by some of the 'copter shots.

      Everything's really starting to come together for you, isn't it?
      • commercially produced Ernest Borgnine figures out there. I personally have in my collection The Wild Bunch Ernest Borgnine, The Posiden Adventure Ernest Borgnine, the Marty Ernest Borgnine. And I'm waiting for delivery of the Single Guy Ernest Borgnine!
    • Too funny... and thanks for putting that theme song into my head for the rest of the day. Now I can get a few of these little babies add some explosives to them, and then see how my Mini-'Airwolf' preforms against my KITT and KARR demolition spectacular! Especially after my modified vehicles [knightreplicas.com] are finished! Ain't RC great?
    • They already had a hard time fitting Ernest Borgnine into Airwolf, do you have a small enough figurine of him to put into mini-Airwolf?

  • Flying Assassin (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zwaffle ( 667535 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:50AM (#5823996)
    Coupled with a wireless camera link, this would make a perfect recon system for the military or law enforcement. Add a weapon to it,...
    • Add a weapon to it,...
      Shhhh or the fbi will take down the helicopter site, your comment and the whole of slasdhot for encouraging terrorists.

    • Re:Flying Assassin (Score:5, Funny)

      by GrEp ( 89884 ) <crb002@gm a i l.com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:01AM (#5824364) Homepage Journal
      Couple that with 20 other helos, GPS, and some swarming software. Then the military might buy it. (As long as the enemy doesn't have "BIG FAN" technology). Kind of scary that we are getting close to the technology of Terminator, where robots are on a better footing than man on the battlefield. All we need is that singularity...

  • Aarh! (Score:5, Funny)

    by FrostedWheat ( 172733 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @08:51AM (#5824001)
    They better be careful or they are gonna decapitate that poor chick!
  • I could have sworn that the submitter said that the small choppers weren't for sale, and yet ended the comment with links to where I could buy them? Forget the sugar cube, I need a caffeine IV.
  • So you can't buy the micro-copter, don't worry - my dad has plenty of similar chicks for sale every year, and cheap!
  • Check out the hot chick on that main page! First the MP3 AK-47 magazine spread, and now this! Keep it up Slashdot boyz!

  • Cool (Score:1)

    by rf0 ( 159958 )
    Now I can dive bomb my missus out of bed when she refuses to get up in the morning? :)

    Rus

  • This thing kicks ass (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Omkar ( 618823 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:00AM (#5824063) Homepage Journal
    It also reminds me of the opening of MIB - you see an insect, it looks like highly advanced tech. Then it splats onto a windshield. This sort of durability limits battlefied (and many other) apps, right?

    • Re:This thing kicks ass (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Jerf ( 17166 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:44AM (#5824668) Journal
      The idea is to make them so cheap that you don't care that you loose a couple; taking them all out over any significant area would require a nuke (literally). (Or a nuke-powered EMP device. EMP is cool and it works but it eats energy like nobody's business.)

      Small things are inherently limited in capability, yes, which is one of the reasons the gray-goo fears are unfounded; nanomachines are only invincible ravenous beasts in science-fiction. In reality it would probably be little more then an annoyance, and gray-goo-type nanomachines would be easily destroyed with the simple application of heat, radiation, or nearly anything else. These helicopters will be able to take a far wider range of environmental conditions then microscopic-scale machines, and we still think of the helicopters as fragile...

  • The Matrix... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Joe the Lesser ( 533425 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:03AM (#5824072) Homepage Journal
    'Can you fly that thing?'

    'Not yet.'

    *makes phone call*

    'Tank, I need to fly a chick-sized mini-helicopter.'

    *eyes flutter*

    'Let's go.'

  • So small that it can drop a sugar cube... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jaydeekay ( 96431 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:10AM (#5824110)
    Couldn't a Chinnook or a B2 Bomber drop a sugar cube into my coffee?

    I'm not sure this really says much about how small these coptors are.

  • This is hardly new (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MikeStammer ( 668507 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:11AM (#5824115)
    These arent as micro as micro gets in the heli world! They are small, but not as small as home made kits. These birds also are NOT ballsy (is that a word?) enough to hoist around a camera, let alone a weapon. There are helis that can and do do that. Check this out: http://www.mh.ttu.ee/risto/index.htm He hooked a camera and GPS to his logo and posted some video. cool stuff!
  • ... just a toxic needle in a air-compressed tube and you are ready for an assasination...

  • Real video games now!! comanche here I come (Score:5, Funny)

    by mnmn ( 145599 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:15AM (#5824133) Homepage

    Thats really cool what I just saw. I think my priorities have been reshuffled now, I need to save up for this.

    Then buy a couple with rubber-band missles and do a real lanparty. Better yet small ink canisters to really mess up the opponent on his chair if his copter cant stop yours.

    Or even strap on a teeny camera with a bluetooth transmitter and send it...... places......

  • Pixel vs obtainable RC helis (Score:5, Informative)

    by g5g5g5 ( 414184 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:16AM (#5824138)
    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.
    http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads/ postlist .php?Cat=&Board=UBB1
    Here is a bbs for the product.
  • I feel sad for the chick who is clearly being exploited to show off the MH's size.

    Thousands of these chicks die every year around easter after being mistreated horribly by some annoying little brat who just had to have one for Easter. And now this guy used one to demonstrate the size of his microhelicopter that nobody but the military cares about!

  • First videos don't work (Score:5, Informative)

    by derbs ( 563933 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:31AM (#5824204)
    The first videos seem to 404. Try this: http://www.planetinternet.be/pixel/clipfp1.avi [planetinternet.be] (8.1mb)

  • These are common (Score:3, Informative)

    by andrewm ( 9862 ) <andrewm@netwinder.org> on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:32AM (#5824208) Homepage
    Here's a review of another small one:

    http://rcgroups.com/links/index.php?t=article&ca t= 198&id=4144

    Fits in the palm of one hand.

  • Danger! Decapitation Risk. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Yorrike ( 322502 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:36AM (#5824224) Journal
    The site proclaims these machines to be small enough to fly inside. . . . wouldn't that be the most dangerous toy ever? It'd be like a tiny flying lawn mower!
  • If you like to kick it up a notch, check out www.flycam.nl [flycam.nl]. These machines are app. 2 meter long and can carry an 11 kg payload, so that should be enough for your sugar cubes :-). To get details and specs [flycam.nl], click the site-map link.

    I once read somewhere that these helicopters go for a price of 30-40 thousand. Same as a car....

  • This really ain't news but anyway (Score:5, Informative)

    by NorthDude ( 560769 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:48AM (#5824287)
    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 [ikarus-modellbau.de] which is really small and comes in a kit form.
    Then, there is also the MS Composite Hornet [mrcarbon.com], 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...
    • "If you look carefully, the site as seen its last update 2 years ago."
      • Yeah, sadly the site owner has been bleeding out on the floor for the past two years after being decapitated with one of his toy copters... I guess that explains why they're not available for sale.

      • Those small choper are not very dangerous.
        While they can hurt you a bit, it won't be that bad at all. You wont loose a fingure...
        The .30 or .60 beast are something else tough as those have head speed in the 1500-2000 rpm, and the blades can be quite long to.
        Those can kill! But a piccolo or an hornet would probably not even cut thru the skin...

  • Tethered, but still great fun... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Boss, Pointy Haired ( 537010 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @09:56AM (#5824333)
    I recently bought one of these [snelflight.co.uk] - it's a tethered indoor model heli - and some of the best fun you can have with your clothes on. It comes with a computer based sim so you can plug the actual controller into your PC and try and minimise damage to your living room.

    Around £200 in the UK. I now have to redecorate as a result of buying mine.
  • The mini RC helicopter is good and all but for covert operations you need a mini airship. [thinkgeek.com]
  • The Piccolo, Hummingbird and Hornet are all micros-helicopter and while small, are not as small as the sub-micro like the Helistar (similar to one pictured next to the chick in the story). These smaller machines can be just as expensive to buy as larger gas machines but they are usually less expensive to keep flying since you don't have to always be buying fuel, and parts are less expensive to fix when they crash(if you get one, you will crash it). All these "rotary wing aircraft" are available on HeliHobby [helihobby.com]

  • $500 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mao che minh ( 611166 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:15AM (#5824474) Journal
    The entire collection of required parts is a mere $500, imagine, for only $500 you get seven fiendishly action packed minutes of zany flight time! (unless you pay an extra $100 for the better battery, which will buy you 12 minutes)

    I'm sorry, but I could have a lot more fun with $500:

    1. A night out with my girl
    2. A GeForce 4 ti4200
    3. 256MB more RAM
    4. The new issue of Maxim with Tyra Banks on the cover
    5. Jergen's Extra Silky Smooth Antibacterial lotion
    5. An eight ball of white
    6. A better web host because The Effect made my mini-PC-heli fan page go bye-bye

  • Similar one, but much cheaper... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Ewan ( 5533 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:09AM (#5824849) Homepage Journal
    http://www.wes-technik.de/English/helistar.htm [wes-technik.de]

    only 120grammes, and only 199Euros, which is pretty much $200.

  • Wait a second.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by mog ( 22706 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `elahcmxela'> on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:20AM (#5824931)
    That's not a tiny helicopter - that's a giant chick! Let me be the first to surrender to our new master, this world-eating baby chicken!

  • Impress me (Score:5, Funny)

    by schnitzi ( 243781 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:49AM (#5825156) Homepage
    So small that it can drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee.

    You want to impress me, build a helicopter so small it CAN'T drop a sugar cube into your cup of coffee.

  • Warning! (Score:5, Informative)

    by IWannaBeAnAC ( 653701 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:50AM (#5825163)
    Think really hard and do some research before you buy an RC helicopter. They are not easy to fly, and it takes a *lot* of practice to even get to the first step of being able to just hover.

    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 [rcgroups.com] is a good start.

    Also, a mini RC helicopter is much harder to fly than a larger, specially designed trainer. Be warned.

    • Some would argue that helicopters are relatively hard to fly, period...

      Also, you can add things like heading logic to some brands which make life a bit easier if you're not too good at controlling the tail rotor ;-)

      -psy
    • What you really want is a gyro auto-stabilized hoverer, like the Draganflyer [rctoys.com]. Unfortunately it costs ~$800, but one of these days I may succumb... Check out the videos!
    • Flying an RC helicopter is like flying an RC plane while balancing on the head of a pin (or some analogy like that).

      Hell, flying an RC plane is hard enough, don't forget dangerous!

  • Great! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by GregoryD ( 646395 )
    Now call me when they are able to make em 1/10th the size and put wireless cameras on em as well. Imagine to be a fly on the wall of a woman's locker room. Oh yeah, soon I can be! woohoo! go technology! I think this male fantasy is driving micro technology and 3d technology as well. sign me up for the beta!
  • IANAMHP (MHP==Model Heli Pilot). But I am a student helicopter pilot, with 13 hours in the Schweizer CB300. And it's a real bitch to control for the first 3-5 hours, without the CFI I'd have had at the very least some rough landings, and might've damaged an airframe or 2. One gains a lot of respect for Sikorsky and co when realizing he had no CFI to help him out, and flew experimental craft to boot. Impressive. Anyway, I'll betcha these things are even easier to get out of control than the trainers I fly;

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