Oct 15 2009 UPDATE: 6-Year Old (NOT) Floating Around In Homemade UFO Balloon
That's no 'Get Well' balloon, that's a 20' foil aircraft with a 6-year old boy inside, floating aimlessly 8,000 feet above eastern Colorado. Uh-oh.
The helium balloon was tethered to the boy's family home in Fort Collins, the Larimer County Sheriff's Department said. The boy got into the craft Thursday morning and undid the rope anchoring it.
Margie Martinez of the Weld County Sheriff's Office said a sibling saw the boy climb into the basket before the balloon took off. Since the door on the balloon was unlocked, Martinez said it's possible the boy had fallen out."The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all," said Erik Nilsson, Larimer County emergency manager, according to CNN affiliate KMGH.
Great, so he either fell out or won't survive the crash. Hooray for positive thinking. Come back down safely, balloon boy.
UPDATE: No boy when balloon landed. Not good.
UPDATE UPDATE: Falcon (the boy's actual name) was found hiding in a box in the garage attic (great search effort). This calls for celebration! (you hold him down, I'll tie on the fireworks)
6-year-old Colorado boy floats away in balloon [cnn]
Thanks to Jimmothy, stacy, jordana, dorothy, NICKSTER, rya, Jake, e.,The Superficial Writer, steven, Nigel, Valhalla, Lizzie, Noah and pepe la PEW PEW, whose parents thankfully never let them play around giant UFO balloons unsupervised.
Sep 28 2009 Crazy: Lockheed Martin's Samurai Monocopter
Monocopters are single-bladed airfoils, best known for falling from maple trees as whirligigs. But this is a radio controlled version developed by Lockheed Martin that actually flies UP instead of only down. I predict robotic versions in the future with really, really sharp blades on them.
Eventually, the SAMARAI project was supposed to produce a nanomonocopter (?) about the same size as a seed pod (on the order of 1.5 inches long and 10 grams in weight), driven by a miniature rocket or jet thruster, able to send back streaming video (that was stabilized somehow), autonavigate, and deliver a 2 gram payload up to a kilometer away. The big version in the video above was a testbed to help engineers figure out just how to get this thing to fly in a stable and controllable manner.
Forget helicopters and monocopters, what ever happened to good old fashioned jetpacks? Because jetpacks, as my Magic 8-Ball just confirmed, are the wave of the future. Just saying, you ever made love to a girl wearing one? Don't do it from behind.
Lockheed Martin SAMARAI UAV Scares Me [botjunkie]
Aug 7 2009 Chinese Farmer Builds Wooden Roflcopter
Some guy in China went and made his own helicopter entirely out of wood. Except for the engine. Because wooden engines are stupid. Admit it, maple motor, you are dumb!
20 year old Chinese farmer Wu Zhongyuan built himself a helicopter using only -- according to the man -- what he remembers of middle school physics lessons and "relevant knowledge [found while] surfing the Internet via my mobile phone."
His single-seater conveyance has blades made from the wood of an Elm tree, a frame reinforced with steel pipes and uses an engine from a motorcycle -- all for around $1,600. Wu claims the 'copter can get him as high as 2,600 feet, though it seems he's grounded for the time being as the Chinese government has forbid him to fly because of safety reasons.
First of all -- 2,600 ft? Sure you're not exaggerating a little, Wu? By say, oh I dunno, 2,599 and 3/4 feet? Also, that is just like a government to prevent a man from having any fun. Know what I'm sayin'? Legalize it!
Chinese MacGyver builds working helicopter out of wood [dvice]
May 2 2009 Weed Copter Spots The Pot, Alerts The Cops
The 'Canna Chopper' is an unmanned miniature helicopter fitted with "odor and video detection instruments" that locates your field of (pipe) dreams in the Netherlands and notifies authorities. Needless to say, it's the polar opposite of a ROFLCOPTER.
On its maiden voyage it managed to locate a cannabis farm and officers arrested seven growers and recovered several kilos of the outlawed weed. Now all it needs is a gun attached to its underside and it could make its own arrests.
Robot, kill it. And also, stay the hell away from my basement, nothing to see down there. Smell -- what smell? Well, can't say I didn't warn you. *pew pew*
Dutch 'Canna Chopper' sniffs out cannabis fields from the air [dvice]
Thanks to twellve and Mr. Fancy, who are both smart enough to know that drugs your screw up brain real bad.
Apr 24 2009 Robotic Heli-Sniper Is Sadly No ROFLCopter
The army is testing out a new robotic-helicopter mounted sniper rifle for urban warfare because, well, CONSPIRACY! Are you ready for this? Our government is....are you sitting down? Our government is....ROBOTS! AAAAAHH! Did you hear that? I thought I heard something.
It's called the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System. It mounts a powerful rifle onto highly stabilized turret, and fixes the package on board a Vigilante unmanned helicopter.The system is intended for the urban battlefield -- an eye in the sky that can stare down concrete canyons, and blink out targets with extreme precision. Attempting to return fire against the ARSS is liable to be a near-suicidal act: ARSS is described as being able to fire seven to 10 aimed shots per minute, and it's unlikely to miss.
Thankfully, the system is not autonomous (yet) and relies on a ground-based pilot with AN XBOX 360-LIKE CONTROLLER to maneuver and fire. Haha, and everyone said all those hours headshotting prepubscent boys in Halo wouldn't get you anywhere! *sniff* I'm just so proud, you little army of one, you!
Army Tests Flying Robo-Sniper [wired]
Thanks to Bo, Lethak, WunderKraut, jk and Todd, who, BOOM, headshot!
Apr 3 2009 Par 3: The World's Most Extreme Golf Hole
South Africa's Legends Golf & Safari Resort has a very special hole 19 -- a par 3 with a teebox that sits 1,400 feet above the green. The 630-yard hole requires a helicopter to reach the tee and a ball takes nearly 30 seconds to drop to the green below (provided you don't whiff it).
Playing all 19 holes runs about 2,000 South African rand, or about $220 in American bills, but for that you get the helicopter ride, plus a bunch of souvenir swag and a DVD of your shot.
Sweeeeet. Nailing a hole-in-one on the the 19th nets you a cool $1 million. So, practice your swing and meet me in South Africa (read: you bring radio-controlled balls).
Hit the jump for an amazing video of the hole.
Continue Reading " Par 3: The World's Most Extreme Golf Hole "
Apr 3 2009 UPDATE: A Helicopter Hotel That Flies
The Hotelicopter is allegedly real, although I have some serious doubts (especially if you go to THIS PAGE and see how they're hocking some renderings as real "test flight" pictures). That, and we're two days to April 1st. Still, it might be (but it's totally not).
Experience the adrenaline rush of taking off and flying high in the largest helicopter ever produced. The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience.
The Hotelicopter is modeled on the Soviet-made Mil V-12, of which there were only two prototypes ever made. The Mil V-12 took its first flight in Russia in 1968 and was awarded numerous world records, which it still holds today. The vehicle also earned the prestigious Sikorsky Prize awarded by the American Helicopter Society for outstanding achievements in helicopter technology.The Hotelicopter Company purchased one of these prototypes from the Mikhail Leontyevich Mil helicopter plant in Panki-Tomilino, Russia in 2004 and have been engineering the world's first flying hotel ever since.
Eh. Even if it is real I can't say I'm that excited. And not just because I could never afford a flight. No, I'm afraid of heights. Which is why I sleep on a mattress on the floor. Now, which one of you lovely ladies wanna join the ten-inch high club? Memory-foam topper, just sayin'.
UPDATE: FAKE, I just got an email from Hotelicopter.
Thanks for your coverage of The Hotelicopter!
I wanted to let you know that while The Hotelicopter is not real, hotelicopter the company is - we're a new travel brand launching next week.Can you please update your post accordingly? We did ask Yotel permission to use their images in our prank, and they agreed.
Hit the jump for a couple more of the questionableness, including the interior.
Dec 15 2008 DIY: R/C Helicopter With .45 Handgun
We've already seen a R/C helicopter with an automatic shotgun attached, but, as the Constitution explicitly states, radio controlled vehicles with firearms attached are everyone's God-given right. Enter the .45 handgun-copter, just in time for the holidays. Which, incidentally, coincide with, uh, squirrel hunting season? And speaking of which, do squirrels shit? And if so, what does it look like? There's a ton of those little arboreal bastards around, but I never see any droppings.
Youtube
Thanks to jason, who once ROFLMAOBBQcoptered the Swedish Bikini Team.
Sep 5 2008 UPDATE: Now With Video And Cat Picture: Helicopters Teach Themselves To Fly, Hilarity Does Not Ensue, PEW PEW PEW Does
Mad scientists at Stanford have created helicopters that can teach themselves to fly difficult acrobatic maneuvers simply by watching another helicopter perform them. Start building that bunker.
The dazzling airshow is an important demonstration of "apprenticeship learning," in which robots learn by observing an expert, rather than by having software engineers peck away at their keyboards in an attempt to write instructions from scratch."I think the range of maneuvers they can do is by far the largest" in the autonomous helicopter field, said Eric Feron, a Georgia Tech aeronautics and astronautics professor who worked on autonomous helicopters while at MIT. "But what's more impressive is the technology that underlies this work. In a way, the machine teaches itself how to do this by watching an expert pilot fly. This is amazing."
Jesus, so all the robots need is one crazy asshole to teach them how to do something, and it's goodbye humanity. This is depressing. So, to cheer you back up, I'll tell you a funny story.
I'm working from home today and one of the cats (affectionately known as The Terrorist) won't leave me alone. He keeps trying to pull the keys off my keyboard while I type. So I lightly squeezed one of his back legs to see if it was big enough for a meal, and you know what the little Kitler did? He dribbled a little wet shit out his cookie cutter -- just to spite me. Then I had to chase the bastard around the house with a paper towel for five minutes trying to wipe it out of his fur before he sat on something. And that, dear reader, is my life. Happy lunch!
Hit the jump for a picture of the loveable little a-hole after I pawcuffed him.
UPDATE: Video added after the jump, thanks to Whitey, who's way paler than you are.
Jul 25 2008 Man Jumps From Helicopter, Catches Marlin
This is a video of a guy helicopter fishing, or heli-fishing, or jumping out of a helicopter onto a Marlin if you're not into the whole brevity thing. Allegedly it's real, but there were a couple things that made be believe otherwise. Like the guy filming in the water is already right freaking there (I think he tranquilized the fish), and jumping onto something with a spear-nose seems dangerous. Nevermind, people are always doing stupid, dangerous shit. So I guess that makes it real. I'm trying it.
UPDATE: Turns out I don't live near the ocean, gonna have to improvise. Oh oh -- got it!
UPDATE UPDATE: Okay, I jumped off the top of the bedpost onto a whale and finally caught it. Not the whale, herpes.
Have a great weekend everyone, XOXO.
Jun 24 2008 FAKE: Uncontacted Amazon Tribe A Hoax
Remember the story about the previously-unknown Amazon tribe? Well it turns out it's not entirely true. The photographer that took the picture, José Carlos, has admitted that the tribe has, in fact, been known about since 1910. He created the hoax "in order to call attention to the dangers the logging industry may have on the group." No way, José. Now they're probably gonna log the hell out of that poor tribe just to spite you. What you did was wrong. That's like a highschool health teacher contracting STDs to show to the class. It does makes some kind of point, but you can't help but wonder if there was an easier way.
The Not-So-Lost Tribe [yahoobuzz]
Thanks Abraham, they got me too.
May 30 2008 Freaked Out And Pissed Off: Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Photographed From Aircraft
From The Gods Must Be Crazy 3 department come these photos of a rare uncontacted Amazon Indian tribe. As you can see, they're none too happy about the flying apparatus that's come to kill them all.
The photographs of the tribe near the border between Brazil and Peru are rare evidence that such groups exist. A Brazilian official involved in the expedition said many of them are in increasing danger from illegal logging.
Of more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, more than half live in either Brazil or Peru, Survival International says. It says all are in grave danger of being forced off their land, killed and ravaged by new diseases.
Now was it really necessary to scare the everliving shit out of the tribe by buzzing their village? Couldn't we have gotten some satellite images or something? This just seems wrong. Now they probably think their gods are mad at them or something. Shit, I'm gonna have to head down there and straighten things out aren't I?
UPDATE: poison-arrowed in the face...fading fast...tell my wife I love her and have one last request...to burn the shoebox in the bottom of my closet -- under no circumstances should she open it...afterwards tell her I've always hated her and she burnt her inheritance.
A couple more pictures of the pissed off tribe after the jump.
Continue Reading " Freaked Out And Pissed Off: Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Photographed From Aircraft "
May 20 2008 R/C Helicockter Interrupts Russian Speech
Did you read the post title carefully? That's right folks, somebody made a flying phallus and flew it into a news conference when Russian chess grandmaster and political activist Garry Kasparov was giving a speech. No idea if Vladamir Putin was the man behind the styrofoam salami, but he most certainly was. A translation of the website I got it from? Sure.
I do not have any sympathy for the Kremlin nor holuyam rumolovtsam nor kasparovsko-limonovskim dissenting, but this event fun ...
в общем, как я понял, румоловцы запустили на каспарова сию аццкую боеголовку: In general, as I understood it live on rumolovtsy kasparova retirement hellish warhead.From the video, obviously, that this "person Kremlin" kasparov strangely was wound circles over Limonovym until it is not brought down any of brave fighters kasparovskih.
Well there you have it, straight from the keyboard of some Ruski. And hellish warhead is right. Seriously though -- so someone flies a weapon of mass (erectile) dysfunction into your conference, big deal. Just make a penis joke and move on. I mean at least it wasn't pierced.
Arguably NSFW picture and VIDEO after the jump.
WARNING: It's a flying, relatively realistic styrofoam penis.
Continue Reading " R/C Helicockter Interrupts Russian Speech "
May 16 2008 Heligoodness!: Airwolf Replica For Sale
We've seen helicopters made of junk, mini-gunning helicopters, and even a couple renditions of personal helicopters, but this is the grandaddy of helisweetness -- Airwolf. Airwolf was an awesome TV show about a supersonic military helicopter and its crew. If you're too young to remember it then you should probably just ask your mommy for another sippy cup and to put you back in your playpen for a nap. I kid -- I barely remember it myself. But not because I wasn't alive and relatively coherent at the time it aired (1984-1987), it's just that I got spat on by a camel at the petting zoo and lost part of my memory. Or it could be all the drinking. Whatever the case, a replica of the helicopter is now for sale on eBay.
The full size Airwolf replica was made with an existing Bell 222A airframe. The side panels, nose panel and refueling port were all made from the specs from the original Airwolf and are exact. The ADF pod and chainguns are not included in this auction, but will be available if anyone is interested. The interior is not finished, but the pilot and co-pilot seats have been reupholstered and the instrument panel has been mocked up. Airwolf inspired a whole generation to learn to fly helicopters and this replica is beautiful.
Unfortunately it doesn't fly.
Q: Could it fly with the right components?A: Not sure. It doesn't have any paperwork, but I don't know if there is a way around that. My guess is yes, but it would be a long(dealing with the FAA.) and costly process.
Well ain't that some shit. That's like selling KITT with no engine, wheels, flashing red lights, or ability to talk. Which, my friends, would be sad enough to make the Hoff cry tears of pure chest hair.
A bunch more pictures of the replica and a link to the auction after the takeoff.
Continue Reading " Heligoodness!: Airwolf Replica For Sale "
May 1 2008 Oh Hell Yes: The Personal Rocket-Copter
We've seen personal helicopters here before, but nothing with the added awesomeness of jet-power. Well now from the same company that brought us the Rocket Belt (Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana) comes the Libelula (named after a part of a woman's nether-region if I'm not mistaken) Rocket Helicopter. It's currently just conceptual, but they actually sold the Rocket Belts, so this may become a reality as well (oh hell yes, please). "By using tiny rocket motors at the tips of the rotor blades, the Libelula eliminates the torque which makes a tail rotor necessary in a conventional helicopter." Now, as a guy who judges how much fun something will be based on the level of danger involved, I give the rocket-copter a "moderate-to-high" ranking for fun potential. If they added bombs and missiles it'd score a solid "high". If it came with a faulty fuel gauge, one of the blades was just barely attached, and people shot at you every time you flew it I'd give it an "extreme" rating. Which, besides having unprotected sex with my ex-girlfriend, is the only activity to rank so highly.
Strap on rocket powered helicopter lets you demonstrate your bravery [dvice]
Feb 6 2008 Mini Helicopter: Go Go Gadget Deathwish
First the personal hover device, and now the personal helicopter. Allegedly it's the world's smallest (and probably most dangerous). Now I value my head (mostly for my handsome face, my brain is pretty worthless) so you won't catch me anywhere near one of these things. But for the more adventurous person maybe this could be fun. And by it could be fun I mean it could be the last thing you ever do.
Tiny personal helicopter: pleasure machine or death trap? [dvice]
Jan 28 2008 Neat Idea: Whirly-Gig Helicopter Camera
Designer Tsunho Wang has developed the Flying Stick, which is a whirly-gig camera. You just rub it between your palms and let go. It takes off and snaps pictures at regular intervals and even has face recognition capabilities. Well it would if it was real. Right now it's still conceptual. Pretty cool though, I really want one. Far safer than my old method of taking shots from above, which was to climb a tree or get on the roof. Although this could be dangerous in its own way. You know , if it came down in your eye.
UPDATE: I just went outside and did a little experimenting, and I think I've come up with a great solution to aerial photography. This is what you do: You borrow your roommate's camera, set the timer, and right before it goes off you throw it as high as you can. Since it's not your own camera there's no need to worry about catching it, so there's no chance of bodily harm. You just let it fall.
UPDATE: Mike -- sorry about your camera dude. I went into your room to see if you were here and I saw it smashed to bits on your desk. Someone who really hates cameras must have broken into the apartment and spotted it. I'm not totally sure but I think they may have eaten the rest of your cereal and pissed in one of your dresser drawers too.
A couple more pictures after the jump.
Continue Reading " Neat Idea: Whirly-Gig Helicopter Camera "
Jan 21 2008 R/C Helicopter Is Crazy, Operator Has Skills
This video is pretty old, but I'd never seen it before so I figured there were probably some of you out there that haven't either. It's a video of a guy flying an R/C helicopter and doing the craziest things I've ever seen with it. I thought it was fake at first, but it's real. Can you imagine what it would be like if full-size helicopters flew like that? I can, and it would be a lot like puking uncontrollably.
Thanks to sexy Pete, who is both sexy and Pete, for the video
Dec 5 2007 Helicopter With Automatic 12-Gauge Shotgun
The AutoCopter Gunship is the toy I always wanted growing up. It's a helicopter with a freaking Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun by Military Police Systems attached.
The AutoCopter uses patented "intelligent neural network-based flight control algorithms" for automated flight control, and "utilizes a system that reduces recoil by 90 percent, thus the helicopter doesn't go into an instant tailspin the second the gun is fired.
Hot dog! I need one in a bad, bad way. This thing is going to jack up my paintball matches several degrees. Yep, probably right up to the first degree. Murder. Because I forgot to replace the shotty with a paintball gun.
Cool video of the thing firing after the take-off.
Continue Reading " Helicopter With Automatic 12-Gauge Shotgun "
Nov 26 2007 Flying 'Robot' Sure To Be A Hit For Christmas
The XPV R.A.D. Robotic Air Defense toy ($65) is billed as an awesome flying robot toy. While the unit does fly, and the figure attached does light up and do some talking, I'm hard pressed to call him a robot. I expect more out of a robot than blinking eyes and missile sounds. However, the thing still seems cool.
Capable of performing amazing aerial stunts. Flight range of over 300 feet. Flies up to 30 MPH and over 20 stories. New, super-light stealth styling inspired by real stealth planes. Twin turbo engine design. Made with impact resistant material. Includes first aid vehicle repair kit. Detachable blaster included. 2 Channel controller.
Not only that, but the thing drives on land and the XPV battery charger can charge other USB devices you may have on you. Whoo-wee! Last Christmas I bought one of those micro-helicopters for myself because no one else loves me. It was pretty fun until I wrecked it in the ceiling fan trying to evade a cat. This year I may treat myself to one of these bad boys and chase squirrels around the yard. Because that's what you do when you have no friends.
Video demonstration after the jump.
Continue Reading " Flying 'Robot' Sure To Be A Hit For Christmas "
