Tiny models that loiter for hours.

**wonwinglo** · 14-07-2005

NASA,well known for developing small practical model designs that can fly between nations,is now developing similar sized models that can loiter quietly for literally hours on end gathering data,these tiny usually delta shaped machines with wing spans measuring in inches can climb to thousands of feet and then set to record valuable information to send back home or even record on board.
The technology on board worth millions of dollars,will one day benefit model flyers as motors and equipment get smaller & smaller,NASA see the development of these flying modules as paramount to the security of nations,airborne listening devices will replace command vehicles and above all nobody will ever know they exist or are flying miles up in the sky.
Battery technology in particular is bound to develope to sophisticated states,with solar energy harnessed to provide ongoing power for the minute powerplants,pretty exciting stuff not only for NASA but for us here as aeromodellers !

24-08-2005

surely a great example of this would be those new cameras that you can fix to your plane or car and then whatch via a hand held tv whilst driving/flying?

duncan · 24-08-2005

I will bring back some pics from the European MAV`05 event at Garmisch-Partenkirchen (floods permitting) in Sept. There will be task including flying to target area and recording an image or shape in an enclosure. The aircraft must be less than 10" in size. This is a civilian event but "interested parties" will be present and contracts worth many thousands of Dollars may be awarded. Might have my camera confiscated ! I`ll try plan B then...!

**wonwinglo** · 24-08-2005

First of all Duncan just love that Smilie !! yes I really believe that small unmanned aircraft will play a very important part in the future military for surveillance,now we really do have the technology within our grasp to design and produce such aircraft anything is possible,this can only in the long ( or short for that matter) term bring yet even more hope for models that do not require a stadium to fly in,even now at Leicester we have enthusiasts flying little more than 1=72 nd scale aeroplanes around a sports hall,there are some very clever people out there prepared to push the boundaries of miniaturisation to its limits,and yopu know what ? I reckon there is a good chance we will all witness these great things in our lifetime...

duncan · 25-08-2005

Imagine a jet engine with many components made from stainless steel hypodermic needles, hydrogen-peroxyde rocket powered insect size flying objects, ornithopters with livng mebrane surfaces that can alter shape by electric current. Not science-fiction, it is here now. The 10" ones at Garmisch are the amateurs, God knows what the pros are doing, and She probably wont like it !

new to trains · 25-08-2005

does that mean i will get thrown out of the garage and my model studio in the future and i will then be expected to keep my whole model collection in a shoe box ?
NO ! i hope not, i have my radio and my beer fridge in the models studio !