• By Brian Lam
    Apr 10, 2007 9:34 PM 9,828
    more about

    #carbon

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    read more: #gadgets, #carbon, #carbonbutterfly, #plane, #plantraco, #rcplane, #remotecontrol, #carbonfiber

    Carbon Butterfly Gallery: RC Plane Lighter Than a Sheet of Paper

    The Carbon Fiber Butterfly is the world's lightest RC Plane. Between its transparent plastic wings, the carbon fiber skeleton, the prop, controller chip, drivetrain and rudder, it weighs 3.6 grams. That's less than a sheet of paper.

    The motor and 5:1 gearbox are Swiss made, and the rudder actuator is sensitive to 64-steps, allowing 180-degree turns within a 12-foot-wide room. And the battery pack is a dot-sized 30Mah Lithium ion that docks on the 2-channel remote. The prop? Carbon fiber, of course.

    How does it fly? I won't lie, I'm going to use the included simulator software before I try piloting this $300 plane in my house. But after the gallery, there's a video. More on my maiden flight, later, after flight school.

    Carbon Butterfly

    Video after the jump...as soon as youtube gets its shit together.

    A little history: The Carbon is the successor to the original Butterfly, made from Balsa wood. I won't mince words: That thing was the most fragile gadget I'd ever seen. Within minutes, the slight frame was smashed in three places. –Brian Lam

    Carbon Butterfly [Gizmodo]


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