With all the panic during rush-hour, only one man actually immediately realized that the 'copter was a wee bit too small. I hope they give that particular officer an award of some kind. Or better yet, a promotion to a department that wouldn't give me a ticket for racing an RC car. [Post and Courier via Obscure Store]

Photo by Locutis

Like the X6—featured in Giz Gallery 2008—the X4 is a carbon fiber-bodied UAV with four carbon fiber rotating blades. The 680-gram (with battery) copter is capable of using a still/video camera (in this case, a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot), an infrared camera and a low-light camera, all of which can be controlled from the ground. The X4 also features three accelerometers, three gyroscopes, three magnetometers and a barometric pressure sensor, and the controller is based on an OLED touchscreen. The X4 only has four motors to the X6's six, but that comes at a big boon to the pricey 'copter: The X6 checked in at about $15,000, and the X4 should be more like $10,000.

So yeah, this thing is still super expensive. But it's also just about the best heli-cam we've ever seen, capable of flying both indoors and in inclement weather (up to 18mph of wind). Check out these videos at Draganfly's site to get a real sense of the true badassery of the copter. [Draganfly]

Here are ten machines that are so enormous that they'll screw with your sense of what's large, what's small, and what is truly gigantic—each handily put into scale.

A fair bit longer than the Eiffel Tower laid flat, is how big. [DarkRoasted Blend]

The Komatsu 9xx Series mining trucks look a bit like Tonka toys. No, they look exactly like Tonka toys. [MiningTopNews]

24-foot-tall Tonka toys, mind you. [E-Transport.ro]

Howard Hughes' ill-conceived, ill-fated Spruce Goose has always been fascinating to me. HAY GUYS, LET'S MAKE A PLANE OUT OF WOOD! WHAT COULD GO WRONG? [Colorado U]

Along with being a hugely strange idea, it was hugely huge. That's the 1019-ft Queen Mary cruise ship, for reference. [DriveArchive]

The Bagger 288 strip-mining machine has gained plenty of notoriety on the internet, mainly on account of looking like it was designed to kill. It isn't, at all, but you can't fault us for jumping to conclusions. Look at it! [DRB]

The general public's unease about this horror machine won't be helped by the fact that it's large enough to saw large ships in half, and gobble up a bulldozer without so much as flinching. [Wikimedia]

Old Soviet military hardware is incredibly interesting—a vestige of a time when both of the world's superpowers applied their distinctively different philosophies to a race to design some of the most ridiculous machines ever created. But surely this photo of a Typhoon Class submarine is just the victim of some zoom lens distortion, right? [DGIBNET]

Ha ha, not at all. Those there are humans, see? [Webpark.ru]

The Space Shuttle Conveyor is a literally-named, track-driven machine that you've probably seen before, saddled with one of NASA's various, now-dormant spacecraft. But it's hard to even judge how big the shuttle is, much less its ride. [NASA]

As you probably guessed, it's inconceivably gigantic.

The B-2 Bomber is another familiar piece of hardware, but one that is usually pictured without comparison, flying through the air, looking secretive. It's a stealth plane, and it's shaped like a Styrofoam glider, so I always imagined it as fairly lithe. [Af.mil]

It's actually startlingly large, with a wingspan of over 172ft. [OklahomaCity on Flickr]

Anyone with knowledge of power generation can tell you that it's no wimpy windmill that can pump out six megawatts of power, and that this windmill must be fairly substantial.

Whether they'll be able to find the words to fully describe how substantial it is is another matter entirely. Those orange specks peeking out of the fan's face like insects? Those are maintenance workers. [Giz]

At first glance the Knock Nevis supertanker, with its weird name and goofy-large "No Smoking" sign below the officer's deck, looks like your average cargo ship: Pretty big, pretty flat and and pretty boring. [Wikimedia]

Far from it: The largest ship in the world, measuring in at over 1,500 feet long, ole' Nevis is a floating city. [DamnCoolPics]

The Mil Mi-26 is one of the classic sense-of-scale killers, since its proportions are almost exactly like a regular helicopter, just bigger. How much bigger? [Wikimedia]

That little black thing hanging from the Mi-26's hook there is a Chinook, which is nearly a hundred feet long. [Aerospaceweb]

And he did, to an incredibly impressive 2,600 feet before Chinese authorities grounded him for "safety reasons."

The rig, comprised of metal bars, a motorcycle engine and wooden rotors, cost him a mere $1,600. He has no formal aviation training, but still managed to assemble the rickety beast using a recollection of middle school physics courses and "relevant knowledge [found while] surfing the Internet via my mobile phone." As a blogger, I can relate.

Update: Correct, fair commenters. In the original article it's stressed he "claimed" an altitude of 2,600 feet. Shenanigans until we see a video, I agree.

Update 2: More credibility: Apparently Chinese farmers make homemade helicopters all the time! [Ananova via DVICE]

As you might have guessed, the experience on board the Hotelicopter is far from your standard Motel 6. This gigantic flying Titanic machine features everything you would expect from a 5-star hotel—from private entertainment systems and room service to extras like spa treatments, yoga classes, gaming and a tea garden.

If you were wondering just how big and powerful this flying hotel really is, check out the specs:

* Dimensions Length: 42 m (137 ft)
* Height: 14m (45 ft)
* Maximum Takeoff Weight: 105850 kg (232,870 lb)
* Maximum speed: 255 km/h (137 kt) (158 miles/h)
* Cruising speed: 237 km/h (127 kt) (147 miles/h)
* Original Mi Range: 515 km (320 mi)
* Our augmented Mi Range - 1,030 km (640 mi)

The inaugural flight is set to take place on June 26th for an undisclosed price. Obviously, only the affluent need apply—but anyone that is interested can head on over to the Hotelicopter website to get more info about setting up a reservation. [Hotelicopter Thanks Zlooop!]

UPDATE: Sadly, the Hotelicopter has been outed as a fake.

The X6 is a spy drone with wireless video and still cameras (in hi-def, infra-red and 0 lux flavors) that can fly autonomously, or as a remote-controlled bot. It has 11 sensors (including gyros, accelerometers, barometers, magnetometers and GPS) and is so easy to pilot, a Wii gamer could do it. Now it will be used by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Saskatoon Police to patrol crime scenes and help gather evidence.

At it's core, this is the same Draganflyer X6 we've come to know and love in the past, but now with a shiny police badge and a healthy distaste for crime. Canadian perps, be afraid. Be very, very afraid. [Draganfly]

Right, I'll back up for a second. The embattled chopper(s)—under fire for their cost and alleged foreign manufacture—have been trotted out by republicans as an example of government spending spun out of control. Just as that controversy seemed to be subsiding, reports surfaced that the blueprints and avionics package for Marine One have been leaked over a peer-to-peer network, to Iran. Oops?

The leak wasn't at all intentional, unless you consider trusting technical illiterates with such sensitive material "intentional". No, the leak happened because an employee at a unnamed defense contractor (The Register thinks it's Lockheed) accidentally stored the files in a P2P folder, or, and this is more likely, just set his entire hard drive to share. Before long, the files had been uploaded to ~~xOsamaFanIran74x~~ and the intelligence community fell into a tizzy, all because some guy wanted to catch up on Big Love during his lunch break. In an interview with WXPI, Wesley Clark summed up the situation—and then, hilariously, the internet—for all of us:

We found where this information came from. We know exactly what computer it came from. I'm sure that person is embarrassed and may even lose their job, but we know where it came from and we know where it went. Once it's out there, it's hard to get it back. I don't think the full ramifications of this have been understood by the watchdog agencies.

[The Register]

The Triceracopter is subtitled "Hope for the Obsolescence of War," and I guess that's why it's a dinosaur combined with a military helicopter. But somehow I feel like it promotes war. I mean, if the US had dinosaur helicopters, you think they wouldn't want to try them out? I mean, come on, dinosaur helicopters!

Just don't say anything like that if you're looking to acquire this piece of art. The artist might not be down with that interpretation. [Facebook via NotCot.org]

But really, should we expect anything less from the era? Look as Betty and little Tim bid daddy a fond morning farewell. His day is just getting started as he primes the motor and lifts off, dressed in his finest double breasted flight suit and matching fedora helmet. However, Betty is showing off a little too much leg in this picture, if you ask me.

In the background, Mailman Jim drops off a bundle for Missy, who will sort it and make sure all the proper letters and bills are laid out in exactly the right place for husband Bob when he gets home.

Here's the original article blurb, which just reeks of safety issues and looming life insurance claims (no wonder the wife is smiling):

"The third model has corrected some of the above mentioned faults. The engine now is slung under the seat directly beneath the center of gravity. This warms the pilot in cold air and improves the machine’s balance. The model at present is being tested. There still remains, however, the sense of insecurity—of riding a flying swivel chair with no visible means of support. Pentecost and his associates are perfectly well aware of this natural reaction and have planned a weatherproof enclosure for the machine."

[Modern Mechanix via Boing Boing]

His suit is 75% Nomex to prevent him from catching on fire and 25% stainless steel thread, which creates a faraday cage around him that pumps about a half a million volts around him at all times. The steel allows the electricity to flow around the outside of his suit, completing a circuit, but none of it touches him.

The best part of this video? The quote at the end: "There’s only three things I’ve ever been afraid of: electricity, heights, and women. And I'm married." Kudos to you, my friend, for facing all three of your fears. [Neatorama]

Though the ability to hover at extremely low altitudes has some obvious military applications, the fact that drones may now be able to dodge unanticipated barriers could help UAVs fly in civilian airspace, something which regulatory authorities in this country don't traditionally allow unless they have a reasonable guarantee against the surprise pulping of unsuspecting bystanders. [NewScientist]

You can pick up your own for $35. Or you can opt for and industrial level waking device. [Toyo Trading via CrunchGear]

That was yesterday at the AugustaWestland facility in Yeovil, UK. It'll be shipped stateside by a C17 to U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River sometime in October for more outfitting and testing. Phase two production is due to total 23 more choppers with "increased range and upgraded navigation and communications systems." Who knew the Pres needed 28 helicopters? [LockheedMartin]

Sikorsky Chief Test Pilot Kevin Bredenbeck maneuvered the prototype for 30 minutes in a few basic tasks: hover, forward flight and hover turn. The project is coming slowly into final shape but when finished, it will be able to cruise easily at 250 knots while maintaining the same features of traditional helicopters, like low speed handling, hovering, and autorotation. [Sikorsky]

[Think Geek via DVICE]

I've seen similar things before, with other fishes and from boats. In this case, it looks absolutely real: it's definitely not 3D or an animatronic—look how it swims away.

I'm sure they tried a few times before actually achieving it, then edited the whole thing to make it appear as a single try. You can also keep the marlin around with food and, like other fishes, they won't run away from you unless you try to approach underwater. And finally, technically the video is impeccable. Maybe that's the trick, and it's fake after all, but I'm inclined to believe that they got it after some hard work. [Heavy]

And in control he was, piloting the buzzing death machine to a totally unnecessary height of over five stories. His apparent skill is especially fortunate considering the close proximity of buildings, power lines and men on motorcycles, each of which poses its own interesting "will it blend" question. The answer to all of them: Yes. This video was secretly released by a friend of the builder, as he had been banned from flight by local officials after a near disaster mere weeks ago.

DIY helicopters are nothing new, but like that Chinese farmer's poop-inducing flight on an even less together-looking craft, Zhaorong's effort deserves special mention for its economy and shear nerviness. [QQ]