Everyone loves playing with the latest gadgets and gizmos, from RC cars to RC helicopters there is always a buzz when the next model comes out or a new concept in RC racing evolves. One great thing about RC models is the way that they have progressively evolved into the advanced pieces of kit we see today.
A great item that has recently caught our eye is a new type of bicycle. With the bicycle being around for such a long time it would be difficult to see how this device could evolve. There are many types of bikes from off-road to downhill to bmx to racers but they all require one thing, your own pedal power. Electric Powabyke Bikes are a type of electric cycle that can travel at around 10-15 miles on a single charge and if you are over 14 you can ride it on the road without any formal documents like insurance or a driving license. The bikes are no slouch as they can reach speeds of around 15mph using an electric hub motor and go uphill or into a strong headwind with ease. These are great for the environmentally conscious too as the approximate power usage equates to 1.5 pence per mile.
If you need a new toy to complement your RC models then these bikes are a great alternative to normal bicycles.
Have you ever sat around playing with your mates with radio controlled weapons, such as tanks or mobile missile launchers, but felt that the initial excitement of battling was wearing off? The adrenalin rush you get with every hit has dissipated. What you need is something that gives you a physical reaction rather than just a visual one.
Step up the Remote Control Shocking Tanks, a futuristic looking pair of tanks that shoot out infrared beams. On a direct hit a small voltage is passed through the controller shocking your opponent. Now you have something to fight for. But remember, if your opponent hits your tank, you also get the shock. You will now feel that adrenalin rushing back as you plan your strategy. Do you go for a full out attack or play it cautiously staying behind cover waiting for the right moment.
The winner is the first one to 5 hits. If you set the unit to the low power setting, each time you hit your opponent, one life is lost. If you are feeling brave and set it to high power setting, each hit will result in your opponent losing two lives. With a range of 5 metres it’s ideal for anybody’s home.
What could be better than getting a hit on one of your mates and then acting like a WWE wrestler and shouting “FEEL THE PAIN!”
Have you ever felt guilty sitting down doing nothing? Or when you’re playing with your gadgets? Well now you can play and feel like you are doing something useful. Well, sort of. A mini radio controlled forklift truck is the working mans boy toy and now you too can lift and move boxes around just like the real thing.
It is a replica of the full size truck, standing at a drinks can size, which gives you full steering to accurately pick up the pallet, cones and carton which are included. With the handset you get full control of the lifting mechanism via two buttons on the top and it even replicates the anti-tipping backward tilt found on the original.
If you ever feel that carrying your beer can from the fridge is too much, load it up on a pallet and guide it to your seat with this handy little gadget. Then once you’ve sat down you can lift it up to your hand with the lifting mechanism. Who says toys can’t be useful around the house?
The next time you get nagged to do some tidying up, just fire up the mini forklift and get to work. Admittedly you will only be able to clear away small objects, but every little helps and your conscience will be clear.
Radio controlled cars come in two types of style, either RTR (ready to run) or those that require assembly.
The ready to run cars come built and ready to start driving out of the box, so you don’t need to spend any time assembling anything. There’s no waiting with them. You can of course upgrade the cars later if you wish, so you have customisable options if you feel you want to make some changes.
With an Assembly kit you have to build the car from scratch, from the framework, to the chassis to the gear-box. This requires a lot of time and effort, and can get quite frustrating if you’re not mechanically minded. Nitro cars are also a lot more complicated to build than battery operated cars as they come with a lot of electronic parts, much like a real car.
If building and tuning the car from scratch is something you want to do, you’ll want an assembly kit. However if you just want to get car out of the box and start motoring, you’ll be more suited to a RTR kit.
When deciding to buy a radio controlled car, you first need to decide whether you’re going to opt for an electric rc car, powered by a battery, or for a Nitro rc car, powered by fuel. As a rough guide, here are a couple of the pros and cons associated with the two options:
Electric Battery Powered RC Car
Pros:
The cars are easy to maintain with less moving parts
They tend to be cheaper to buy and to run, so are less damaging on your wallet
Cons:
They’re generally not as fast as Nitro cars, so you’ll get that feeling of ‘it could be quicker’ with an electric RC car
You need to recharge the batteries every 5-10 minutes as they have a very short life, with a long charge time
Nitro Powered RC Car
Pros:
You don’t need to charge the batteries so much as they only use them for minimal functions, and the transmitter
They’re fast, extremely fast. With a highly tuned top spec car you’ll run rings around a battery operate car
Cons:
The price… they tend to be much more expensive to buy and to upgrade
Maintenance. Running a Nitro RC car can be a lot of work as they’ll require constant tuning and upgrades, just like a real car, only smaller
With that in mind, make sure you’re aware of all the facts before you make your choice on what car you want to buy, and what you want it to do.
The Fox Valley Aero Club is one of many radio controlled aeroplane clubs in the United States. The club, quite incredibly, has been around for over 70 years and is made up of a wide range of aviation fans and enthusiasts from the Chicagoland area.
The club is a charter member of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). Also every member of the club is part of the AMA, which gives them liability insurance on their aircraft. Useful when some of the planes flown are over 6 foot in length.
Every Summer, usually around July or August, the club holds an air show named the ‘Festival Of Giants’. This show gets local and national coverage in the media.
If you’re interested in model aircraft and live locally you should pop along and check the club out.
Flying a radio controlled plane can be very difficult and requires a considerable amount of practise to get it right so that you don’t crash the thing. This video shows someone who’s mastered the art of flying an RC plane as he banks, and lands on a makeshift aircraft carrier made from a few tables.
I wonder how many attempts he actually had before doing this correctly. I expect there are a whole host of crashed planes on the floor next to the aircraft carrier.
A while ago we wrote about the incredible radio controlled car that allows you drive it and see through the ‘eyes’ of the driver, the VTS Vision racking System camera car. We’ve found some more photos of the kit that comes with it, including the really cool video glasses (which look great by the way) and the leather look brief case that contains all of the equipment.
You can buy the car, for a very expensive price it has to be said, from the geek site Red 5.
Who wouldn’t take you seriously wearing that?
Plus, imagine what you could with a radio control car that has a camera mounted on it… Interesting.
Park Flyers are small radio controlled planes that weigh less than two pounds and are capable of over 60mph. They’re small, quiet and light and represent a change in the direction of radio controlled planes.
The planes are generally powered by electric or rubber, or some other silent propulsion method.
The AMA is currently looking to get Park Flyer sites setup throughout the US, which can be either indoor or outdoor sites. When deciding on a Park Flyer site members need to determine if the site is safe to fly the plane.
According to the Academy of Model Aeronautics:
As an aid in reaching this goal, we’ve developed a special ‘How to Start a Park Flying Site’ turnkey package so members who are trying to secure a field won’t have to start from scratch when they approach landowners or officials responsible for regulation of public facilities. The package includes a DVD to show landowners and park officials what park flying is all about––and how different it is from the engine-powered, radio-control flying with which they may already be familiar. There are tips on how to approach officials and landowners, plus instructions on how to set up a field. It even includes a guide for how to quickly and efficiently organize a club, its bylaws, and field rules. And best of all, members will be able to inform landowners and officials that they’d be covered by AMA site liability coverage in the amount of $2.5 million, which should serve as a great incentive. The goal is to make it easier for official AMA recognized flying sites to be developed quickly and in great numbers.
Fourteen year-old Gareth Hunt (not the guy from the coffee ads) is looking forward to winning a big radio controlled car race in a few weeks. Gareth, from The Lane, Sauchen, has been racing radio controlled cars for four years and competes in both indoor and outdoor races.
Gareth recently competed in the Much More Grand Prix in 2007 and finished as top junior.
Coming up shortly is what has been described as one of the world’s largest radio controlled car races, in Mineralwell Park, Stonehaven, and Gareth will be there to compete.
Running from June 13 - 15, the race is expected to have over one hundred entries on each day. Friday is the practise session.
Gareth says about his racing:
Now that I am older, I also enjoy the challenge of building my own cars, painting the body shells and setting up the car to race on different tracks and surfaces - this can be indoors on carpet or outdoors on tarmac.
I have won a few races locally in Inverurie and Stonehaven, I also had a good finish (third) in the UK juniors last summer.
I am looking forward to the Much More UK GP at Stonehaven because the driving standard will be really high and I will have the opportunity to race against drivers from all over the UK and from different parts of the world. Hopefully I can also learn more from these very experienced drivers to help me drive faster and to improve my car set up.
I will also be taking part in the UK juniors again this summer to be held in Bedworth, England, so it will be really busy again this summer racing both in local club rounds and national events.
I hope lots of people come along to watch the racing at Stonehaven - it’s really exciting and you will be surprised at the very high speeds the cars reach on the fastest section of the race track.
Fourteen year-old Gareth Hunt (not the guy from the coffee ads) is looking forward to winning a big radio controlled car race in a few weeks. Gareth, from The Lane, Sauchen, has been racing radio controlled cars for four years and competes in both indoor and outdoor races.