Cheap Fun

One day, some years ago, I had driven to where my wife worked with her and waited outside in the parking lot while she went in to do something or another. While sitting there I noticed some guys who were apparently on a break, flying a little remote controlled plane. It was amazingly acrobatic and it looked like a lot of fun and I went over and talked with them about it.



It seems the hobby has gotten to the point where super light little RC planes are efficient and cheap and remarkably effective. This is an Air Hogs Aero Ace which sells for $29.95 at toy stores and Target type retailers. Here's a video showing how you can fly them in pretty small backyard spaces. They have two push propellers and are extremely acrobatic out of the box. I modify them by putting a small weight on the nose, like half a rubber washer, to level the flight and keep them from porpoising up and down. That way you can really send them quite a distance and way up there, but any more than a football field or so and you can't see them any more. They have a battery in them that recharges from the hand held controller and can stay in the air for 10 - 12 minutes or so. Bring one of these to a park and every kid in sight will be transfixed.

Then again some people like to take this a few levels up: