Helicopters

Laser choppers for irritating co-workers

There's hope for those plagued by friends and co-workers who insist on irritating us with their flying gadgets: You can now launch a counterattack with a laser-firing helicopter.

OK, so the "Sky Challenger Micro Helicopter" can't really shoot down other airborne toys, but it's still worth it. For one thing, you can give a pair of them to those maturity-challenged acquaintances and send them out to the parking lot so they can shoot at each other instead of bothering you. While they can't knock each other out of the sky, according to Tech Digest, … Read more

A test flight for the president's new chopper

The White House is getting ready to trade in its aging "Marine One" helicopter for a new model, though don't go looking for President Bush to take it for a spin.

The first test aircraft built for the VH-71 Presidential Helicopters Program made its maiden flight Tuesday--in British airspace--in a flight that lasted about 40 minutes, at speeds up to 135 knots.

Why the overseas locale? The helicopter isn't quite a cutting-edge design, despite the billing by its manufacturers as "the world's most technologically advanced helicopter." Instead, it's based on AgustaWestland's … Read more

The dulcet tones of helicopter rotors

Is the sound of helicopter rotors music to your ears? Then perhaps you would have enjoyed Sunday's performance of the "Helicopter String Quartet" by contemporary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.

For the piece, a quartet of musicians play their instruments from inside four hovering helicopters also carrying pilots and sound technicians. The strings blend with the steady sounds of the rotors for the 30-minute piece, which is part of Stockhausen's opera Wednesday from Light.

Sunday's performance, the site Deutsche Welle reports, was put on by the city of Braunschweig, Germany, which currently holds the title "… Read more

Flying gadgets in aerial assault

Here at Crave UK, we're all about the HR violations. Balls are thrown around the office, superiors are groped inappropriately, and songs with rude words are sung, often about the managing director (always behind his back, mind).

But we've just discovered an even cooler way to violate HR rules: with toys from IWantOneOfThose.com. We've already damaged eardrums with the USB guitar, so now we've decided to dive-bomb our workmates with the PicooZ Micro Helicopter (24.95 pounds) and the Mini Bi-Plane (24.99 pounds).

Both are lightweight radio-controlled aircraft, and both are perfect for annoying … Read more

The FlyTech Dragonfly: a new and exciting way to pester your friends

There's a new buzz in the air at CES, and robotic toy company WowWee is creating it. The FlyTech Dragonfly is a remote-controlled dragonfly that can fly, flutter, swoop and crash with gusto. The little Styrofoam-and-plastic bug is thrown like a paper airplane, then controlled using the included Xbox 360 controller-like remote. Because it uses wings rather than a propeller to generate lift, it flies like an erratic airplane. While it's slightly harder to keep in the air and can't take off on its own, it's far easier to steer than spinout-prone remote-controlled mini-helicopters.

The Dragonfly … Read more

Battle of the flying pests

In posting an item on what may be the most annoying toy of this holiday season, it seemed only natural to compare the remote-controlled helicopter with a mosquito. Now we learn that a competing mini-chopper is actually named after the pest and is designed to look like one to boot.

The "Micro Mosquito," which also comes with its own launchpad/charger, claims to be more maneuverable than its rivals because it has two sets of "counter-rotating" blades. It is sold on Firebox.com but at last sighting was listed as "not available"--which either … Read more

Bug your loved ones with a mini-copter

It's that time of year, when every manufacturer in the world hopes to strike it rich with the "It" toy. And every year we're flooded with e-mails touting remote-controlled mini-somethings.

This season, it's the miniature helicopter, all of 6 inches long and about a third of an ounce. You can see one in action in this cheesy video, complete with a score reminiscent of Magnum P.I. (A competing version that looks identical can be seen here too.) The demos are a far cry from this amazing RC plane footage, but the mosquito-like copters are … Read more

Play Monday Night Football in the air

Why should ESPN have all the fun? With the Draganflyer remote-control helicopter (trademark spelling), you can run your own wireless air-cam.

This is no dime-store knockoff either (do dime stores exist anymore)? According to Gizmowatch, "It has a self-leveling feature based on thermal intelligence that uses four infrared sensors to keep a check on temperature difference between sky and ground. The onboard CPU collects the input from these sensors and guides the helicopter to maintain proper level." And don't forget the anti-vibration camera mount.

All that means one thing: It doesn't come cheap. The Draganflyer retails … Read more