Incredible remote-control A380 takes to the skies
The 16-foot-long model is powered by four small turbine engines, and wowed a crowd at a recent model-airplane show in Switzerland.
Soaring over the airshow, the A380 looks as it should -- its double-decker fuselage wowing the crowd watching from below.
But while Airbus' A380 is the world's-largest passenger plane, this aircraft doesn't even have a pilot, at least not one on board. In fact, this is a remote-control scale model of an A380. Built by Peter Michel, the model, made to look like a Singapore Airlines A380, took eight "months, 5,000 working hours, and a whole lot of Styrofoam and lightweight balsa wood" to take air. Plus what appears to be some very cool scale-model jet engines (see video below).
This plane has definitely resonated with aviation fans. As of this writing, the YouTube video showing its flight has been viewed more than 2.7 million times.
According to information provided with the video, the plane is 15.8 feet long, has a wingspan of 17.4 feet, weighs 156.1 pounds, and has a 2.6-gallon fuel tank that burns through 0.3 gallons a minute. Powering the plane are four Jetcat turbine engines.