This homemade RC plane is big enough to ride in
Published on Jun 14, 2023 at 10:56 AM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on Jun 15, 2023 at 2:59 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
These guys just made a DIY RC plane big enough to ride on.
The RC plane is called an Ekranoplan and it’s built to fly just above the water using ‘ground effect’.
You can watch the craziness unfold here!
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The guys from Think Flight used an old glider they had made previously.
The glider had mixed results so they decided to scrap it and create something even better.
The glider might not have worked perfectly, but it was absolutely bonkers, check it out:
In order to create the plane, the guys needed to make two main changes, the first was to build a cockpit for the pilot to sit in.
And second, they needed to find a way to create thrust.
To do this, they used quadcopter propellers.
Once this was done, their new Ekranoplan was ready to hit the water.
First, they decided to test it on its own, without anyone sitting in it, and they did this by flying it remotely.
On the first go, the RC plane took off, going way further than they thought it would.
“Well I’ll be damned, it works,” they said.
The guys then decided it was time to test how it held up with someone sitting in it.
“This is the first time I’ve ever climbed inside of an RC plane,” they said.
“What am I doing with my life?”
The biggest issue they faced was creating enough power to get the wings out of the water.
With the wings in the water, it created heaps of drag, so the plane needed extra power to be able to lift them up and out.
At first, they managed to lift the wings out of the water but struggled to get enough power to lift the whole plane.
After a number of attempts trying to get enough power to lift the plane above the water with someone in the cockpit, the guys call it a day.
But did they see it as a failure?
Absolutely not, because they got the Ekranoplan moving at crazy fast speeds along the water – even with someone inside.
And as far as DIY builds go, it’s pretty wild.
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Kate Bain is the Page Editor at supercarblondie.com. She is based in Dubai and coordinates coverage of the latest news across automotive, technology, and lifestyle. Kate has a bachelor's degree in business and post graduate in journalism. She is an experienced editor and journalist who has worked for News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. When she's not at work, you'll find her attached at the hip to her dog, Thor.
