Model Aviation Wowness

I’m starting to think about model aviation again. It’s been a long while. I had promised Ma’at that I’d get her in the air at Burning Man 2006. It still seems like a great challenge. There are two big challenges I can think of. First, finding the right plane to put her on. The Trick 1000 didn’t work very well for a few reasons. The second challenge is safety. I want to fly her over the heads of Burners at night. What I want to do is put her on a platform that can (in a worst case scenario) hit a person and have it not hurt. I’ve been hit by my Zagi a few times and the EPP foam and rear-mounted motor made the strike a non-issue. I think it’s possible to make a crash-safe plane but it’s going to take some effort to get such a plane to be able to carry the 12 oz payload of Ma’at and her batteries.

My apartment is strewn with playa-dusty airplane parts as I begin to get things together. While I was looking online for some answers to my questions, I ran across an inspiring video. Give it a view and then tell me flying isn’t uplifting and beautiful.

(Article with video link)
(Video link), Mark Leseberg at Tucson Shootout 2003.

(local version) (26megabytes)

mark-video.jpg

2 Comments

  1. May I use your image of ma’at in a web invitation for my night flying project for Burning Man ’08? You can see my use at:

    http://66.253.5.254/aerodrome/

    I flew at at the Temple burn in ’05 (Masonic eye in the sky) and came up with a fairly safe design.

    In ’07 I flew a giant sperm, see it at http://askanewyorker.com/newyorker.php?page=Sep07

    It is the same basic flying wing format I used in ’05.

    thanks

    Breck

    eachplacebo@gmail.com

  2. Lee says:

    >May I use your image of ma’at
    Absolutely, yes :-)

    “50 night flying aircraft in an above ground aeroquaruim”?!?!?!? That sounds AMAZING. I’m in.

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