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Radio Controlled Things
Did you know radio controlled Things have been around since the nineteenth century? Nikola Tesla gave the first demonstration of an RC device at Madison Square Garden in 1878 when he wowed spectators with a boat that seemed to take commands from the audience. In reality, Tesla was transmitting the crowd's requests via radio frequencies to make the boat perform according to their directions. He was granted a US patent in 1898. Several other inventors followed and soon more patents were issued in France, Spain, Great Britain and the US. The first successful RC aircraft was flown in 1917 by Archibald Low, who was head of the RFC Experimental works at the time. And radio controlled ships were used in world military exercises as early as 1920.1 I had no idea!
Being the fun-loving type, I'm far more interested in radio controlled Things that have absolutely no practical function, but it was fascinating to learn about the history of remotely controlled boats, ships and planes. These days, you can control a lot of Things with radio frequencies, including fake insects, aircraft and cars.
Three of my favorites (mainly because they never fail to totally freak my sister out) are the RC Iguana, Tarantula and Ant. You'd think living in Florida, my sister would have gotten used to lizards of all colors, shapes and sizes. But when I send the Iguana crawling across her floor, she screams like a nine-year old. It's a very realistic recreation of the real thing. The skin even feels, to use her word, "icky." Then I break out the Indiana Jones™ Giant Ant. Given the size of the actual bugs down here, it's an easily believable giant pest. The creepy crawly motion is almost too life-like--it even has a giant mandible that "scissors" as it crawls. The monstrous hairy tarantula has realistic spidery action, too. You can control it from over 15 feet away, chasing your victims from room to room.
Just think, if not for Mr. Low, we might not have all these cool RC flying Things to play with. The Phantom Aerobatic Jet is my favorite plane right now. It can do what no other RC plane I own can do: loops and vertical climbs. How? Dual prop power gives it enough thrust to perform all sorts of aerial acrobatics. It's easy to fly with a remote that includes throttle and directional control and trim and channel switches. Plus, it's made of high-impact foam, which is important, because I crash a lot. Of the helicopters, the Hopper and the Mini are my favorites. The Hopper has two rotors that spin in opposite directions and a weighted fly-bar for stability, so even if you've never flown an RC helicopter before, it's easy to pilot. It's is a very smooth flyer with a "turbo" button for straight lift-offs, and a "hover" button for flying over 100 feet. The Mini is my favorite indoor helicopter. It comes ready to fly right out of the box, it's small enough to fly around my office and it has a crash-resistant plastic canopy that has stood the test of time. I've crashed it into walls, floors, doors and even my desktop. It's still flying!
Radio controlled cars are still my favorite. I own a lot of them, but here are three unique choices I had to add to my collection. First, what's more fun than racing RC cars? Fighting them! The Laser Megabotz Tanks are built for battle, complete with laser cannon and shields. If you get hit, you can't move your tank for four seconds--after ten hits, you're out of the game. You can compete with a friend, play against the computer or let the two bots battle out on their own. The H2Go is a Hydrogen-fueled car that runs on hydrogen. All you need is plain tap water and sunlight to run these fast little racers. The refueling station splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen in about three minutes using electrolysis. Then all you do is plug in to the station, wait about five seconds and you're off! Finally, the Stunt Car Cyclone Racers flip, twist and turn as they zoom across the floor. They have 360 degree spinning action, so you can pop wheelies, spin on one wheel, flip over, plus other stunts I haven't quite mastered yet.
I have to run after my chopper now. It just flew out my office door. I'll see you next week,
Bobby
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_control
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