Awesome R/c

After seeing the airplane-like shape of Japan’s high-speed bullet trains, aerospace engineer Peter Sripol thought it would be fun to build a model airplane based on the design. It took a lot of experimentation with wing placement, but he eventually got his prototype to fly. Will the scaled-up model stay airborne or will it derail mid-flight?

The Mowrator S1 lawnmower can be operated remotely while you sit in your lounge chair. It mows perfectly straight lines with its cruise control feature and dumps clippings hands-free. It’s also got a vacuum for sucking up leaves, and the AWD model can drive on steep inclines. Its rechargeable battery pack can mow up to 1.125 acres per charge.

We have a hard enough time putting together an off-the-shelf model. Top One Maker is an overachiever and builds all of his models from scratch. In this video, he shows how he took some grey PVC pipe, heated it, and cut and assembled the pieces to form the body and chassis of a remote-controlled Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63 SUV.

This crazy flying bicycle was created by Chinese maker Aircraft Model Art. He started by purchasing the lightest bicycle he could find, then made a custom foam wing and attached a pair of powerful motors. It took several redesigns to come up with a version that could stay airborne. We suggest turning on English captions.

Artist Danny Huynh is known for his amazing custom-built animatronics. In this clip, he put an articulated Batman figure inside of an R/C vehicle and raced it around his neighborhood. The bat’s-eye-view footage of The Dark Knight in a drift truck is awesome. Also, he couldn’t resist racing the mailman.

If you have a bunch of remote-controlled airplanes, wouldn’t it be fun to have an aircraft carrier to launch them from and land them on? James from Project Air spent months designing and building his 6-foot-wide, 12-foot-long carrier from polystyrene foam sheets and fiberglass. He also had to learn how to skillfully land planes on such a tiny runway.

Most remote-controlled airplanes are made from lightweight materials like styrofoam or carbon fiber. Not one to be constrained by norms, maker Peter Sripol and his pals wanted to see if they could build aircraft made almost entirely from food — the ingredient list: puffed rice, barley, tortillas, and caramelized sugar.

We always assumed that an airplane needs its wings to be at the same height on both sides of its fuselage to remain airborne. Model airplane enthusiast Eternal Progression shows us how it’s possible to build a relatively simple R/C plane that flies with cardboard wings that are offset at different levels. He also made a flying R/C boat with fold-out wings.

Aerospace engineer Tom Stanton has built a few R/C airplanes powered by compressed air. He’s continued to work on refining the design by reducing weight and increasing thrust. Tom’s latest pneumatic aircraft is the best yet, offering the best flight time of the bunch thanks to improved aerodynamics, a larger air chamber, and an efficient new engine,

Dan Creator is an expert at making models out of cardboard. After creating an R/C truck out of the stuff, he’s back with another cardboard vehicle – a city bus. He started with an off-the-shelf R/C car, which he cut into pieces, extended its chassis, and then added a detailed interior and body. His pet hamster, Natsu, finally has a ride to work.

Artist LiuMutou shows off his expert model-making abilities by carving an impeccable replica of a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. Every detail is there, including a tiny steering wheel, a curved acrylic windshield, working lights, and sharp tailfins. And it doesn’t just sit there; it’s got a working powertrain and even can drift.

This awe-inspiring model airplane is a perfect 1:6-scale replica of the iconic supersonic jet, the Concorde. Watch as pilot Otto Widlroither takes the beak-nosed British Airways aircraft into the skies. The 32-foot-long model has a 13-foot wingspan and weighs 328 pounds. It’s powered by four turbine engines, so it sounds like a real jet airplane.

ProjectAir has been working on a jet-powered R/C race car with the goal of breaking a speed record. In this video, he tested his jet car’s speed and stability on a race track. He didn’t push it anywhere near the limit yet, but he did race it against Major Havoc’s jet-powered go-kart. We love the sound this thing makes when it spools up.

Those Kenner Star Wars AT-AT toys were awesome to play with, but we had to use our imaginations to get them to walk as they did in The Empire Strikes Back. For engineer James Bruton, that wasn’t good enough, so he got to work rebuilding a version of the imperial walker with a servo-powered drivetrain that lets it really walk.

When it comes to horsepower, more is always better, right? Maker and modder Peter Sripol decided to test that theory by attaching a ridiculous number of outboard motors to a miniature R/C boat. So at what point does the number of motors officially reach overkill… or does it ever?

James from Project Air likes to make things that go fast. Recently, he produced a series of experimental builds to see which method of propulsion would make the fastest possible LEGO vehicle. Which will hit the top speed? Multiple LEGO motors, rocket engines, or a brushless motor from an R/C sports car?