Have you ever dreamed of flying like a paper airplane? Well, you don't need to dream about it anymore.
Not so long ago, flying a paper airplane that operated electronically with a remote control was as ridiculous as it sounds. But not anymore – say hello to the PowerUp kit. It’s basically a drone, a wirelessly controlled paper airplane with a live streaming camera installed on it. Oh, and it gives you First Person View (FPV) of its flight, so you can experience a VR movie.
Developed in partnership with one of the largest drone manufacturers, Parrot, the plane can be controlled using your smartphone's touchscreen or by tilting the phone to the side. This FPV brings the user what is undoubtedly an exciting experience of flying a paper plane 300 feet in the air.
This small aircraft turns by varying the thrust between the two electric motorized props located at the rear. Changing the speed helps you climb or descend and allows you to control the plane within a range of 300 ft.
To help beginners who are flying to lift it and accelerate faster, they can switch to autopilot mode which allows easy takeoff and landing, even in bad weather conditions. Additionally, it ensures your aircraft does not fall into wipeouts, such as stall, crash or spiral dives. Thus, it doesn't matter how experienced you are in flight techniques, the pre-installed software represents a worthy co-pilot.
One very nice feature of it is the 30fps VGA-resolution live streaming camera that syncs with your smartphone via Wi-Fi.
The Carbon Flyer, another competing drone , works similarly, but it omits the live stream and video.
The PowerUp Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $100,000 for the construction of this Flyer. As of the latest count, the project had about 1,200 backers. In 52 days, the campaign has already reached $246,117.
Finally, you can see it in action here:
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyDXDYxXcbc” width=”740″]
