Nixie; The Wearable Quadcopter

You wear a watch, but have you thought about wearing a quadcopter? Meet Nixie, the wearable quadcopter that is designed to be able to follow the user and take videos and pictures on command. Nixie is still a concept, and a finalist in Intel's Make It Wearable challenge, so many details pertaining to the battery life and exact spec are not confirmed. If and when the final product is available, it will pair with a smartphone, take off on command, hover away from the user and frame a shot before snapping a photo or video. There will be no need for the user to provide any input during the flight or photo process, and once finished will return to the user. 

DHL Drone Delivery Takes Off In Germany

It's been many months since the first discussions of delivery drones arouse, but now it appears one company is finally taking it to the skies. DHL Parcel is looking to begin delivering pharmaceuticals to Juist island form the Norddeich village, about 7 miles away when traveling across the North Sea. The delivery flights will take place at least once a week when the regular ferry or manned flights are unavailable.

The parcelcopter will be monitored by people at the stations, but will take off, fly and land autonomously. If a problem occurs during the flight the 11 pound quadcopter can be remotely operated from its base station. For the next several weeks the the flights will be confined airspace that has been set aside by the German ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, then the long term achievability of the parcelcopter will be assessed.

FAA Has Cleared Six Companies For Drone Usage

Thursday the FAA announced that authorization has been granted to six film making companies to use unmanned aircraft for their work. This is the first exemption of this kind from the ban on commercial use of unmanned aircraft. The only other commercial approved operations for unmanned vehicles were for an Alaskan oil company. The FAA is using the exemptions as a way to relieve the demand while a policy is created to govern the industry.  The new rules are expected over the next several years, and will take time due to the complex safety issues. With these first exemptions being made, hopefully the regulations will begin to become available allowing for more drone flights.

Open Air Glider GoPro Footage

Attaching a GoPro to someone flying an airplane is not uncommon, but attaching one to an open air glider brings a whole new perspective. Check out this footage over the green pastures of Germany shot using a GoPro camera 

Vancouver Aquarium Uses Hexacopter To Monitor Whales

For the first time Vancouver Aquarium is using a Hexacopter to monitor killer whales. The hexacopter is able to hover 30 meters above pods of Orcas, allowing for a wider view than typically achieved from a boat. Scientists where able to spot clearly pregnant whales, a condition that is difficult to spot from boat. The hexacopter was able to make 60 flights and get images of 77 resident whales. Scientists plan to continue to use the hexacopter since it causes no harm to the whales and the information is so valuable. 

US Team breaks record for highest flying paper airplane

Part of the fun in building a paper airplane is seeing how high you can fly it, but a team of US Air force auxiliary volunteers have taken that challenge much more serious. Using a high altitude balloon the team launched a paper airplane at 96,563 ft, capturing a new world record. The plane was launched in Kankakee, Illinois and landed over 80 miles away in Rochester Indiana two hours later. The cadets designed the paper airplane, and even fitted it with a GPS tracking system, temperature sensors, barometric pressure sensors, flight computer, batteries, solar panel and a HD video camera. Even with all the add ons used the plane weighed in at 15 oz, and had a overall length of 30 inches. 

Photos/Article from: The Register UK

UAV catches shark near surfer

If the RC hobby brings you to the beach you may find yourself capturing the locals surfing, but have you caught video of a shark near a surfer? Using a UAV with GoPro attached pilot Tom Caska was  filming his brother Andrew Caska who had no idea that he was surfing so close to the shark. No confirmation as to the type of shark has been provided, but to give you an idea of the the size of the shark, the surfer was on a stand up paddle board that measured 9 feet long! 

Article/ Photos from: Business Insider Australia

MIT's Robotic Cheetah

Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) researches have released the newest developments in their robotic cheetah. The robotic cheetah has been in the works for years but up until recently was tethered and powered externally. The original version was able to go approximently 14mph, but the constant power leash limited options. Now the internally powered cheetah is capable of jumping obstacles over a foot high, and running up to 10mph. The updated cheetah is powered with an electric motor, and is the first time an electrically powered robot can run and jump over such obstacles. 

Zurich police department in Switzerland uses drones for accident scenes

 Zurich police use drones for accident scenes....

Before I forgot to mention it, take a look at the pilot's vest. I think maybe we should have a t-shirt made with a similar imprint for us!

Another fun fact: In the State of Oregon where we are based it's now illegal for police to use a drone without a search warrant.



Zurich police are now using drones to take aerial maps and images of accident scenes. The police department bought the drone in partnership with the Zurich department of geomatics and surveying, which wants to update its 3D map of the city. A spokesman said the 3D model is helpful for noise and pollution calculations as well as city planning. The groups first experimented with a drone in the summer of 2013, and soon realized they had an affordable way to survey land.

The drone has the advantage of easily surveying inaccessible areas, such as rivers and anything overgrown with vegetation. The department of geomatics and surveying said it also may use the drone for measuring landslides.

The Zurich police said they won’t be using the drone to monitor citizens or public events.
Police in Bern, Switzerland, also have begun using a drone, mainly to capture overhead images of serious accidents. At times, the Bern police use the drone to photograph fires to aid investigations.
A spokeswoman said Bern’s drone could be used to investigate environmental crimes by, for example, taking 3D measurements of land to determine the presence of an illegal landfill.

Photos and article content credit: The Washington Post

The Snot Bot

Ever tried to get snot from a 100 ton whale? No? That is likely because it would be very difficult to do, and actually quite dangerous for the whale. But, the scientists at the Olin College of Engineering are looking at the possibilities of using a robot, called the Snot Bot, to collect the mucus from the whales. The snot bot is a quadcopter a surgical sponge mounted to the bottom as a mucus collection mechanism. The snot bot would be able to find the blow hole, by using a live FPV feed, and hopefully get right in the middle of the eruption of water/air as the whale exhaled. Researchers could then use the collected mucus to learn more about the whale, much like a blood test would tell humans. If the researchers can convince the FAA is safe for whales they will take flight and use drones that will cost under $3,000 each.

Giant Scale "Baby Clipper"

Six months after starting a giant scale S-43 "baby clipper" project, the airplane has taken flight. The plane is considered 1/5th scale and has a wingspan of 200 inches. Using two Desert Aircraft DA-100 gas engines to power the 110 pound plane, the aircraft was able to take its first flight in May of 2014. The two 3600 mAh NiCD batteries provide the juice to the 14 HiTec servos and Futuba receivers. 

Unfortunately the plane had a short lived first flight, lasting about a minute and reaching heights of 150 feet, due to a engine shearing off. Luckily, the pilot was able to safely land the 200 inch wingspan plane with no damage. 

Here at Red Rocket Hobbies things have been a little busy...  So here is a quick update on things going on around here.


Recently local Sheriff's Deputy Jason Weber was shot twice, once in the face and once on the side, during a "routine" traffic stop. He is doing recovering well and the community is coming together to support him during his road to recovery. Stickers are available on our website, and include free shipping! This weekend Red Rocket is hosting a fundraiser with all proceeds going to Deputy Jason Weber. Businesses around the basin have donated raffle items for the even that will be held this Saturday the 13th. If you are a local event, come out to support Deputy Weber this weekend from 12pm to 4pm. Not able to make it to the fundraiser? Click HERE to purchase a sticker, or stop by the store to get yours! You may also purchase raffle tickets online if you can't attend the event!

Last weekend we had a booth at the Tulelake Butte Valley Fair and offered drone demos and a variety of different products. It was a busy weekend, but we meet a lot of great people and gave away some cool products! Below is an aerial from the helicopter rides from Precision aviation!