A 50,000-volt stun gun and liquid propane canister lets the flames fly
Posted 08.28.2012 at 10:58 am
12 Comments
BUILDING A FLYING DRAGON
Cost $8,000
Time 1 year
Breathing Fire: Tom Cwenar
How It Works
FLIGHT
The jet turbine inhales air through an inlet in the dragon’s chest and thrusts it out the rear at 500 mph. The air coming out of the turbine can exceed 1,400 degrees. To avoid cooking the other components, Hamel designed and custom-welded a double-walled stainless-steel exhaust for insulation.
Winging It: Tom Cwenar
ELECTRONICS
Hamel opted for an off-the-shelf 2.4-gigahertz touchscreen radio controller. Four nickel-cadmium battery packs power the receiver, the servomotors that turn the head and tail, the red LED eyes and stun-gun circuit, and the microprocessor that controls the turbine.
Scaley Model: Hamel says he spent about 100 hours airbrushing the creature’s exterior. Tom Cwenar
FEAR FACTOR
After carving the head out of foam, Hamel molded two extra copies from which he could cut scales to apply to the dragon’s exterior. To create the creature’s devilish gaze, he cast the eyes out of clear urethane resin and set a bank of red LEDs behind them.
Enter the Dragon: Tom Cwenar
DRAGON BREATH
Hamel activates the fire breath by flipping a switch on his remote. He wired the receiver to the dragon’s eyes and a servomotor in its head. When he activates the LED eyes, they light up, telling him the fire system is ready. Then he flips another switch that turns on the servomotor to open the mouth. That sets off the stun-gun circuit and opens the propane valve. (His plumbing background came in handy—he built the valve himself.) The gas squirts out and, for a few seconds, the dragon spews flames.
See how Hamel's dragon looks when it's fired up.
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I'm glad he built it, 'cause I can admire it without spending the 8000$. Ouch.
I know I'm nitpicking here, but I don't see any inverted V-tails, on this aircraft or in the movie dragons. I only see V-tails of the non inverted variety. A V-tail angles up, while an inverted V-tail angles down.
That episode from the graphic novel serie hasn't been translated in English but there is a story with a flying, fire breathing robotic dragon (albeit bigger than this one) which created havoc after being let loose. Here are the two pages.
http://bdi.dlpdomain.com/album/9782870970164-page4-I400x523.jpg
http://bdi.dlpdomain.com/album/9782870970164-page5-I400x523.jpg
Blake and Mortimer- Professor Sato's three formulae
Dragons and this home creation is very very COOL!
Lots of descussing about this dragon flying and this article even comes with a video. To bad they never actually show it flying.
When you'll show me a video with it flying ill believe it does, until then its a toy on wheels doing rounds on the asfalt.
democedes is right, that's a v tail, not an inverted v tail. still awesome, but please get your facts straight :)
it is cool but it is questionable that he just made it so it looks like it will fly and it doesnt it just rides on the ground like an rc car
here you go- IT flies.... youtu.be/ENebG492V98
you need the . in youtu.be
May i buy it?
coolest thing i've ever seen! I love it!
Well Done Sir...
About 12 years ago my son ask for help with an art project which had to be made from scrap materials.
I have been building flying things since a boy and once worked for an R/C manufacture so scrap materials consisted of bits of balsa and foam from a cooler. the project started after dinner and was finished about 4 am. balsa wings in a bat like shape using a wwI airfoil attached to a foam carved body our little dragon was born. As i looked at it I had to wonder would it fly. It proved tail heavy but a lone screw lay on the work bench and set in the throat of the beast open jaws was exactly the weight required...from the deck in the predawn light it glided to the rear fence landing without damage.
The next few weeks I was besieged with parents wishing to buy the dragon or at least plans...but it was one of a kind and hung for several years on my sons wall. Sadly vandals broke into our home and the dragon was destroyed. For years I thought about building a larger version and never had time to finish one but since retiring have thought it might be fun, the son now a systems annalist has on occasion challenged me to try again ....he should balk at the 8000 dollar price tag however.
Once again well done.