This summer there is a chance to be an ARTIST and be appreciated
by 50,000 people with the biggest night combat event of all time. Our goal is to get
50 illuminated and decorated electric foamies flying slope style combat over multiple nights
in a contained AeroQuarium at Burning Man 2008.
And for you local New Yorkers/East Coast folks, we are going to be doing night flying events in
the Big Apple for warm-up purposes. We start in McCarren park in Williamsburg. Have to keep things
hip you know.
Some videos of night flying--not at Burning Man
Videos of the Towel in action
The Towel is our one simple design airplane designed to allow maximum creativity in design at minimal costs. This setup is about $100 of gear total and it is scratch built from simple, easily replaced materials and can be built in an
evening
Night Flying with FireWorks:
Trying to pop balloons: My, my it is manouverable:
These are actually gliders (not the Towel) flying off of a slope with the wind blowing into it, but it gives the best sense of what a sky full of night flyers looks like. It is incredibly fun to do this sort of flying.
There will be carnage. There will be fun. There will be folks totally appreciating
the spectacle that combat is. I flew a 4 foot delta wing with a masonic eye illuminated on the bottom and a laser
beam shooting out the front in 2005. People stopped me in the airport to say it was the coolest thing they saw
that year. Last year it was a giant illuminated wriggling sperm and next year we can really blow
the 50,000 plus attendees minds with night flying foamie combat.
FAQ
Who is running this?: We all are. This is a community effort to do an
extraordinary thing at Burning Man.
How safe is this?: Safety is a big deal. The easiest way
to keep things safe is limit wing loading, keep props on the
back/middle of airframes and separate spectators from the action
area which means, yes, I am not kidding... laser beams. Safe laser
beams that delineate the flying space from the spectator space from
the pilot space. At night, safe, but visible beam green lasers can
with mirrors define the AeroQuarium and we can throw in a few
spotters to keep the addled adoring masses at bay. Have we said "safe" enough? Airframes will have to be
crushable foam, if you don't want to be hit in the neck with it at top speed then
you shouldn't fly it. Speed-400 class 48" wings ought to be fine if you don't
go crazy with improvements.
Planning guide: What needs doing on overall project, individual planning for camping at Burning Man and individual planning for getting a night flying aircraft flying at the AeroQuarium.
I have no clue about this "RC-thing", but I would love to participate. Great, we will teach you to build, fly and create your night flying artistic vision. The hobby could use an injection of fresh blood to liven things up a bit. Sputnik (the last great infusion of folks into the hobby) is sort of over, time for art to supersede the cold war eh? If you are local, then it is easy--just come to our weekly hobby nights (Tuesdays right now) and get started on a simulator etc. If you are out of town we will try and find locals that can help....We are working on some gear deals so you can buy good stuff that will work.
How can I get questions answered?: There is a group at AeroQuarium at Yahoo groups. You can also send email to eachplacebo@gmail.com
How can I help?: Send email or announce your participation on the news group. We need builders, pilots, artists to decorate planes etc..
Time Lines: While Burning Man comes off as total anarchy it is actually total anarchy within the a well organized event. That means we need to play nice with their planning. That means we have some deadlines. First is May 31 for placement. See Burning Man Forms and Questionnaires.
And some inspiration from Jonathan F.
He says he can't make it for some silly reason like getting married. But what a plane he has built....I imagine
some of his buddies at Castle Creations will purloin said aircraft for flying at the aeroQuarium.
