from nova
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Maverick 'flying car' ready to spread...the Gospel
from fox
The Maverick LSA been compared to the Jetsons’ flying car, but its roots are firmly planted in the church.
Built in Florida, it’s a powered parachute aircraft, or paraplane, with a drivable dune buggy-style fuselage that can do 40 mph in the air and about 100 mph on the ground, where its 2.5-liter flat-four Subaru engine can propel it from 0 to 60 mph in a sports car-like four seconds.
Developed by the Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center (I-TEC), a Christian missionary group, it aims to “provide tools and technologies to God-followers in frontier areas to meet their needs.”
I-TEC uses technology and training to help churches in undeveloped regions. Members sponsor projects like I-DENT, which provides portable dental equipment around the world, and I-SEE, which teaches ministries how to treat common eyesight problems.
The Maverick LSA is part of the group’s I-FLY project. It will help people transport materials both on and beyond the road, Jaime Saint of I-TEC told FoxNews.com.
“When there is a snakebite or need for medicine, a four- or eight-hour hike might cause the treatment to arrive too late, while a four- to eight-minute flight can save a life,” Saint said. “There are many places in the world where either the roads are not dependable or that are beyond roads. This is the environment for which the Maverick was developed.”
The vehicle took nine years to develop and was designed for use by non-professional flyers with a sport pilot’s license in the U.S. The organization now plans to take the technology around the world.
“We are in the process of training a member of our team from Ecuador so that he can take a Maverick to Ecuador for field testing in multiple environments,” Saint said. “We also have plans to get the Maverick into Africa and Southeast Asia.”
Saint’s family is well known for its missionary work. His grandfather, Nate, was a missionary pilot who was killed by Ecuadorean tribesmen when Jaime’s father, Steve, was just 5-years-old. Steve has since dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel through I-TEC.
But while the Maverick was built with a serious purpose in mind, the Maverick is also up for sale to those looking for a unique, uplifting adventure. The price for playing George Jetson? $94,000.
Aalia Shaheed is part of the Junior Reporter program at Fox News. Get more information on the program here and follow them on Twitter: @FNCJrReporters
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Watch a hawk attack a quadcopter ... and win
from ecnmag.com
The US military may roam the skies with impunity in foreign lands, but in domestic airspace, an altogether different Predator enjoys aerial superiority. A hobbyist discovered that first-hand when his quadcopter came under attack by a hawk.
Quadcopters — in this case, a Phantom FC40 — include front-facing cameras (plus Schmidt’s own GoPro Hero 3+ Black), so the “battle” was captured from the unfortunate perspective of Schmidt’s flying, mechanical prey. According to Schmidt, the bird “decided he wasn't too happy with my invasion of his airspace.”
Schmidt throttled down the props to minimize any harm to the bird, and while the engagement looks nasty, and his quadcopter takes a vicious thrashing before nose-diving, both came out relatively unscathed.
A stark reminder that domestic drones have greater foes than government bureaucrats....
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Mon, 10/13/2014 - 8:58am
The US military may roam the skies with impunity in foreign lands, but in domestic airspace, an altogether different Predator enjoys aerial superiority. A hobbyist discovered that first-hand when his quadcopter came under attack by a hawk.Quadcopters — in this case, a Phantom FC40 — include front-facing cameras (plus Schmidt’s own GoPro Hero 3+ Black), so the “battle” was captured from the unfortunate perspective of Schmidt’s flying, mechanical prey. According to Schmidt, the bird “decided he wasn't too happy with my invasion of his airspace.”
Schmidt throttled down the props to minimize any harm to the bird, and while the engagement looks nasty, and his quadcopter takes a vicious thrashing before nose-diving, both came out relatively unscathed.
A stark reminder that domestic drones have greater foes than government bureaucrats....
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Thursday, October 9, 2014
Fallen Wildfire Pilot Honored
from nbc
California community pauses to honor air tanker pilot who died in crash while working to save their homes from wildfire. KSEE's Jessica Porter reports.
California community pauses to honor air tanker pilot who died in crash while working to save their homes from wildfire. KSEE's Jessica Porter reports.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
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