PowerUp 4.0 Is a Remote-controlled Paper Airplane on Steroids

Posted on 01/12/2020 by Paul Strauss

When it comes to paper airplanes, they usually don’t stay airborne for more than a few seconds. The guys at PowerUp weren’t satisfied with that, so they set their sights on making motorized paper airplanes. We’re now on the fourth-generation of the PowerUp, and it’s the most capable version yet, enabling paper airplanes to fly better and further than ever.

The PowerUp 4.0 consists of a lightweight airframe, along with a pair of motors at the rear and a sophisticated flight control computer in its nose. Working in concert with a smartphone app, it can automatically smooth out flight thanks to the use of both a gyroscopic sensor and an accelerometer. It can even stabilize flight in windy conditions.

The kit includes a design for a basic, reliable paper airplane, but it will work with your own custom designs too, and the motors are powerful enough to fly models made out of cardboard, styrofoam, or balsa wood as well. While the app and computer smarts aboard the plane should keep your flight stable, the frame’s durable nylon and carbon fiber construction means it’ll survive in the event of a crash landing.

Flying is easy – simply tilt your smartphone to steer, and pull the on-screen throttle control to accelerate. Depending on conditions, the weight of your plane, and your flying technique, your plane can fly for up to 10 minutes on a charge. The PowerUp 4.0 also has the best control range of any model so far – up to 230 feet.

You can get your hands on the PowerUp 4.0 smartphone-controlled paper airplane kit over on Amazon for just $79.99. They also sell a companion book with a variety of paper airplane designs for another $19.99.

Gigantic 122-inch “Paper” Airplane Takes Flight

Posted on 29/06/2018 by Shane McGlaun

The greatest purchase I ever made as a kid was the time I talked my dad into giving me $5 for the school book fair and I ended up spending it all on a book that showed how to make sweet paper airplanes. It even included some paper. Everyone has folded up a paper airplane at some point and tried to fly it. DIY maker of things The Q has a new how-to video that I definitely need to try for myself.

This video shows you how to roll your own massive 122-inch paper airplane that can actually fly. It’s not really made from paper though, instead he used polystyrene. Those are thin sheets of foam that are typically used in building projects for insulation. He attached the pieces together with construction adhesive and tape.

The giant plane does actually take flight, and I now have a serious urge to build one and then launch it off one of the mountains here in Colorado. Check out the video and get working on yours this weekend.

[via Laughing Squid]

Make Your Own Cardboard Paper Airplane Launcher

Posted on 12/07/2017 by Conner Flynn

Why toss paper airplanes by hand, when you can have a machine take care of the hard work for you? Now you can make a semi-automatic paper airplane launcher for yourself. This thing is a cool paper airplane gun/paper airplane aircraft carrier in one.

This cool build tutorial comes from the consistently inventive and resourceful The Q. It looks super fun to use and fairly easy to make if you have some basic skills. You will need some batteries, two electric motors, two old CDs or DVDs, and a bunch of cardboard. It is a great weekend project for you and your kids.

Now you and a friend can have some serious paper airplane wars. Just don’t shoot each other’s eyes out.

[via Laughing Squid]

Compact Disc-Powered Paper Airplane Launcher

Posted on 27/07/2015 by Conner Flynn

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t touched a compact disc in years. They have to still be good for something besides drink coasters. Well, they are. It turns out they can make a great paper airplane launcher.

Crazy DIY created this clever CD-powered launcher for paper airplanes and demonstrates it in this sound effects-filled video. Sure, it takes some of the fun out of launching them the old fashioned way, but there is something very satisfying about seeing a paper plane launched in this way.

As if we weren’t lazy enough, now we can have our paper planes launched for us as well. It’s hard to tell how far it goes in the video, but I’m betting this machine helps get more distance than tossing by hand.

[via Reddit via Laughing Squid]

Someone 3D-Printed a Machine That Folds And Launches Paper Planes

Posted on 08/10/2014 by Stirling Matheson

Do you remember when we were kids? We had to fold our own damn paper airplanes. It took whole minutes… in the snow… both ways. Now some inventor has created this device that will surely turn the next generation into a bunch of lazy slobs who never move out of their parents’ houses and think they’re soooooo special. He 3D-Printed a fully automatic paper plane gun.

Yeah, you just load it up with paper and it automatically folds the planes and launches them. Lazy kids won’t even have to throw them. Now we know that we are going to be the last great generation, just like how every other generation has said the exact same thing. It will be real for us though; we can see the (totally not imagined) writing on the (totally not imagined) wall.

In all honesty, however, this is a pretty cool piece of engineering. Silly toys like this are amusing, but the fact that a man with access to a 3D printer is capable of whipping up a device with this complicated of a function says a lot about how cool the future is going to be. Also, I was originally going to write about a new watch I found until I found out that it runs on a AAA battery. Who the hell puts a AAA in a watch?

[via Tastefully Offensive]

Paper Airplane Folding & Launching Machine Takes All of the Fun out of It

Posted on 16/04/2014 by Conner Flynn

Check out this paper airplane folding and launching machine that a group of engineers built. Great. Yet another machine taking our jobs. This time they are putting kids and bored office workers out of business.

Sure, they aren’t the best planes ever and they aren’t folded that sharply, but they do manage to fly a few feet. A machine did that. I bet the T-800 can’t make a paper plane this good.

We already have a machine that will twiddle your thumbs for you. What’s next? A machine that throws pencils up to stick into the ceiling? It will probably be a human’s job to get them down so the machine can do it again. Damn paper pushers. And folders. Do not let this in your office.

[via Geeks are Sexy via Geekologie]

Behold! The Ultimate Paper Airplane Is Just Perfect

Posted on 23/01/2014 by Federico Lo Giudice

Paper airplane contests are usually about which one flies the farthest, but if they were about looks, we’ve found the new benchmark. Seriously, this plane wins forever, and then again some more. Check it out!

Now, keep in mind, the only reason why you are not seeing full shots but only detail shots is because this is actually an ongoing project. It’s just that we couldn’t help ourselves, and we had to share what the talented artist urtesy Luca Iaconi-Stewart is doing. This is a 1:60 scale model of the Boeing 777, the largest commercial airline in the world, and Luca has been working on it for years now.

What Luca does is printing out the designs, and then cutting them with his X-Acto knife. Then, it’s only a matter of gluing the parts together. Simple enough, right? Well, not really.

So far, Luca has finished the preliminary design, main infrastructure, and the wings, the hardest part, while what remains are the insides of the plane. If you want to see how the project is coming along, Luca has a YouTube channel which he updates regularly with new shots and information about the plane. Feel free to visit it!

Source: The Verge

Paper airplanes finally get the smartphone remote control they deserve

Posted on 26/11/2013 by Brian Heater

Thank you, PowerUp. Apparently the last time we had the opportunity to write about paper airplanes was back in 2011, when a Seattle doctor built a tiny one using a da Vinci surgical robot. This time out, it's a Kickstarter project that brings smartphone control to the notoriously staid word of paper airplanes. The gadget's setup is pretty simple, all said. At the front is a Bluetooth module and battery, while the back contains the propeller and rudder. Build a paper airplane, attach the PowerUp up and boom, you've got RC aircraft you can control with your smartphone. Creator Shai Goitein has taken the project to Kickstarter in an attempt to score $50,000 in funding. A pledge of $30 will get one of these little fliers in your hands, come May of next year. That's plenty of time to practice your folding skills.

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LEGO Machine Folds & Launches Paper Planes, is Having More Fun Than You Are

Posted on 17/03/2013 by Lambert Varias

YouTuber Hknssn may be missing a few vowels, but that hasn’t kept him from being awesome. He was able to make a LEGO machine that can automatically take a sheet of paper, fold it into a paper plane and then launch it on its own. In other words, Hknssn made a toy that makes its own toys.

lego paper plane folding machine by hknssn

The machine is about 59″ long and 16″ wide. As you might have guessed, Hknssn relies heavily on LEGO Mindstorms NXT parts to make the machine work, including two NXT Intelligent Brains, five NXT servo motors, four NXT color sensors and an NXT accelerometer. It also uses five Power Function XL motors and between 6,000 to 7,000 LEGO pieces. Check it out in action in the video below, which Hknssn hiked up to about three times the normal speed.

Hknssn shared the parts list of the machine on YouTube and a shot of its 3D model on ImageShack, but it seems he didn’t make a guide for building one. He’s probably working on a LEGO machine that can do that for him.

[via BuzzFeed]

PowerUp 3.0 Smartphone-Controlled Paper Airplane Kit Flies into View

Posted on 11/02/2013 by Shane McGlaun

Growing up I built more than my fair share of paper airplanes. I’m sure a lot of you guys built plenty of them yourselves, and we still build quite a few paper flying machines around my house. I’ll let you in on a little secret – being able to fly paper airplanes off of the landing is the main reason why I purchased a two-story home.

But if your paper airplanes don’t stay in the air long enough for you, you’ll want to get one with a propeller to help things along. TailorToys has announced their updated PowerUp 3.0 electric paper airplane conversion kit that allows your paper planes to actually fly under their own power.

puplane

These kits have been around for a while, but version 3.0 now allows you to control your airplane using a smartphone. This version of the paper airplane kit works with any smartphone supporting Bluetooth 4.0. While there’s no video footage yet of the PowerUp 3.0 in action, here’s a clip of the previous generation flying high in the sky:

The kit is scheduled to ship in August 2013. The company also unveiled a similar PowerUp Boat kit that converts your paper boats into electric powerboats. The Boat Kit will be available in July 2013. Pricing for both kits is undisclosed at this time.

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