Payload delivery with time opening bomb

andy_spoo

Member
I've got a concept for a bomb dropped from a plane that opens after a specific time, dropping it's contents. My original idea was to use it to drop dry dog food from my AXN floater, as the area I go to has quite a few people walking there dogs, who all stop and watch my plane (it's very tempting to buzz the dogs, but delivering them dog food seems like a friendlier idea).

I haven't made this of yet (soooo many project on the go at the moment), so I thought one of you guys might like to give it a go. It would be great if the flitetest crew tried it. Please look at the pictures attached. Hopefully it explains it quite well.

PNG file of plans / concept below

RC Spinning bomb2.png


And if you're having trouble reading the smaller text, a PDF file is attached below

View attachment RC Spinning bomb2.pdf
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
interesting . . . a classic air-burst mechanism.

Thoughts to consider:

Do you really want to pelt the dog walker with a shower of small dog treats? I see a *lot* of humor in it, but I'm not sure they'll join in laughing.

With treats, a little will go a long way -- if you need more than one or two, you're probably over-treating the dog.

The munitions canister is still falling and does have mass. You might get away with dropping a water bottle with a washer on some kid's head jockying to catch it, but again, the dog walker probably won't take this in the right spirit. keep it light and draggy if you go this route, but those work against precision.

And finally, flying over people is really bad form -- especially if they don't know you really well. There's just too much that can go wrong. Again, a bunch of kids circling under the plane to catch something is one thing -- they're watching the plane and responding to it (others WILL disagree with me that even this is okay). A passing dog walker watching -- even with interest -- may not react when the plane is in trouble over them, making them more likely to get hit.
 

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
Probably better than a payload delivery device that could hit someone and hurt them, maybe some sort of dispenser that stays on the plane, and can drop one or two nuggets of dog food at a time.
 

RoyBro

Senior Member
Mentor
As a dog owner, I don't allow my dog to take treats from anyone I don't know unless I provided the treat. You should probably resist this idea just as you resisted buzzing the dogs. Of course you can always ask permission from the owner prior to dropping a treat.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Seems a little lika candy bombing used on flight events.
There are som rules to follow.
Do not drop the candy on the people - they have to run and get it after the planes has left.
The candy has to be wrapped in paper or plastic.
Ther must not be any square edges on the Candys in case of bombing going wrong and candy might hit people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq25VmQC61s
 

andy_spoo

Member
Flitetest guys did a dispenser video that just used a servo and a canister to drop candy (sweets to us Brits!). Basic and easy to make, which just isn't my style :) . I did think of tieing the component parts together, with a parachute in the cavity, so it all drops a bit slower once the contents have gone.
 

andy_spoo

Member
OK, so dog treats may not be the best use for it. I think I like the idea of the concept, but it probably has no practical use!! It seems like it might be fun to do and make, but what for........ who knows. I'll keep on thinking.
 

MrClean

Well-known member
My paint balls never did anything other then bounce, just weren't dropping fast enough.
Cut your canister, container in half and tape the back together. Wrap the container with 50 foot of kite string, you can tape one end of the string to the container. Put a little surveyors tape on the other end of the string, couple feet is fine.
Drop that, the surveyors tape will start to spin and unspool the string, when the string comes off the halves open up and the payload will release. The container, I used sytrofoam cups, and the string being lightweight will come down harmlessly. The payload on it's own accord. You can use more string for a longer delay but it does get tangled up on recovery more.

AMA establishes a flight line with airplanes flying on one side and all the people on the other for safetys sake. Tossing treats to people animals who you don't know is a no no. handing peoples kids candy with out their approval is the same thing.
 

andy_spoo

Member
Not a bad idea! I don't know how hard an impact they would need before a pellet would split.

- Ooh, just edited this as I've just read MrCleans painball bounce reply.
 
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andy_spoo

Member
Talking about dropping things, has anyone ever used 'bio-degradable TRACER BB pellets'? Having watched the latest Flitetest video, I saw they dropped glowing objects (I couldn't quite hear what they were, something from a copter??). So tracer BB's seemed like a POSSIBLE alternative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSkSG0MbWQI

They require a burst from a specific light before they glow. I'm not sure how long they glow for and whether that depends on how long they are lit for. Or how heavy the light would be, or the power required!!!