I don't know where on the web this video came from but the RC flyers are in Japan! Towards the end of the video clip, the guy says (in a funny voice) "It's flying!" and then at the end says something to the effect that "There is still some (power) left."

Somehow I still prefer the classic Snoopy on his doghouse or the flying lawn mower. Still, it brings up an interesting point: Where are all the wierd "futuristic" models? And can you have a "scale" model of an aircraft (spaceship) that doesn't (yet) exist?

For example, here is a Japanese anime favorite:

The Machine

The YF-21 Advanced Variable Fighter (AVF) Prototype was designed and built in 2039 by General Galaxy as their entry for the Project Super Nova design contest sponsored by the UN Spacy to develop the replacment for the aging VF-11 Thunderbolt. The YF-21 was one of two designs selected for the final competition at the New Edwards Flight Center on planet Eden; the other design being the YF-19 AVF designed by Yang Neumann of Shinsei Industries.

Unlike the more traditionally designed YF-19, the YF-21 was a showcase of leading-edge combat technology. Many of fighter's systems were advanced prototypes, based on captured Zentraedi and cutting-edge human systems. The most advanced of these were the Brainwave Control System (BCS) and Brain Direct Imaging (BDI) system. These enabled the pilot to control all functions of the aircraft literally with his thoughts.

Two prototypes of the YF-21 were constructed, with the first one having a conventional flight control system and the second one equipped with the BCS and BDI systems. Though the second prototype YF-21 was lost in the "Sharon Apple" incident and theYF-19 was declared the winner of Project Super Nova, the manufacturer was not discouraged. Two years later General Galaxy released the VF-22 Sturmvogel II, an advanced combat aircraft based on the YF-21 prototype. Although the VF-22 did not include the controversial BDI and BCS control systems of the second YF-21 prototype, it proved to be an extremely able aircraft and was purchased by the UN Spacy on a limited basis as a special force


--Don