The concept of man-made flying birds has been around for a long time with Leonardo Da Vinci drawing his first bird inspired ornithopter in 1490. Since then, many have tried to imitate the flight of birds using a wide range of designs that created lift through the downwards thrust of wings. For years such devices were available only to dedicated hobbyists and were often cumbersome and expensive.
A new toy is about to revolutionize the way people think rolling code transmitter of remote control toys. For years the RC flying toy industry has been dominated by 2 major groups; remote control helicopters and remote control airplanes. In recent years these RC toys have become affordable to the masses and have made for popular gifts for both children and adult
We met with Bryan Campbell, a commercial pilot and bird enthusiast, near his home in San Diego. Bryan first discovered the remote controlled flying birds on a business trip overseas a few years ago. The next trip he made, Bryan brought back a few remote control birds at the request of his friends. Their popularity spread and a business was born
Instead of taking about the birds Bryan suggested I take one for a test flight at a nearby field. Having never flown one before I was amazed at how quickly I picked it up. The birds proved to be incredibly easy to fly and no assembly was required. They have a range of over 100′ and takes just 5 min of charging (through a charging dock on the remote itself) for 15 minutes of flying. I was able to control the speed it flaps its wings to make it go higher and faster. A small propeller on the bird’s tail allowed me to control the direction the bird would travel by pushing a left to right switch on the remote.
After a few flights and a small crowd starting to gather, I was convinced that these birds would soon be as popular as the remote control helicopters that seem to have dominated the RC toy market in recent years.