If you’ve been flying drones as a hobby, but recently found yourself craving a new distraction, then you listen to this. Remember the good old days when you used make paper airplanes?
You’re not probably aware of this but now, in the era of technology you can actually get them to perform complicated tricks. All you need to do that is the Powerup Dart conversion kit. The project – which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter – can turn a regular paper plane into a controllable flying toy.
Powerup Dart adds a module which includes a motor and Bluetooth-enabled intelligent controller on the nose of the plane. A second cross-shaped component is placed along the plane and connected to the rear, where the rudder and propeller live.
Once the paper aircraft is ready you will need to install the accompanying Android app on your device. From there you should be able to control your paper plane by means of gestures (a gamepad mode is also available) and get it to perform all kinds of tricks including spin, loop lazy 8 or hammerhead.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to build a paper airplane anymore, as the Powerup Dart comes with paper templates so you can easily build your aircraft.
We should also note that the little plane can fly at a maximum speed of 40 km/h for 10 minutes in a range of 60m. Once depleted, it takes up 25 minutes to fully recharge its battery via a microUSB cable.
If you too would like to recapture some of your childhood moments, you can head on to Kickstarter and pledge $29 for a Barebone DART bundle which includes a DART Module and two Blue Paper Plane Templates.
Since the project has already been fully funded, you can expect the DARTs to start shipping out in December.