I bought a £5 radio control car at Christmas and have an idea to use the core mechanism to make a miniature radio control airship. I have run two radio control airship clubs in the past as Pupil/Parent activities, but they are restricted by the weight of the radio control equipment. Typically they used standard 2 channel radio gear and needed to use about 2 cubic metres to be effective. Go here for a film of them.
Using commercially available balloon gas which is 95% Helium, you get a lift of about 1kg per cubic metre. This is the TOTAL lift though so the weight of the envelope (Bit that contains the gas) and the radio gear and batteries and everything else must be lifted. The new generation of micro-cars weigh a few grams and it should be possible to build a simple airship with them. These pictures show some outline details. using the core module from the car. i expect the final airship to be around 1 metre long. If anyone is interested in more detail or wishes to sponsor a pilot, and receive full building details and a scheme of work then please contact me.
