Jan 22, 2016 | By Benedict
If you chanced to look at the sky on Christmas Day, you might have seen a greater number of newly unwrapped drones than birds. The current craze for remote control aircraft is on a par with the craze for 3D printers, with drone enthusiasts continuing to come up with new and exciting ways to have fun with their flying machines. What’s more, with such a large number of drone-flyers out there, more of the unmanned copters are being flown together, and when two vehicles and two pilots come together, there can be only one outcome: Racing!
Arrow Drone, an exciting startup from Berlin, Germany, has built a range of highly flexible, partially 3D printed racing drones, suitable for beginner and pro pilots alike. Furthermore, these tournament First Person View (FPV) racing drones are fully customizable, giving pilots a chance to make their drone their own with camouflage and unique icons. There’s even good news for 3D printing aficionados: The engineers behind the lightning-fast Arrow Drones have used several FFF 3D printers such as the BigRep ONE to print sections of the drone’s frame, making the aircraft as light and sturdy as possible.
First off the helipad is the Arrow 200, a highly maneuverable entry-level flyer with a top speed of 80km/h, 5.8Ghz videolink transmitter, FPV camera and goggle set. That model showcases an impressive top speed, but the more expensive Arrow 270, one of the fastest racing drones out there, can hit 150km/h. The Arrow 200 comes with a white frame, ripe for customization, whilst the Arrow 270 comes in a wide range of colors. Both feature an autopilot mode, motors, ESC and propellors.
Arrow 200 (above), Arrow 270 (below)
Inspired by Anakin Skywalker’s epic pod-racing in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and the wild and reckless aerial maneuvers in Planetside 2, the Arrow team wanted to recreate those flips, reversals and precise dodges in real life. With a wealth of engineering and piloting expertise behind them, the team decided the task was more than achievable, and set about building the most exciting and race-worthy drone possible, using a combination of 3D printing and plastic moulding methods.
As well as being one of the fastest drones of its kind, the Arrow 270 can be upgraded to function as a rapid moviemaking drone. With the gimbal and GPS upgrade, pilots can record sky-high video footage with a GoPro. Despite packing such exciting features, the Arrow 270 is compact and robust, making it easily transportable.
As an added bonus, Arrow customers get much more than just a drone with their purchase. The company is offering a free flight school for new pilots, as well as complete FirstPersonView goggles through which pilots can feel like they’re up in the clouds themselves. This crazy cockpit perspective makes it much easier to react to obstacles, and offers an altogether superior flying experience.
Arrow has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its racing drones, setting a €10,000 target to hit by March 5, 2016. Backers can currently secure a complete Arrow 200 for €595, or an Arrow 270 for €895. The estimated delivery for all items is April 2016.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- Zoomcity creates a set of 3D printed business cards that map out the Barcelona city
- Harvest your own energy using 3D printed wind turbines and solar stirling engines
- Maker creates modern 3D printed vertical seder plate for celebrating Passover
- Who needs an Apple Watch when you can have a 3D printed smart pocket watch?
- Russian scientists create 3D printed ‘bio-cement’ that regenerates human bone tissue
- Emirati designer Khulood Thani creates Dubai’s first 3D printed dress
- Adafruit shares designs for a very cool Bioshock little sister syringe cosplay prop
- Stepan Ignatovich shares designs for his amazing 3D printed electric violin
- Star Trek fan 3D prints impressive Mr. Spock bust in tribute to great actor Leonard Nimoy
- Vortic uses 3D printing to pass on classic American watches to a new generation
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
