(Credit:
Northrop Grumman)
Remember how Tom Cruise's flyboy character in Top Gun seemed as at home riding the roadways on a motorcycle as he was jockeying an F-14 in the air?
Maverick is probably the kind of guy Northrop Grumman had in mind when it came up with the "visual centerpiece" of its 20th anniversary celebration of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Actually, the more immediate entertainment industry tie-in is with the TLC series American Chopper--Northrop tapped Orange County Choppers, the Newburgh, N.Y., motorcycle shop behind the TV show, to design and build a bike to do homage to the B-2.
The first flight of the B-2 bomber took place in July 1989, just a few years after Top Gun became a box office and home video powerhouse. Northrop plans to fete the aircraft throughout the year, so the B-2 Stealth Bike will be making the circuit of trade shows, air shows, and other events. Also, the 2009 premiere of American Chopper will feature an episode on the design, development, and production of the B-2 bike.
The defense contractor didn't offer up any details about the bike's engine or its road-handling ability. Its focus was on the design elements. For instance:
Its gas tank and extended front cowling are shaped to resemble the B-2's unique cockpit and fuselage; major components are painted to match its color.
And the less obvious:
Each side of each wheel contains five machined aluminum B-2 models positioned in the shape of the Air Force star, each model engraved with the tail number of one of the 20 B-2s in the current fleet.
All in all, a bit cheesy, really. But hey, I drive a Camry, watch HBO, and served in the Army, not the Air Force.
Over at Wired's Danger Room blog, Noah Schachtman rightly cracked wise about the bike: "Forget the Blackwater cufflinks and the attack helicopter Hawaiian shirt. The contest for most awesomely bad defense trinket is official over."
See also: "Photos: A brief history of stealth aircraft"
(Credit:
Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana)
With $4 gas prices looking like a permanent fact of life, consumer interest in jetpacks and other forms of personal air transport might soon go from whimsy to reality. That seems to be driving the engineers at Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana, whose latest project is the "Libelula Rocket Helicopter."
Don't laugh. This may look like something from a '50s sci-fi movie, but its creators have already produced a "Rocket Belt" built to custom specifications. The personal chopper could be also be more reliable than its full-size counterparts because, Dvice says, "by using tiny rocket motors at the tips of the rotor blades, the Libelula eliminates the torque which makes a tail rotor necessary in a conventional helicopter."
There are other potential advantages over the jetpacks we've seen, including price. We assume that the Libelula will be at least a tad cheaper than the Rocket Belt, which goes for $250,000--that's crazy money to pay for anything, let alone something that can fly for only 30 seconds at a time. Then again, the way prices at the pump are going, it might be worth another look.
(Credit:
Firebox)
What could possibly be more annoying than buzzing your friends and co-workers with a "PicoZ Micro Helicopter"? Try the new "PicoZ MX-1 Extreme," which makes the bold claim of being "the world's smallest remote control chopper."
The difference might seem minuscule to the untrained eye--4.6 inches vs. the original's 5.3 inches--but if you're of Lilliputian origins, the discrepancy is massive. Other than that, Coolest-Gadgets says the quarter-ounce copter has many of the same features as its older and larger sibling, including twin channels, a built-in lithium battery, adjustable trim control, and up to 10 minutes of flight time on a charge of 20 to 25 minutes.
The mini-chopper is described as "only slightly longer than a credit card," but U.K.-based Firebox, which is selling the MX-1, describes it best: "So small even Tom Thumb (or Cruise) would have trouble climbing aboard."
(Credit:
Technabob)
This may be the best news all year in the flawed world of gadget fashion: Gold could be facing a serious challenge as the luxury look of choice. And the pretender to the throne may not be a precious metal at all.
Witness this brewing battle in custom Macs. Only a few months ago, an outfit called Chromac offered some fetching photos of an iMac with a mirrored patina worthy of the company's name. But now there's a rival service from Computer Choppers, which showed off its Midas touch with the MacBook around the same time but has since found all that glitters isn't necessarily gold.
The bling-minded CC is now pitching a chromed-out 24-inch iMac to blind anyone passing by your desk on a sunny day. But if you also want to flaunt your obscene wealth, Technabob says the modders will also do it in platinum or white gold, as well as a dozen other platings. Who knew 50 Cent would have so much influence over computer trends?
(Credit:
Computer Choppers)
Perhaps chrome isn't the new gold after all, where Macs are concerned. An outfit called Computer Choppers, which has gotten some attention recently for its Digg case mod on eBay, will also customize your Macbook Pro in gold plate and a diamond-
encrusted Apple logo. If that's not enough, you can also choose sapphires or other precious stones to make your statement.
Luxist says pricing for the gold plate costs $1,200 to $1,500, though the diamond logo alone can run the bill up another $2,400. But remember, all of this is a drop in the bling bucket compared with a $20,000 diamond Shuffle.
(Credit:
Discovery Communications)
If it weren't for the rocket cam, we might just be tempted to get the new "Radio Control Recon Camera Helicopter" spotted on the Discovery Store. After all, we can think of no better way to irritate friends and loved ones while recording their flush-faced reactions the whole while.
The temptation to fly in every direction to avoid furious swats is almost irresistable, especially when viewed on the 2-inch LCD of its remote control from a safe distance, with two sets of blades to boot ("beginner and pro"). The video duration isn't specified, but we'd hope it would last a bit longer than the 12 seconds of said rocket.
Alas, it probably doesn't matter, for the projectile would most likely knock it out of the sky before then anyway. And even if it managed to escape that attack, it would surely be downed by one of those laser choppers.
(Credit:
Firebox.com)
In posting an item on what may be the most annoying toy of this holiday season, it seemed only natural to compare the remote-controlled helicopter with a mosquito. Now we learn that a competing mini-chopper is actually named after the pest and is designed to look like one to boot.
The "Micro Mosquito," which also comes with its own launchpad/charger, claims to be more maneuverable than its rivals because it has two sets of "counter-rotating" blades. It is sold on Firebox.com but at last sighting was listed as "not available"--which either means that it's sold out or has been wiped out altogether by irritated consumers. We'll hang a Zapper outside our door just in case.
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