newVideoPlayer("topgun08_gizmodo.flv", 494, 390,""); Not everything was about the stunning A-10 Warthog at last week’s Top Gun 2008 competition, the largest R/C event in the world. 10,000 people watched the 120 invitation-only R/C airplanes competition—which included everything from from World War I Fokker fighters to WW2′s Mustangs and Lightnings to Vietnam War’s Phantoms, and plenty of civil aviation models. Gigantic gallery of this year’s edition after the jump.
newVideoPlayer("A102_gizmodo.flv", 494, 390,""); Here’s the 1:5 scale A-10 Warthog remote control model in some video action at Top Gun 2008, in Lakeland, FL.—the biggest remote controlled aeroplane competition in the world. And to match it, a real A-10 appeared on the scene, taking off from a parallel runway. We interviewed Mike Selby, one of the model creators, and got all the technical details about this amazing $13,000 beast, with two jet turbines, three on-board microprocessors, 24 servos, a 1″ OLED display in its cockpit and a fully-functional gatling gun. Jump to see all its amazing details in a 26-photo gallery. [Video and images courtesy of Bob Parrish] galleryPost('a10topgun2008', 9, '');
newVideoPlayer("topgunwildberry.flv", 494, 276,""); They may not be made of LEGO or Star Wars-related, but if you like amazingly detailed, huge aircraft models—like the SR-71 above—head to Lakeland, Florida, and Top Gun 2008: the 20th anniversary edition of the biggest RC model competition in the world. It starts tomorrow, five days of pure nerdgasm watching the most stunning remote control aircraft in the world. More details, plus a gigantic gallery from 2007 after the jump.
Captain Ian Wilkinson got fired after doing a crazy 518kph flyby at 8.5 metres over the 2.5km runway at Paine Field, a regional airport located next to Boeing’s Everett facilities, the manufacturing site of the new 777-300 he was flying to Hong Kong, and the 787 Dreamliner. Reportedly, first he was congratulated upon arrival (as shown in the picture,) but when the video of his stunt hit the web, he was fired:
