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I finally put two plus two together, as I remembered this week and old toy. One of the neatest toys I got for Christmas, around 1967 or so, was the “Johnny Astro Space Control Center”. Shrouded fan, moved by a control stick, with throttle. Its’ column of air pushed yet also attracted a free-flying balloon, that had plastic legs taped on.
So, I flew the balloon around by remote control. Flying it sort of like a Lunar Module, years before Apollo’s flew. Was a lot of fun, and so surprising to me (at about age 10 and a half) that a column of air could do that with a light enough object.
Then in recent years, even more fun flying models remotely for vertical takeoffs and landing. But the newer ones using four columns of air, moving down real fast, as far away as I can see it, in a manner and using technology available cheaply to the public that only could be dreamed of back then on the Jetsons, not real life. So, this was my first “Remote Controlled Lunar Lander”.
[video=youtube;s2CA7jVCQrE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2CA7jVCQrE[/video]
This second link is to a modern video.
[video=youtube;W9i3f54hxJQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9i3f54hxJQ[/video]
Still, I like my current remote controlled Lunar Lander (Quadcopter) a lot better.
Link to the thread about it:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137174
But wow, I didn't think of the connection between the two until today, 50 years later.
So, I flew the balloon around by remote control. Flying it sort of like a Lunar Module, years before Apollo’s flew. Was a lot of fun, and so surprising to me (at about age 10 and a half) that a column of air could do that with a light enough object.
Then in recent years, even more fun flying models remotely for vertical takeoffs and landing. But the newer ones using four columns of air, moving down real fast, as far away as I can see it, in a manner and using technology available cheaply to the public that only could be dreamed of back then on the Jetsons, not real life. So, this was my first “Remote Controlled Lunar Lander”.
[video=youtube;s2CA7jVCQrE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2CA7jVCQrE[/video]
This second link is to a modern video.
[video=youtube;W9i3f54hxJQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9i3f54hxJQ[/video]
Still, I like my current remote controlled Lunar Lander (Quadcopter) a lot better.
Link to the thread about it:https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137174
But wow, I didn't think of the connection between the two until today, 50 years later.
