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Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

The world's first durable remote control flyer. With Carbon Fiber.

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Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

Carbon Flyer 2.0: smartphone-controlled RC plane

The world's first durable remote control flyer. With Carbon Fiber.

The world's first durable remote control flyer. With Carbon Fiber.

The world's first durable remote control flyer. With Carbon Fiber.

The world's first durable remote control flyer. With Carbon Fiber.

Chris Hawker
Chris Hawker
Chris Hawker
Chris Hawker
2 Campaigns |
Columbus, United States
$28,688 USD by 194 backers
$20,716 USD by 146 backers on Dec 26, 2015
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

THE WORLD'S FIRST DURABLE RC PLANE


Are you ready for the thrill of flight? Meet the Carbon Flyer - the world’s first all-carbon fiber remote control (RC) plane that you fly with your phone.

Its high-tech, aerodynamic construction let you soar through the sky and capture HD (high definition) video from a bird’s-eye view.  The durable carbon fiber body lets you bounce back from nearly any crash without worry.

Fun to fly, easy to learn, and beautiful to behold, this high tech smartphone controlled plane is perfect for the RC enthusiast, gadget lover or inner child in all of us.




We're featured on this season of All-American Makers!  Check us out!


BADASS FEATURES

Carbon Flyer an ultra-low-drag air form, custom coreless motors and patent pending propellers to give you the highest performance and power efficiency.  The long-range bluetooth module provides two way data communication for responsive flight control up to 240 feet away.  You can execute tight turns and maneuvers with just a flick of your wrist!

The onboard video camera captures a bird’s-eye view of your flight, and lets you see amazing aerial footage of all your flyovers and stunts.  With just a few of our interchangeable lithium polymer batteries you can enjoy continuous flying without stopping to recharge.


SIMPLE. FUN. FLYING.

The Carbon Flyer's simple to use app makes it quick and fun for kids or novice pilots to learn to fly! Instead of expensive radios with complicated controls, you can fly using any smartphone and just one hand. Because of its high durability the fun won’t get cut short from bent or broken wings made of paper or foam. 
Every Carbon Flyer backer will receive a pdf printout that can be used as a gift placeholder!






AEROPLATEtm CARBON FIBER MATERIAL

Like a Samurai sword, our unique Aeroplatetm carbon fiber is both incredibly strong yet flexible. It absorbs most impacts without breaking and springs back into its molded shape. The Carbon Flyer’s entire airframe is made of this material. Aeroplatetm consists of thin, strong, crystalline filaments composed of nearly pure carbon. It is over 1,000 times stronger than the foam used in most RC planes.
Foam wings easily tear and snap and paper can’t hold a consistent shape.

   


HIGH DEFINITION ONBOARD CAMERA

The Carbon Flyer features an available onboard HD (high definition) video camera to capture amazing aerial footage to share with your friends. Don’t be fooled by products with low quality cameras. We also offer a 640x480 standard definition (SD) camera. For safety, controllability, and efficiency, flight video is recorded for viewing rather than streamed to your phone.


SMARTPHONE CONTROL APP


Control Carbon Flyer from your iPhone or Android device through a long-range Bluetooth 4.0 connection up to 240 feet away. This is almost the length of a football field, and perfect for a plane this size. Simply tilt your phone left or right to steer, and adjust air speed by sliding your thumb up and down. Because of the 2-way data connection you receive real-time battery life and signal strength status.

Remotely command your Video Camera to start and stop recording and activate pre-programmed stunt maneuvers with just the push of a button! Slide your screen to the side to adjust responsiveness from Easy to Advanced or Expert settings! Other inputs like trim settings can also be adjusted.


PROPELLERS AND MOTORS

The Carbon Flyer is powered by special high output 8.5 X 20mm coreless motors driving custom patent pending 3 bladed propellers. These propellers were specifically designed for this power plant and deliver an amazing 1 to 1 power to weight ratio while drawing less than 1 amp of power. The power plants steer the Carbon Flyer using algorithms run by an onboard microprocessor. This thrust vectoring system has no fragile servos or moving parts that can break. The propellers are inset close to the aircraft to avoid contact with the ground during landings.



DELTA WING DESIGN

Our unique material and patent pending construction method allowed us to create a cutting edge wing design with an incredibly low drag coefficient. This results in amazing performance for such a small plane. This high efficiency makes the plane safe because of its very low mass (only 60 grams). It also provides a forgiving user experience fun for all ages and skill levels.


BATTERY PACKS

The Carbon Flyer is powered by a rechargeable, hot-swappable 3.7V 160mAh lithium polymer battery capable of providing over 7 minutes of flight time. Since the batteries are quickly interchangeable, a pocketful will keep you in the air for longer flight sessions. A micro USB charge cable is included with the Carbon Flyer. A USB charger and additional batteries are available.


DECALS!

Get sweet stickers for your plane!  We've created three color varieties of high-quality decals you can apply to your Carbon Flyer to customize and trick out your new stealth flyer.




HOW DOES CARBON FLYER STACK UP?



PROJECT TIMELINE

From idea to delivery!


PROTOTYPING PROCESS

The Carbon Flyer has been in development for over 36 months. The airframe has gone through over 20 iterations to get the geometry, balance, and control surfaces just right. The electronics have also been through several rounds of refinement, balancing the power, user interface, and responsiveness.  We have done all this work to create the most durable, and simple to learn R/C plane ever made. 


RISKS AND CHALLENGES

Manufacturing

Making hardware is hard, that's why they call it hard ware :) And they should really call it very hard ware. There are so many variables that almost always hit bumps in the road. We have commercialized well over 80 products, and all of them have had tough moments. In the “real” world, products are in development for up to 2-3 years before they launch. Crowdfunding has created a unique situation where consumers are expecting things to hit very tight deadlines that truly are difficult to perfectly predict. We have done our best to account for unexpected delays, and will do our best to handle the bumps, but there is always a chance we could hit a snag bigger than we plan for.

Product Adjustments

We have made numerous prototypes of the Carbon Flyer, but as it makes its way to final production release, there may very well be adjustments to the design required by manufacturing and cost considerations. We are committed to providing an awesome product that our backers love. We will let you know of any changes that we need to make and why.

Fulfillment timing

Once the product is ready for production we have to get them made and shipped to us before we can ship them to our backers. The carbon fiber components are made one at a time and require significant handling. Depending on our volumes, and acts of God, we may experience delays in getting all the units shipped. We will scale up with the intention of shipping all of the units from the campaign between July and September, but there is a limit to how high our capacity can go with our selected supplier. In addition, customs can slow things down, as well as defective shipments. We are working with NPI to reduce this risk, but there is always some. We will keep you apprised as things develop and let you know where things stand. We appreciate your support more than we can say, and also thank you for your patience as we work hard to fulfill our perks.



MEET THE TEAM

The Carbon Flyer was developed at Trident Design, LLC, an award winning product design and commercialization firm based in Columbus, Ohio. We work with inventors, startups, and corporations to develop and market products ranging from housewares to consumer electronics to medical devices. Serial entrepreneur and professional inventor, Chris Hawker, founded Trident with a simple philosophy: “When egos drop away, the best idea wins”. To date, his team of dedicated designers, engineers, videographers, and ping pong fanatics have brought more than 80 inventive products to the market.

Known for iconic products such as the PowerSquid and the Onion Goggles, Trident has also designed some of the most popular and successful crowdfunded products, such as the Coolest Cooler (the record-breaking Kickstarter project that raised over $13.2 million), the Beluga Razor (raising almost $200K), and the Quickey (the most-funded multi-tool of all time, exceeding 5,538% of its goal).


FAQ'S


Carbon Flyer 2.0? Whatever happened to Carbon Flyer 1.0?

After crowd funding Carbon Flyer 1.0 we dramatically improved it in every way. This new and improved Carbon Flyer is what we will begin shipping to our original backers in January. The delivery of units for this current campaign will be in April.


Why are you launching a second campaign?

The improvements we made increased the performance, durability, flight time, special features and control interface.  We need to raise more capital to scale up production with additional tooling.


What were the challenges of the original campaign and why did shipping take so long?

Our company, Trident Design, is used to developing amazing products, but this concept was especially challenging. We went beyond designing a patent pending airframe and propellers. We developed our own custom camera, Bluetooth control module and composite material!  Our first setback was a circuit board design that could not handle a power spike caused by our motors. Then as we ordered our redesigned circuit board, our factory had a backorder of a critical component. Both these events pushed back our delivery by several months. Our current schedule should have us shipping the first units to our original backers in January.


Is this for real? How durable is it really?

Yes, this is for real. To our knowledge, no other plane even comes close to our durability under normal use. No product is indestructible and the Carbon Flyer is no exception. However, under normal flying conditions, the hard landings that would normally shatter a foam plane should not typically damage a Carbon Flyer. In hundreds of test flights and crashes over the last year and a half we have pushed this plane to the limit and beyond.


Does the Carbon Flyer's have any weak points?

The number one enemy of any RC plane is a tree or rooftop. While it can survive most crashes, landing on a roof is never good. Always fly in an appropriate open area away from obstacles. Stepping or sitting on a Carbon Flyer can certainly damage it.


How easy is it to fly?

Carbon Flyer is simple to fly, much more so than traditional RC planes, but it still takes good technique. You should use a straight, smooth, upward toss to launch the plane. Just tilt your phone to steer Carbon Flyer left and right and slide the throttle to control altitude.


How well does it handle the wind or rain?

Carbon Flyer can handle heavier winds than most small foam planes, but it is still a very small aircraft. Winds over 5 mph can really challenge it, and anything over 10 mph is not recommended. The electronics are not sealed so avoid flying near water or hard rain.


How is Carbon Flyer made?

Each Carbon Flyer body is made one at a time in a very laborious, process that requires advanced craftsmanship. The Carbon Flyer's body is made from a single ply of a proprietary thermo-formed carbon fiber cloth. First, it is placed in a mold and pressed into shape. Then the mold is placed in an oven for several hours to cure. The parts are then trimmed in a CNC machine and glued together with special epoxy. The resulting plane body is tested for dimensional accuracy and all the electronics are attached and tested.


Can Carbon Flyer work with my R/C radio?

While it is possible to modify the Carbon Flyer to work with a radio it would take someone familiar with hobby aircraft to do the job. Our lead designer, Bret, plans to execute such a modification and record the process on YouTube to share it. We may offer this mod ourselves in the future.

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Choose your Perk

featured

Carbon Flyer Combo Pack

$179 USD
Get a Carbon Flyer decked out with the accessories a new pilot needs! Buying them together gets you $84 off the retail value of $263! EACH INCLUDES: 1 Carbon Flyer (w/SD camera) Display Stand LiPo battery pack w/ charging cable SD memory card 4 carbon fiber coasters 3 Extra LiPo batteries USB battery charger 4 spare propellers Shipping will be charged at cost (roughly $15 domestic, $30 international, depending on destination) shortly before product ships this spring.
Estimated Shipping
May 2016
8 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Frequent Flyer Pack

$29 USD
All the accessories a new pilot needs! Extend your flight time with 3 extra swappable batteries, and conveniently charge them with 1 USB Charger. You also get 4 extra propellers in case you crash a little too hard. INCLUDES: 3 LiPo Batteries 1 USB Charger 4 Propellers SHIPPING: FREE with purchase of Carbon Flyer
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
25 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Carbon Flyer SD

$129 USD
Get the SD Carbon Flyer at $70 off the retail price! INCLUDES: 1 Carbon Flyer (w/ SD 480x640 camera) 1 Display Stand 1 LiPo battery pack w/ charging cable SD memory card Shipping will be charged at cost (roughly $15 domestic, $30 international, depending on destination) shortly before product ships in April.
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
4 out of 100 of claimed

Carbon Flyer HD

$169 USD
Get the HD Carbon Flyer at $70 off the retail price! INCLUDES: 1 Carbon Flyer (w/ HD 720p camera) 1 Display Stand 1 LiPo battery pack w/ charging cable SD memory card Shipping will be charged at cost (roughly $15 domestic, $30 international, depending on destination) shortly before product ships in April.
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
9 claimed
Ships worldwide.

HD Carbon Flyer Combo Pack

$219 USD
Get a Carbon Flyer decked out with the accessories a new pilot needs! Buying them together gets you $84 off the retail value of $303! EACH INCLUDES: 1 Carbon Flyer (w/ HD 720p camera) Display Stand LiPo battery w/ charging cable SD memory card 4 carbon fiber coasters 3 Extra LiPo batteries USB battery charger 4 spare propellers Shipping will be charged at cost (roughly $15 domestic, $30 international, depending on destination) shortly before product ships later this spring.
Estimated Shipping
May 2016
10 claimed
Ships worldwide.

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