SIMPLE. FUN. FLYING.
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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!
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AEROPLATEtm CARBON FIBER MATERIAL
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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
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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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