Flight simulator but you’re the plane

posted May 31st 2010 7:38am by
filed under: wearable hacks

[Rafael Mizrahi] built a flight simulator that lets him fly like Ironman. As you can see in the video after the break, the hardware involves an automotive crane, hang gliding harness, plus the wings and tail from a UAV. A giant fan pointed at the wearer allows him to use the wings and tail to maneuver while the Wii remote strapped to his chest tracks the movement and feeds it to Google Earth Flight Simulator which is seen through the head-mounted display. We’re used to seeing intense flight simulators but this is something completely different.



26 Responses to Flight simulator but you’re the plane

  • Seth says:
    May 31, 2010 at 7:46 am

    I have always wondered why someone hadn’t made something like this…

  • cpmike says:
    May 31, 2010 at 7:57 am

    Looks horribly inaccurate and hard to control, but that’s a great idea.

  • Jake says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Interesting idea, but as far as a legitimate sense of reality, it appears that this “hack” has little to none. I’d feel pretty gay if I were caught on camera wearing that stuff xD

  • alex says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:25 am

    i would wait in line eagerly for a spin on that. Looks a bit rough to control, but thats a challenge!

  • 22gunsonfire says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:42 am

    That looks like its a blast! Maybe Ill hang a harness in the garage and live vicariously through the internets with it.

  • andar_b says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:54 am

    I LOVE this idea, but I think it has to gain some elegance first. Maybe less force on the fan, since really all you need (if anything) is the sense that you’re moving. Add to that a better control system might be nice.

    The right sort of harness would allow you to simply shift your weight slightly to affect your direction and/or speed. Of course, I’m not able to think up something right now.

    Overall, this seems like V1.0 of a very cool idea.

  • mindbleach says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:55 am

    I did something like this for a class in college. We made a ghetto hang-gliding game with a rickety harness and Wiimote-on-a-stick controller. Their use of an HMD and Google Earth makes this project instantly superior.

  • octel says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:13 am

    @Jake
    Why would a headset and flight simulator make you feel sexually attracted to the same sex?

    Don’t use “gay” as a synonym for “bad” or “unpleasant”. Are you 12 years old?

  • octel says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:14 am

    Forget that last part — it’s an insult to 12 year olds.
    You’re just a bigot.

  • EdZ says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:29 am

    Looks like the ‘wing’ needs to be split in half for proper roll control. Two suspension points would eliminate a lot of the wobbling about too.

  • bADiTCH says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:34 am

    It’s pretty awesome! And with the fan blowing on you the wings will give some resistance for pitch, yaw, and roll. My son would love this. It’s simple enough to make.

  • magetoo says:
    May 31, 2010 at 10:08 am

    Hah, this is genius. Would love to see what comes out of it in a couple of iterations.

  • bob says:
    May 31, 2010 at 10:35 am

    @octel
    stfu, no one cares about what you have to say, if its not related directly to this project

  • octel says:
    May 31, 2010 at 11:41 am

    @bob
    eat me

    @Caleb Kraft
    Hey Caleb,
    When is hackaday going to start doing something about the racism, sexism, and homophobia in the comments section?

    • Caleb Kraft says:
      May 31, 2010 at 12:24 pm

      @Octel,
      we ask people to be polite. Then we start deleting posts that get too agressive/bigoted. That’s about it. We’re not the “good taste” police. Trust me, I remove a lot of stuff that is overly sexist, racist, and homophobic.

      On that note, this thread shall remain on topic from now on. no more bickering.

  • Hitek146 says:
    May 31, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    I am Ironman! Haha… This is awesome, but as some one said before, this should have a separate wing for each arm…

    ^and LOL at over-sensitivity…

  • JB says:
    May 31, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    At least this simulator can get you closer to “iron man”. The real deal is probably a lot more expensive and you MUST know what you are doing. This French dude is the real “iron man” http://www.jet-man.com/prod/index.html

  • chris says:
    May 31, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    so… Tony Stark and all those girls is just over compensation I had no idea he was gay…

    but let’s face wobbling round on that pretend wing you’re not gonna score with either sex, unless… are there are geekasexuals…

    Was there any correspondence between the visuals and the wing angles?

  • anthonydi says:
    May 31, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    I think it needs a rudder in the back so it would be easier to straighten out.

    LOL @ the ridiculous argument, this is the internet you have to expect to read offensive comments.

  • Philippe says:
    May 31, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    @JB
    The “French man” is in fact Swiss, he’s just amazing. I am French and just for this once I wish I was Swiss :-)

    There’s also this thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARs5pbGVyUw which looks pretty cool.

  • Caleb Kraft says:
    May 31, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    This will not become a discussion about how irritating current slang terms are. I’ll just lock this thread. Please just stay on topic, and as usual, be polite to eachother.

  • JB says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    @Philippe: My bad. I thought he was French. In any case, that’s an amazing “hack” he’s got going there. Nerves of steel too. A real “iron man”.

  • PatternRec says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    lawn mower man

  • grovenstien says:
    June 1, 2010 at 1:57 am

    looks like great fun! Perhaps a little awkward looking but as a concept it works well.

    Having the pitch attached to the speed of the fan would give the feeling of speed when performing dives and climbing etc.

    As for GAY well that term previously meant HAPPY, JOYFUL and the word GIRL previously described both MALE and FEMALE children so people would no doubt say ‘Isnt it delightful to see the girls playing so gay in the sunshine’

    Language changes but some people dont.

    I love how these comments threads get used to vent people opinions on society, very fascinating, but dont take it to seriously.

    PEACE.

    • Caleb Kraft says:
      June 1, 2010 at 6:12 am

      again,
      Stay on topic or this will have to be locked. Please don’t make me have to watch over you like children. Be adults and be respectful of each other please.

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