Most of us have printed a few benchies to test our 3D printers. The intrepid little boat has a variety of features that tax different parts of the printing process. However, the guys at [FliteTest] had a different idea. They set out in a competition to build a giant flying benchie. They aren’t quite done, but they did make some interesting progress, as you can see in the video below.
In all fairness, the benchies are not, themselves, 3D printed. Foamboard, however, is a bit more practical. Inevitably, you can’t help but think of a flying boat when you see the results.
There’s something a little surreal about watching a benchie glide or fly over the field. We did find it interesting watching the iterative process they used to test the airframe. A flying benchie is probably not the most practical project, but we get it.
By the end of the video, they had something flying, but they apparently have some more work to get to the end which they’ve promised to share in an upcoming video.
If you want something marginally more practical, why not convert an RC boat to a seaplane? Given that benchie is a boat, we hope they waterproofed their foamboard.
I didn’t finish the video.
It seems like a fun project.
But doesn’t it all come down to,
“with enough thrust, anything can fly”?
“I’m not flying… I’m falling with style” – Buzz Light Year
as someone who plays kerbal space program, yes.
It would be interesting to 3d print one with matching 3d printed hydrofoils beneath it. That’s a type of flying.
theyve already made a battleship fly, so i dont know why they would have problems with benchy.