Plantraco's Butterfly Livingroom flyer

Dude, if only we'd had this thing back in the day when we really needed to annoy our siblings. Plantraco's Butterfly is a lightweight 3.6 gram remote control airplane fully intended for usage in your living room — that's right! Fly with impunity, friends — that's what it's made for! It comes with a combination transmitter/charger that runs on 4 AA batteries and a 10 x 16 x 5-inch carrying case. Cost of the Butterfly: $239. The look on your parents' face when you launch your first mission during the NFL playoffs: priceless.

[mattb @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

and we could build one of those for... $10 maybe...

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Now all they need to do is put a tiny phone camera on it and let you take aerial shots of your cereal.

[Tsunamii @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Even if you can make it on your own, its pretty cool. Well, for the 3 times you use it... I think my son would knock it out of the air like King Kong.

[frogstik @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Yeah, that's way too much for that thing... I'd spend like $30 on it -- cause I'd break it.

[eddie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

The look on your face when your parents slap it and squeze it like a fly/buterfly/any-flying-insect: funny

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

mattb: you'd be lucky to buy the propeller for $10... actually I just looked and it's a carbon fiber prop so it's probably a $20 item.

this thing is a BARGAN!! To get the plane (assembled), prop, gearbox, motor, receiver and transmitter, hell - even an aluminum case.. for under $300 is amazing.

I would expect that this is one of those control schemes where you climb with the throttle and descend by backing off on it so it won't have amazing amounts of control.

I only wish I had the spare change... it's always clear skies indoors.

It even comes with a serial cable and flight simulator so you can fly indoors when.. uh.. I guess the A/C is blowing?

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Plantraco doesn't make junk.
Look closely, read and compare and you won't be making any toss-off 10 dollar remarks.

Plantraco takes killer engineering and makes killer toys, can you ask for more?

In my opinion, no.

[tino @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

$240? That's retarded. Waiting for cheap Chinese knock off.

[Topmounter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

$10?

LOL! Yeah right.

Read the website, watch the video.

That thing is pretty cool, but is there a way to safely land it without catching it in your hand?

[Matty @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

FYI:
4027 Carbon Fiber Propeller
Carbon Fiber Propeller as used on the Plantraco Butterfly.
Weight is 0.2g $12.99

[Shawn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

#8 - Land it in the bathtub duh! :)

[josh @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I agree with #6- plantraco build quality is usually excellent- I have one of their desktop rovers- it's such a cool little gadget...
besides- if you can build it yourself and want to buy all the parts, go for it! it probably WILL be cheaper. part of the cool thing in this is that it's RTF- no assembly required.

[DaveHimself @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

The kids are getting jaded. They get an amazing new advancement everyday.

"and we could build one of those for... $10 maybe..."

I find that response to an amazing innovation more than a little sad.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

topmounter; they show another model w/ landing gear but it doesn't appear on any of their pages.

There's a good chance the prop will be horizontal when landing, you could always blip it to bring it back around.

This would be such a cool indoors toy.. great for snowy days up north and scalding hot days down south. This is making me want to pull my parkflyer out of mothballs...

[StuBee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

The turn radius will limit what you can do with it indoors...mostly just go in circles. I think it would get repetitious after a short time.

[Martey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

DaveHimself, I find your response a little sad. The DIY mentality is not about being "jaded," but about being intelligent and innovative enough to make stuff by yourself. If mattb does manage to build his own personal RC plane, the knowledge and self-esteem he will get from doing so will be worth far more than the $240 you will fork over for your pre-made plane.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

martey; I think he's referring to the fact that mattb dismissed this as some kind of toy that could be purchased at Target.

You might be able to scrape together something similar for maybe $50 cheaper but the raw parts are way over $10.

It's just another troll who doesn't bother to look beyond the picture. "Ohh, that's just like those two piece balsa wood gliders I buy with my comic book at 7-11! THOSE are 75 cents so THIS is obviously a rip-off!"

Something like this selling for $240 is incredible since two years ago you would have to scratch build the whole thing for over twice as much.

[StuBee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

O Pleaz Marty!
MattB's comment wasn't stating he was gonna try to build one. He was making a dismissive comment about the product saying he could do it for $10 (which of course, he couldn't considering the part costs)

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

"Now all they need to do is put a tiny phone camera on it and let you take aerial shots of your cereal."

True innovation. Then add a mini bombing device, and play war with your Fruit Loops.

[Nogami @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I figure the real cost is $50-70 (without the transmitter/charger). Add maybe another $60-70 for those...

So for around $150, I could see buying one. $240 is too expensive for me.

(off to fly my own RC electric later today).

[Bud Kays @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Difficult to make this one for $10.00 gents.

It's difficult to explain all of the issues that make this plane a bargain at $240.00. We should raise the price.

The balsa and tissue airframe is a real work of art - not a dimestore item. Granted, the material cost of the airframe can be considered to be low, but the dimensioning of the wood, and assembly is another thing all together. Balsa wood is the material of choice here for technical reasons, not to make more profit That's for sure.

The CF prop and swiss designed gearbox with 0.2 mod gears and 4mm motor are very low weight. The 0.38 gram receiver with patent pending battery connector.

The whole plane weighs LESS than a sheet of typing paper! With battery and all.

The transmitter plugs into your computer for use with the Freeware FMS flight sim.

900Mhz pure digital R/C system
Proportional Transmitter
Built in precision lithium charger
No more long antennas
0.22 gram actuator - this is light stuff guys - lighter costs more.

If you want to fly an R/C model aircraft in the livingroom in a comparable fashion, it has to be lightweight. This plane requires our world's lightest R/C receiver and bahoma system and lithium polymer cells etc. etc. etc.

If it's heavier it has to be larger or faster.

BTW - some guys have added landing gear to their Butterflies - check
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=388362&page=21#post4186954

It's a long thread - but has some good info.

Our website has good videos of the Butterfly:

http://www.plantraco.com/hobbies/product_butterfly.html

[Bud Kays @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Difficult to make this one for $10.00 gents.

It's difficult to explain all of the issues that make this plane a bargain at $240.00. We should raise the price.

The balsa and tissue airframe is a real work of art - not a dimestore item. Granted, the material cost of the airframe can be considered to be low, but the dimensioning of the wood, and assembly is another thing all together. Balsa wood is the material of choice here for technical reasons, not to make more profit That's for sure.

The CF prop and swiss designed gearbox with 0.2 mod gears and 4mm motor are very low weight. The 0.38 gram receiver with patent pending battery connector.

The whole plane weighs LESS than a sheet of typing paper! With battery and all.

The transmitter plugs into your computer for use with the Freeware FMS flight sim.

900Mhz pure digital R/C system
Proportional Transmitter
Built in precision lithium charger
No more long antennas
0.22 gram actuator - this is light stuff guys - lighter costs more.

If you want to fly an R/C model aircraft in the livingroom in a comparable fashion, it has to be lightweight. This plane requires our world's lightest R/C receiver and bahoma system and lithium polymer cells etc. etc. etc.

If it's heavier it has to be larger or faster.

BTW - some guys have added landing gear to their Butterflies - check
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=388362&page=21#post4186954

It's a long thread - but has some good info.

Our website has good videos of the Butterfly:

http://www.plantraco.com/hobbies/product_butterfly.html

[Lee Gibson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Bud, I'm glad you posted. I designed a MUCH LARGER r/c aircraft, and the weight constraints for that vehicle were...daunting.

For those that think this is a $10 toy...we live in a capitalist society. If you can manufacture one for something close to that, you could make a lot of money undercutting this product.

But you can't, so you can't.

[Bud Kays @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Yep,

For those who want to build their own models, our components can make it a lot easier to do. We hope our super lightweight receivers and actuators bring people back to building their own models - much like the freeflight rubber band powered models, but now with R/C. For over 70 years this has been the holy grail for model aircraft hobbyists.

[Kyle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

How about a Dogfight version...

Maybe small laser and photosensor on the wings... I can see a whole new game phenomona, esp. if I can sit in my comfy chair.

Engage!

[robbie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

id just like to know how they fit 4 aa batteries in this thing i mean wouldnt that weigh it down heaps, forgive me if im wrong but how long would this thing last if there was like one really small batterie in it wouldnt be long but im no expert on this type of thing so meh

@24 and 18: and that microsoft phantom thing mounted into your psp somehow :P

[Futhamucka @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

robbie, if i may, i think, THINK, i could be wrong, please correct me if i am, that the 4 AA batteries are in the transmitter charge two little polymer cells in the butterfly itself, which may last for quite a while if it has been designed well, because it weighs practically nothing.

[zman @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

What a cool toy, it looks like a lot of fun. But the video under "more videos" on the Plantraco website, wow it's weird. What's with the out of place classical music? And the guy, he kind of freaked me out.

[josh @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I just got one of these and it is awesome. It flies so slow, that even a first time flyer will have time to fix mistakes. Even if you do crash, it is basically indistructable becuase of the incredably low mass (try breaking a feather by throwing against a brick wall). You are much more likely to damage the plane by picking it up than crashing it.

The batteries go into the transmitter, which doubles as a charger for the tiny recharable battery that magnetically clicks onto the airplane. The rechargable lasts at least 15 mins, which is amazing for an electric RC.

The only control surface is the rudder, which moves sort of like the voice coil in a speaker. The rudder actually doubles as the speaker - it vibrates to generate the tones that the plane gives you to let you know it's status. Brilliant!

I live in NYC and took the plane to an atrium of a nearby office building to fly. The security guy wanted to hassle us, but couldn't becuase he wanted to watch us fly it more. It was pretty funny.

I can not say enough good things about this airplane. The design is ingenious. It is a total blast to fly.

[Duh @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Just one little question for all those who appreciate this little "gem". At $240 a pop, How Many Do You OWN!!!!!

The price plus the durrability of the product makes it a good way to waste mula.

[Bryan @ Jan 3rd 2006 12:01AM]

it sounds like lots of fun but worth the $240? i have doubts...