Dragonfly by Wowwee

That is really cool. I can't believe they were able to build it and have it work so effectively. It even sounds a little like the real thing. Just think, 10s of millions of years ago there were dragonflies that big.

An amazing feat!

We can learn a lot from insects in terms of making small robotic devices too, even though this one was remotely controlled. Real dragonflies are incredible in their own right.

"Much larger dragonfly species existed in the distant past than occur on earth today. The largest one, found as a fossil, is an extinct Protodonata named Meganeura monyi from the Permian period with a wingspan of 70–75 cm (27.5–29.5 in). This compares to 19 cm (7.5 in) for the largest modern species of odonates, the Hawaiian endemic dragonfly, Anax strenuus. The smallest modern species recorded is the libellulid dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea from east Asia with a wingspan of only 20 mm, or about ¾ of an inch.

Dragonflies are the world's fastest insects, capable of reaching speeds of up to 97 km/h (60 mph). ^[1] The Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) is nicknamed "Darning Needle" because of its body shape. It is one of the largest and fastest-flying dragonflies, able to reach speeds of 85 km/h (53 mph). A study showed that dragonflies can travel as much as 137 km (85 mi) in one day."

And that's pretty amazing too!

This is an aside but you may find it interesting to know that there is a physical upper limit to insect size of about that of the model in the video. The problem comes by the way insects respire through spiracles and the way they transport oxygen through their system.. Sorry but those big insects in the movies just can't exist, they are just another Hollywood myth like the cars bursting into flames and people being thrown through the air by bullets.

I ordered one from RadioShack.com and love the bloody thing. Of course, I'm an awful flyer and it's stuck in an elevator shaft at my workplace... but, once I get it back out I'm sure it'll be loads more fun.

Check out my review page for it at:
http://www.mydragonfly.info/

Thanks for the review, it looks like a lot of fun. The only hassle is that I live in Australia and new toys like this tend to take a year of so to reach us. I guess I will need to try and get one off the net directly.

I know of a few people that are petrified of flying insects (pretty much the worst phobia an Australian could have) and the sight of a large dragonfly chasing them would probably induce a brain melt down. This thing could be a lot of fun and I just must have one. I can be a real sadistic bugger if I put my mind to it and a giant radio controlled dragonfly has enormous potential.