Bill Gurstelle, our resident pyro, flaming on. Photo by Chris Buck for Popular Mechanics.
We’re in the process of working on another special publication for 2011 holiday release, like our popular Ultimate Workshop and Tool Guide from last year. This one is going to be the Ultimate Guide to Kits! It will feature over 150 kit reviews plus new kit-related articles and other delectable MAKE goodness.
We’re really excited about this project. And we’d like you to maybe be a part of it. We thought it would be fun to community-source a “Dangerous Kits” article for the issue. So we’re looking for what Bill Gurstelle once called “interestingly dangerous” (as opposed to dumb dangerous) kits, ones that push the envelope of safety and propriety. Here are some categories we thought of:
- Guns
- Knives and other edged weapons
- Distillation equipment
- Fireworks and explosives
- Extreme sports equipment
- Experimental aircraft/submarines
Remember, the theme is kits, so these have to be things that you put together yourself from parts, not finished products. Leave your mini-reviews, just a few sentences, in the comments bwlow. Be sure to include prices, URLs, etc. If we use your review, we’ll send you a free copy of the issue when it’s released. (Note: Like the Ultimate Workshop and Tool Guide, this is a special, stand-alone publication that is not part of a regular MAKE subscription).
20 thoughts on “ISO: Dangerous Kits”
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Experimental Aircraft is a very large category, including a vast array of intended purposes, some of which have nothing to do with pushing the danger envelope. I would argue that there are quite a few experimental aircraft that exceed the safety of production aircraft, when properly built.
There is a subset that might be appropriate, there are some aircraft trying to push new designs forward (thank god), but don’t paint the entire class with that brush.
I will be building an experimental aircraft that has a safety emphasis, the envelope it’s pushing is an economic one, not a risk factor. Simplicity and economy as well as a freer rein on new approaches and technologies are advantages of the class. Many technologies used in experimental aircraft end up in production aircraft, benefiting aviation as a whole.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXZWK8
RC airplane kit capable of hitting 120+mph.
That’s what I call dangerous
Depends on what it weighs. My flying wing will hit 100MPH, but I’d be dead unlucky if a direct impact unto my person did more than sting a bit. Maybe a bruise, as it’s about 3 pounds and EPP foam, which absorbs a lot of impact as well.
The ones that really scare me are the big scale models, which approach small aircraft size.
Well It’s foam, reinforced with carbon fiber. I think it it hit someone it could easily cause major trauma
Well It’s foam, reinforced with carbon fiber. I think it it hit someone it could easily cause major trauma
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXZWK8
RC airplane kit capable of hitting 120+mph.
That’s what I call dangerous
Experimental Aircraft is a very large category, including a vast array of intended purposes, some of which have nothing to do with pushing the danger envelope. I would argue that there are quite a few experimental aircraft that exceed the safety of production aircraft, when properly built.
There is a subset that might be appropriate, there are some aircraft trying to push new designs forward (thank god), but don’t paint the entire class with that brush.
I will be building an experimental aircraft that has a safety emphasis, the envelope it’s pushing is an economic one, not a risk factor. Simplicity and economy as well as a freer rein on new approaches and technologies are advantages of the class. Many technologies used in experimental aircraft end up in production aircraft, benefiting aviation as a whole.
A clarification here: We’re looking for commercial kits in these areas (or others), not just projects or not things that could be turned into kits.
A clarification here: We’re looking for commercial kits in these areas (or others), not just projects or not things that could be turned into kits.
http://www.spudgunextreme.com/cart/items/PPCNB001.htm
Potato devastation – avoid windows – eat your vegetables.