Fish blimp

There’s not a whole lot of information yet on this Fin-Fish blimp that was entered by team LaChLuVe into a recent airship regatta in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It suffices to say that it’s one of the more unique and beautiful R/C blimps made to date, both from an aesthetic and a technical, propulsion design standpoint.

From the looks of the video, the servo actuated pectoral fins are used as control surfaces to both steer and control elevation. The tail serves dual purpose as well, providing propulsion and acting as a rudder during hard turns. I know it’s how fish have been rocking things since the Paleozoic, but I’m still surprised to see how effectively this design functions in a man-made craft.

Fin-Fish by LaChLuVe, Empa Dübendorf, Switzerland