ArrowHead

 

Introducing… ArrowHead, the fastest craft I’ve ever built. 

The design was mainly based on a search-and-rescue theory. Simply put, this plane speeds in, drops the loading bay and zooms off with its target. Its speed comes from not needing to generate lift using wings, the entire plane is suspended with a charm instead. 

Engines at the back of the plane provide thrust. 

The entire thing is relatively heavily armored, with plates and armor that cover the whole passenger section : a success in terms of technical building. The entire plane still looks sleek albeit the passenger section because of the curved plates laid in. 

A view of the passenger section. The knob to turn the cargo loading bay down is visible from here. The entire floor section drops down to accommodate passengers easily. This way, the craft can snatch up targets quickly. 

The cargo bay is lowered with a simple winch mechanism which is normally kept in place by a lock. It can be removed easily. 

The interior is spacious enough to store 2 LEGO minifigures without excessive headgear. Slight walls on the bottom can be lowered to form a ramp. 

The panels on the side can be hinged slightly for changes. 

And lastly, a quick video of the mechanism. 

Thank you for reading my blog . 

 

Flood Rescue Vehicle

When I received news about the recent floods in Malaysia, I decided that there was only one thing to do: build a Flood Rescue Vehicle. 

The design itself was quite simple. There were stories about boats not being able to cross into shallow waters; trucks and cars were similarly swamped by floodwaters. There was only one vehicle that could cross both; the Salamander. 

A Salamander is actually an amphibious vehicle with tracks mounted on a boat body. Here, I used wheels for speed (also didn't have enough tracks) and size. 

There are two sections; the search and rescue section; and the flood victim section. Read on to find out more!

Gadgets on the front section are listed as follows:

Front: 

1. The white cone is a distance microphone to detect small noises and calls for help; can save those who are too tired to scream. 

2. Two banks of sensors are located on each side to detect debris and other things. 

Middle:

1. A big speaker (grey) to give warnings, messages, and assurances. 

Back:

1. A revolving tower with two kinds of lights to find and rescue flood victims in the dark. 

The back section, otherwise known as the flood victim section, consists of:

Rightmost:

1. The elevator system (more explanations following)

Middle:

1. An electric fire to prevent chills or hypothermia. 

2. Benches for flood victims to sit (maximum capacity 4) 

Leftmost:

Top: Bottles of freshwater, sealed and airtight to prevent any kind of contamination

Middle: Storage for valuable items, or currently a medical kit

Bottom: Food is in the circular boxes, whereas the square box holds thermal blankets if the fire heat is not enough. 

The vehicle body is hinged to get around corners.  

There are stories of people stuck on the second floor/roof having to jump down into the boat, possibly destabilizing it. Furthermore, old or weak people cannot make this journey and are forced to stay behind. My design includes an elevator function to solve this problem. 

A video showing the elevator in motion. A relatively simple design featuring a rubber-band pulley with a guide rail to ensure maximum stability solves any climbing problems. 

Engines on the side of the boat; they combine jets with propellers for maximum propulsion/horsepower.

Multiple sensors on the bottom of the Salamander, they provide data on ground instability, incoming debris, waves, and other important things. 

I hope this design is able to save many people who are in danger out there. 

Thank you for reading my blog. 

 

Hexabyte

For some while, I have been quite obsessed with spinning tops. My old models were symmetrical tops that spun well but had problems spinning for long. Surprisingly, the best design was the most unbalanced design. Introducing… Hexabyte! 

The initial design came from my father but I improved and changed it slightly. My additions included slopes to make it more aerodynamic, stabilizer fins to push the top against the ground, and a huge amount of weight concentrated on one side of the top. 

The weight was surprisingly distributed in such a way that it looked like a face! 

The theory of its uncommonly long spin was the weight. It wasn’t balanced. The idea was that the imbalance would cause it to swing from side to side, but with a rough surface, it would be able to stay longer than other tops. 

The result was a top that “scratched and scrabbled” against the rough surface, and the imbalance kept it spinning for a total of 30 seconds!

A video of its performance. Surprisingly I could only get 21 seconds max, previously the record was 25. 

Thank you for reading my blog.