Free Republic

A scale model of a Reaper drone rumbled down the runway and lifted into the gray Canadian sky, powered by a plastic propeller and a lithium-ion battery. When the tiny plane crashed back to earth a few seconds later, white smoke began rising from the wreckage. “Why is it on fire?” one of the hobbyists asked the other, moments before bright orange flames began shooting from the crash site. The weary reply, captured on video, was: “Battery.” Small, potent lithium-ion power packs have transformed the world of radio-controlled model aircraft, much as they have allowed smartphones to get thinner, power...

(edit)  The Boeing B-50 bomber is so big it holds the title as the world's largest electric model aircraft, It is classified as a light aircraft and is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority.Built by Tony Nijhuis in his garage the aircraft is a scale version of the US bomber and has a 20ft wingspan and weighs just over seven stones.It took Mr Nijhuis, from Hastings, East Sussex, two years to make the radio-controlled plane that he calls the 'jolly green giant' and cost him £8,000.   (edit)  t has 96 batteries that power four electric motors which drive...