Be all the plane you can be with this VR-controlled acrobat

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Hey, didn’t I see this…

…on Kickstarter, yes. Basically, anything new that you see now was crowdfunded last year. Goji burgers, Article 50, those kittens… everything. But it’s no bad thing. If it means that this year we get to play with a paper aeroplane that you can fly using VR, then all power to its elbow.

My paper aeroplanes never fly.

No fear: these ones have little dotted lines to tell you where to fold. Eight different designs, to which attaches the carbon and plastic hardware. With its forward facing camera and a Wi-Fi connected app, you can either fly the plane while holding your smartphone, or by putting your phone in a Cardboard-style VR headset and becoming the plane. Hence the name: the PowerUp FPV, for First Person Viewpoint.

Wait, if my phone is in the headset, how am I steering?

Using entirely instinctive and not-at-all-goofy head movements, is how. Fortunately, the ten minute battery life and 90 minute recharge time mean that the chances of your mates catching you at it are pretty slim. Should you be a sharing type, the FPV can capture video and audio of your awesome aerial adventures. It’s available now at Firebox, for £199.99, including some spare parts and the headset.

About

Fraser used to wear a Psion Series 3 palmtop in a shoulder holster. Perhaps he still does.Either way, his lifelong mission - including fourteen years for Stuff - has been to see whether the consumer electronics industry can ever replicate that kind of cyborgian joy.So far: nope. Despite a plan to combine a action camera and Olympus Eye-Trek goggles to become Man Who Sees The Vision Of A Man Three Inches Taller Than Himself.He also likes mountain bikes, motorbikes, cars, helicopters. Still thinks virtual surround is witchcraft. Dislikes jetskis, despite never having been on one.