As depicted in the science fiction movie “Avatar“, the Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson is a human light ducted-fan craft designed to carry out mostly non-combat missions. The Samson is armed with door guns, detachable rocket pods, and is the workhorse of RDA operations on Pandora. It is used to transport cargo and personnel to and from isolated sites. A hook point for sling load operations allows the Samson to carry extra or oversized cargo.
When Ralph Kayser saw the movie, he knew he had to try and build one of the high-tech aircraft that were featured in it. The result is this 33-inch-long Samson, which features homemade molded parts and RC helicopter equipment. The Samson is powered with two Dymond AL 3530 motors on a 3S 2100mAh LiPo for 4-minute flight times.
This model is very cool and I expect that we’ll soon see many copies of the Samson flying over the airfields of this world after having served dutifully on Pandora. Until then, enjoy these photos and the video!
Thanks to German magazine Flugmodell und Technik for posting this feature.
Photos and Video by Uwe Grenda www.uwegrenda.de
Ralph Kayser with his twin rotor SA-2 Samson.