Roadside bombs are a a source of fear for both soldiers as well as their worried families at home. Thankfully the Pentagon is working on projects such as Yellow Jacket , unmanned helicopters which detect electromagnetic emissions from potential IEDs. As many IEDs, improvised explosive devices, are set off using a wireless signal, these drones will be able to survey areas for the electromagnetic emissions associated with receivers and provide an early warning to soldiers. No matter how silly the codename, this is one important project and I hope that it gets put into use as soon as possible. [ Aviation Week via Pop Sci ]

When mere mortal men gaze upon the playground jungle gym, they see the unhinged tomfoolery of their youth. When Chinese farmer Wu Zhongyuan sees one he says, “I can make that fly.” Updated And he did, to an incredibly impressive 2,600 feet before Chinese authorities grounded him for “safety reasons.” The rig, comprised of metal bars, a motorcycle engine and wooden rotors, cost him a mere $1,600. He has no formal aviation training, but still managed to assemble the rickety beast using a recollection of middle school physics courses and “relevant knowledge [found while] surfing the Internet via my mobile phone.” As a blogger, I can relate. Update: Correct, fair commenters.

This RC helicopter is a scale model of a Russian Mi-24 chopper, a monstrous beast that’s 55 feet long. The scale version looks about 1/8th the size, and still scares the crap out of us. Check out the video below. We don’t really know anything about the giant “toy” helicopter, except the model it’s based on, but the video below shows that it really works, and that we really don’t want it falling into the hands of any kids. [ LiveLeak via Craziest Gadgets ]