How We Made a Pair of Shoes Fly

What happens when you take some quad motors and strap them to a pair of shoes? Flying shoes of course!

Out of all the crazy build projects Flite Test have done over the years, from the cinder block plane to the flying chair, this one probably gets the prize for the oddest. Inspired by LeBron James, Alex set Matt and Ian the challenge of making a pair of branded trainers fly. It didn't take long until they were airborne, but there were a few ups and downs (no pun intended).

Video

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the episode on this project that we released last week!

Build Process

The day began with a rather bewildered pair of quad builders looking at their latest project. After a botched attempt at simply sticking four carbon race quad arms into the shoe, it was time to get some professional assistance. If you're ever stuck on a build, you can always ask for help here on the Flite Test forum.

In step chad. A mastery at his craft, Chad has a whole bunch of skills that the quad guys could call upon. He also can use many workshop tools to help progress the build. It's handy having a few dedicated tools to hand whenever making things. Be sure to out the great tools (specifically designed to help you build aircraft) that we supply on our store.

After some aluminum was cut and heated, holes were made in the shoes by sliding the hot metal through the soft rubber. Make sure to be extremely careful if you use a similar method to make holes in materials yourself.

A good job done and signed off.

With the 'airframe' complete, Matt could focus on his specialty - electronics. The board he used is a KISS CC controller. This, the motor ESC's and receiver all fit snuggly in the arch of the shoe. It's like it was meant to be.

Some material had to be removed, but that was all fine thanks to a craft knife.

Takeoff! The shoes take to the sky in one of the strangest spectacles we've seen yet.

This really does show that anyone can make cool projects come to life with the right time, know-how and perseverance. You don't have to make a shoe fly, but hopefully this has shown you that you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it!