...and You Thought the $100 Hamburger Was Some Kind of 'Ultimate!'

Of course, it won't be as capable as the "real thing," but it will probably fly autonomously, as several home-built UAVs have done in the past few years.

ANN has laid back on these do-it-yourself projects since September 11, not out of any sense that we'd be clueing in any would-be terrorists, but rather in a spirit of political correctness, that we're now ready to shed.

So, we're having a look at home-builders' projects, that are kinda "on the edge," but nevertheless interesting.

As so many that we've heard in the past have said, Bruce Simpson, who lives near Auckland, New Zealand, had a habit, he says, of shooting off his mouth. No doubt inspired by tales of $300 hammers and $800 toilet seats, he is on a personal quest to show the world's military procurement officers how they're wasting taxpayer money.

Although he's been publicly assailed, he says he'll continue his projects, the latest of which is building a "cruise missile" from things he finds around the house. Well... he's been ordering stuff -- stainless steel sheet, a GPS system, radio controls, enough video and transmission equipment to make an onboard flight-view system; and things to make his "buzz-bomb +" jet engine. He says it's loud, but the neighbors don't mind.

His style is matter-of-fact. As he talks about his guidance and flight-control system, for instance, he writes, "Today, compact, high quality, high accuracy GPS receivers are readily available for just a few hundred dollars. The inclusion of an easily used computer interface in many of these units makes them well suited for use in a low-cost cruise missile (LCCM). While the GPS provides information necessary for tracking waypoints and identifying the final destination, smaller course corrections (for stability) can be provided by the solid-state gyro systems now readily available for use in model helicopters and aircraft. Instantaneous measurement of altitude and groundspeed can be provided by a semi-forward looking radar and doppler radar units (possibly built around components such as these and these. This allows a the LCCM to fly lower than would be possible if relying solely on GPS and offers a degree of contour-hugging even when the exact nature of the terrain is not available."

He says his website has received about half its hits (as nearly as he can tell) from military and intelligence viewers. Hopefully, they'll learn something about cost control. After all, there is something to be said for sheer volume...

FMI: www.interestingprojects.com/cruisemissile