"As far as low power goes there are the Sikorsky prize pedal powered helicopter(s?.)  But I think they are still lacking control.

Sounds like you are talking about a full scale version of Curtis Youngblood's Stingray 500:…"

"With brushless motors (like stepper motors), the magnetic field controls the position of the output shaft.  So the ESC controls the position of the motor.  Instead of having a servo control signal, their controller directly controls the power to…"

"Harry, lets see if I can explain it.

At a constant speed the pitch of both blades are steady.

Each blade reacts differently to changes in speed.  Blade "A" will increase in pitch as speed increases and decrease in pitch as speed decreases.  Blade…"

"Reminds me of the controller used in FliteTest's review of the Stingray 500.

http://www.flitetest.com/articles/stingray-500-review

At about 3 minutes into the video they go outside and discus the controller a little bit before putting the craft…"

"In one of the pictures it shows the octocopter on a dolly.  I would think they used the dolly for the indoor shots then launched once they were a ways outside."

"Hmmm, it says " Operating Within the Sovereign Airspace of the Town of Deer Trail, Colorado."  But my understanding is that all US airspace is public use and not owned by individuals/towns/whatever.  I could be wrong though."

"Maybe it is a hybrid, with generator run by rc plane engine."

""VTOL flying wing", That pretty much describes the Quadshot. http://www.thequadshot.com/"

"And now that I look, nope, probably not a clone, but very interesting."

"I wonder if it is a clone of http://www.wirc.dension.com/ that I saw a while back."

"How about hammering a nail with a UAV. Large weight in nose, find nail, dive into nail."