Thread: Miniature Flying Crank Ghost

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My mini fcg motor died and I needed to find a replacement. I thought I would try and use the little vent motor from one of the surplus houses for $2.99 plus shipping. I got 8 of them so here is another way to use it. I also slowed it down with a 9 volt battery. It runs close to 3 rpm. It's been running for 4 hours and still going! I need to put in a brand new battery and see how long she'll run. I really like these little motors. To mount the crank, run a 1/4-20 tap down the center of the motor shaft. It goes pretty deep which is a good thing. Tap it to the bottom. Cut off a length of 1/4-20 allthread and run it to the bottom of the shaft. Put a nut on top and add your crank arm. Easy peasy. Oh, the ghostie was purchased a couple years ago at Walgreens. Just added wire arms. click the pic!

Wow that's impressive. I would've never though of using one of those motors to run a FCG.

Can we get a link to the surplus website so we can see the type of motor?

Originally Posted by JeffHaas

Can we get a link to the surplus website so we can see the type of motor?

i agree........

Sorry guys. I couldn't find it earlier. Here is is; https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...tname=electric Make sure you buy a handful to make the shipping bearable. Remember, at 12 vdc, it runs at 4 rpm, and with 9 vdc it runs just faster than 3 rpm. I am still amazed at how long this motor runs on a single 9 volt battery.

Ingenious! I will have to try to rig a similar FCG myself. This is a huge budget friendly option for those wishing to have a FCG in a smaller scale while easy on the wallet! Nice job Randy!

Awesome! I love those little black motors.
It never entered my mind to power one with a 9 volt battery! Thanks a lot for the great tip!
(I mount my motor shafts the same exact way. Works flawlessly.)

Thank you everyone for the nice words.
Well I have tested with a new battery and ran it till it stopped. It ran at the 3 rpm for a good 4-5 hours, at which time it started to slow. It became quite noticeable at around 7 hours. Still, I'm delighted with how long it goes on one 9 volt battery. I really like the fact that this is completely portable.

WOW !! Just a 9v battery is running that? Quite impressive. ThX for sharing.

Got a couple of questions on making the mini FCG rig, after looking at your video...

What's the plate made out of? Looks like it's aluminum?
And the rotating arm? Also metal? Is that a piece you found in Home Depot and adapted?

Thanks!