Where was this technology a few years ago, when the Stuff team could have used it to terrify school teachers? A Kickstarter campaign which hoped to get a smartphone-controlled, electrically-powered paper plane off the ground has blasted by its $50,000 goal and is now sitting at around $345,000 with a further 54 days of funding to go.

The campaign, for a device called the PowerUp 3.0 Smart Module and its smartphone app, will permit paper plane enthusiasts and anyone else who wants to give it a shot to extend the flying time of their creations by adding a carbon fiber engine to it. The lightweight addition is powered by a lithium-polymer battery that allows for ten minute flights and the whole setup is controlled via an iPhone for the moment, though Android support is on the way. The smartphone control allows users to turn their paper planes by tilting the controlling device.

The PowerUp 3.0 has been funded almost seven times over so its appearance out in the world is a certainty at this point. You can expect it to land around May next year, if the device remains on schedule, and if you’re thinking of backing the project you need to know that they will be shipping internationally as well.

Source: Kickstarter via The Verge