How to: Shoot Bullets Through a Propeller!

World War 1 biplanes utilized mechanical interrupter gears for strafing with a machine gun though the propellers. Cut to the 21st century when the same task has been achieved using a microcontroller-based solution. The idea is to time the firing of the bullets between the blades of the propeller so that the propellers can stay undamaged and you can hit your target.

Don’t Miss: All of our Airsoft and Gun Projects

The unique project uses an Airsoft gun which can spit out a pellet at the rate of 20 milliseconds (the rate was calculated using an oscilloscope and an infrared sensor). The rotational speed of the propeller is checked with an IR sensor to setup the trigger delay. The microcontroller software can be downloaded to setup your own firing mechanism.