Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Farmer uses scraps of metal to make his own homemade helicopter…parts include a joystick for a motorcycle and stainless steel tubes

Farmer Li Housheng, 52, from Ganzhou Village in Miluo, China, is determined to get his DIY aircraft flying. He started building his very own two-rota engines last year using a dismantled motorbike. Skeletons are made of angle iron and stainless steel tubes and each rotor is simply a welding of four steel plates.



During a test flight, Li claims he managed to get the ramshackle contraption a staggering 40cm off the ground.

His friends keep telling him it will never take off. But in the face of those who doubt him, farmer Li Housheng, 52, is determined to get his makeshift helicopter off the ground. He began building the twin-rota aircraft at his home in Ganzhou Village of Baitang Township in Miluo, China, last year, using an engine from an agricultural motorcycle. The skeletons are made of angle iron and stainless steel tubes while each rotor is simply a welding of four steel plates. It even includes an accelerator, a clutch and a joystick, all of which come from an agricultural motorcycle.

The helicopter recently completed a test flight with the fuselage hopping a staggering 40cm off the ground, according to Li.