Elderly Man Builds DIY Helicopter; Maiden Voyage Set for Dragon Boat Festival

Elderly Man Builds DIY Helicopter; Maiden Voyage Set for Dragon Boat Festival
May 22, 2013 By eChinacities.com

File this story under “This is probably not going to end well”.

A 65-year-old man from Leibo County, Sichuan Province recently became famous among Chinese social media circles after a photo of his makeshift helicopter was posted online by a QQ photography group.

Han Lamo, a local elderly farmer and part of the Yi ethnic minority is the mastermind behind the thrown-together helicopter pictured. According to the QQ group, Han has lived his whole live in the mountains and has grown tired of the steep paths that makes herding his sheep and cattle an incredibly arduous task.

Though Han only has a third grade education, that doesn’t mean he can’t dream big. After watching a television program on how helicopters are built, he got the idea to build his own to help with the herding.

Han started working on his creation in 2010, looking over various schematics, drawing his own sketches and purchasing random materials here and here. He even made the trek to Chengdu to buy a basic motorcycle engine, which set him back a few thousand RMB. Now, three years later, he is basically finished. All that’s left is the installation of the propeller, and Han says that he plans to hold his maiden voyage during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival.

Despite his commendable ambition, the final product surely has a bit of a death-trap vibe going for it (that is, if it even gets off the ground). Here’s to hoping that his loved ones don’t let him go through with it. 

Source: society.stnn.cc

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Keywords: Leibo country man builds helicopter

3 Comments

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rasklnik

Not a chance in hell, as the pictch and ratio on the two blades if subject to some seriously difficult physics. Think about it, a fixed wing aircrat has only one way to increase lift. A helicopter can increase lift, in a direct propoprtion to loss of control and stability.So you flip the thing upside down.

May 22, 2013 18:30 Report Abuse

DaqingDevil

I don't think his 3rd grade education or the depth of the TV shows provided such technical information as you've stated. The little propeller blades on the back are from household fans so not is it NOT ever going to fly but I suggest it will also sink during the Dragon Boat race!!! Da Vinci was a dreamer too.......

May 22, 2013 23:10 Report Abuse

carlstar

could be a con. Turns out the aviation industry has lied to us and forced scientist to go along with them so we don't make our own out of pots and pans...

May 23, 2013 16:01 Report Abuse