Comments on: China: Awesome gentleman builds homemade flying contraption powered by eight motorcycle engines

By: Will Radik

Will Radik — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:21:00 +0000

太危险了!

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:26:00 +0000

I see no obvious control devices, (in one picture, pilot (?) seems to just be hanging on to the side of the cloth box) and no fuel tank. I think he could kill himself just as easily with 1/2 the numbers of engines. Nice wood work on   the propellers, however…   It appears   (?) that some of the propellers
    look like they are cut to turn in opposite directions. That is a good thing, (if so), as there is going to be one hell of a torque control problem
   with this “”death circle”", and this is just one of the many control, stability issues he will face. But, alas, not for long, especially with no
safety helmet…

By: Freeman Lin

Freeman Lin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:48:00 +0000

it says, china “space” academy

By: Bob Bobson

Bob Bobson — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:30:00 +0000

I should have said “wasted” instead of “wasting” as I doubt anyone would invest with Moller anymore… However, stranger things have happened… This octocopter could benefit from variable pitch props, and a torque distribution system… but that might kill the cost effectiveness of the whole thing.

By: Bob Bobson

Bob Bobson — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:20:00 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_8080 priced at $360 in 1974…

Zilog Z80′s could be had for 3-4 US by the end of the 1970′s…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moller_Skycar

I have the feeling he’s just wasting money building ‘pretty’ prototypes…

By: Editz

Editz — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Clearly a descendent of Wan Hu:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Hu

By: James Dhalluin

James Dhalluin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Just maybe, they may sit around and think rather than smoke..A clear mind can work and think at the same time..Ideas come togeather quite easy behind the plow.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:44:00 +0000

Ha Ha Ha…this.

However – this dude might beat Moller to the finish in terms of Return on Investment of time and money. This dude’s current contraption is likely in the alpha stage. His beta (or whatever) might use cheap microprocessors that Moller didn’t have access to until, well…now.

But if Moller didn’t do it first – and grace decades worth of Popular Science and Mechanics mags – would this have been hatched and built?

By: MikeyintheOC

MikeyintheOC — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:12:00 +0000

Parking might be a bitch?

By: orcasislandtv

orcasislandtv — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Before criticizing, build one. The trouble with innovation in the US, is that it rarely gets done. Innovation is full of lawyers, patents, injunctions, for using a bit of software that is as common as a ball bearing.

Innovators are eaten and become part of the borg.

I love the audacity here, the sheer chance. Lookup Octokopter. The models have been built and proven. This is just a step toward manned flight on an Zoctokopter. Imagine 8 rotax engines, and a simple arduino controller yanked from the existing Octokopter design.

It flys. Throttle controls via servos, and horizon stabilization is $50. It’s time, about 40 years overdue, for air innovation for people. Sure, it won’t be stealthy. :) I can see millions of these, running on diesel grown in unused farm lands flying all over china.

If anyone will build the future it’s China. It’s where GE, and our top big businesses are spending their money. And, we consumers spend much of our money on Chinese products everyday. Try to buy a tool made in the US. :) nah best to read the map, accept it, and decide if you have the courage to innovate in the US. We owe China trillions. And we buy 100s of billions from China too. It’s not cheap goods. Check a US name brand product.

Wake up fools. Where ya been the past ten years? :) bet 3 years from now Chinese flying machines will be kicking butt. Likely because a farmer in China can now make one. Who in the US can? Have $100,000 to start and $200,000 for lawyers? Try farming in China, apparently the opportunities are greater.

By: airshowfan

airshowfan — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:28:00 +0000

Paul Moller better watch out; China’s ability to make useless VTOL vehicles almost matches his own.

By: Ar D Karriban

Ar D Karriban — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:56:00 +0000

This is it a classic referendum for one family one child policy : no darling, go tooling.

By: ausPPC

ausPPC — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:14:00 +0000

Check out the american imperialist condescension. My guess is that if this guy was from the ‘right’ country the comments would be much more along the lines of how cool makers are. Engineering, motivation and the joy of doing aren’t endemic of america – or do you idiots think you’ve patented those things as your exclusive property?

By: Jeff Swanson

Jeff Swanson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:50:00 +0000

MacGyver in Chinese. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

By: rcflying

rcflying — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:57:00 +0000

That’s awesome. I want to see video!

By: Cuiqian Chen

Cuiqian Chen — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:51:00 +0000

Cao Ni Ma Niu Bi!!

By: Sparg Otyebat

Sparg Otyebat — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Awesome crop duster!

By: public bizmail

public bizmail — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:37:00 +0000

our modern world in a nutshell: China does stuff, but most of the value-add is elsewhere

A Chinese gentleman works out how manufacture a hovercraft on the cheap, but his design will be useless until someone else with a lot more math skills develops the control software and imports the high-quality actuators from Japan or Germany.Any chance we can get this amazing dude to a Maker Faire?

By: ablestmage

ablestmage — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0000

Video or it didn’t happen.

By: Max Vogel

Max Vogel — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:28:00 +0000

redundantcy man its got 8 engines . if 4 can support him hes all good

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Well, having built many flying craft over the years (models), let me say, first: he cannot reach the outer engines to start them (take a look), the noise and smoke from the many 2 stroke engines will overcome him and any spectators for 100 yards, and…. when (not if) one of the engines quits, you are in for a death spiral of amazing tragic results. The power is probably there to make it fly, but I really question the stability of the craft, let alone critical control issues; unless he only plans to go up, and down… still, wobble city / whirling disaster here….You could not talk me into trying to fly this thing….even with Remote radio Control….Is there a film crew there to catch this Jackass? He is going down….big time…

By: D Push

D Push — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:24:00 +0000

… all of the outer engines rotate one way, the inner engines the other … its an attempt to null the rotational effect. I suspect it would be better had 2 engines in each ring countered 2 in the same ring because of the leverage differential of the forces in each circumference. You can see in the hovering pic that the ropes are keeping the craft from rotating.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:20:00 +0000

I’m not sure it’s accurate to call this tethered test a “flight”. It’s more accurately “probable carnage avoided by tethering”.

By: SignalJammer

SignalJammer — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:31:00 +0000

Read: “Tool steels have strength-to-weight ratios as forged Al.” as Tool steels have similar strength-to-weight ratios as forged Al.
Haven’t had coffee yet.

By: SignalJammer

SignalJammer — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Tool steels have strength-to-weight ratios as forged Al. I evidence this by noting that good bicycles are made from both materials.

By: oandroido

oandroido — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:13:00 +0000

Fake.

Or, show it to me flying. Otherwise, it’s a hovercraft.

By: Bill Lee

Bill Lee — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:34:00 +0000

Actually they are two halfs of one pool table top. Notice that each only have 2 slots for the baskets.

By: Ben Goldberg

Ben Goldberg — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Obviously this guy spent a lot of time reading the ads in the back of “Boys Life” magazine when he was a child…

By: leoeris

leoeris — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:29:00 +0000

This thing is deadly. Don’t try this at home. I have seen what happens to someone hit by one of those rc helicopter blades.

By: awjt

awjt — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:29:00 +0000

No, that’s a Shu Shredder.