Forget flying with a jet pack, try this homemade hovercraft
Flying on an airplane has lost its allure when it became a practical and affordable way to travel. However, the dream of flying the way the Wright brothers did, a la jet pack fantasy, seems to be taking off. At least this time around, we can watch their trials on YouTube.
Literally.
Meet New Zealander Rudy Heeman, creator of a homemade hovercraft. It's been called an "aircraft, aeroplane, hovercraft and flying boat." I can relate to a hovercraft's motions. I played with a remote control hovercraft over the lake near my childhood home.
But clearly, Heeman had greater visions and saw the hovercraft as more than a toy. After 800 hours and more than a decade in — Heeman has built a winged machine that hovers at 10 feet above the water and travels at 56 mph.
Last week, Heeman sold the hovercraft on Trade Me for about $14,000. And like the jet pack, requires no pilot's license.
Watch this video of the hovercraft in action:
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com