Oddly Enough Blog
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Blog Guy, recently you wrote about a bunch of ambitious homemade inventions around the world. A submarine, a helicopter, stuff like that. Do those things actually work?
You bet they do. Here is that farmer in China testing his homemade flying device yesterday. It’s powered by eight motorcycle engines.
Eight motorcycle engines? Cool! Where did he go in it?
Up. About three feet. He hovered for 10 seconds.
Hovering? That’s kind of pointless, isn’t it?
Who’s to say? He may have tapped into a whole new travel market. Leave your worries behind and come hover with us, high above dogs and cats and short people…
See here, that’s just stupid. Hovering isn’t actually going anywhere.
Exactly. No complicated time zones to worry about, no missed connections, no overhead bins where contents may have shifted in flight.
Okay, Blog Guy, are you just about finished with this total nonsense?
Passengers, please turn off your electronic devices until we’ve reached our hovering altitude of three feet. Beer and wine are available for $5. Exact change is always appreciated…
Stop it! I can’t believe you’re impressed by this gizmo. Tell me one useful thing it does.
Well, apparently it takes eight noisy motorcycles off the streets, which makes it a great idea in my book.
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Top: Local farmer Shu Mansheng hovers above the ground in his self-designed and homemade flying device during a test flight in front of his house in Dashu village on the outskirts of Wuhan, September 21, 2011. Shu managed to hover for 10 seconds at about one yard above ground during a recent test flight. REUTERS/Stringer
Bottom left: Shu starts the engines of his self-designed and homemade flying device before a test flight. REUTERS/Stringer
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I am kind of digging the name China “Fat Sky/Air” School, as it says in Ramen Noodles on the side of the device.
A haiku hovers over the comment box:
Hovering machine
Would the Wright Brothers approve
or scoff at this thing?
So that’s what happened to the motorcyle of the leader of the pack. I’m glad it could be put to good use.
Sheesh. That thing looks like minced Shu Mansheng, waiting to happen. I notice he’s got it tethered to the ground, which is probably a really good idea. There are so many things that could go wrong with that machine….
I like that it’s a farmer who did this. I am impressed with people who purusue interests outside their main line of work. It’s always nice to see people who have varied interests.
flying while pipes connecting to ground? Now that’s something
Sitting in a paper box in the middle of eight large, completely open, high-speed propellers.
What could possibly go wrong?
How do we get members of the Tea Party to do a test drive?
looks like BazAir China is off the ground!
…and now it’s not.
I’m guessing that the residents of the apartment complex didn’t expect a sight like that on their residential plaza.
Dogs and cats missing.
Not from Chinese hovercraft.
Flying wok. Chop-Chop.
The new Williams-Sonoma Manned Giant Salad Shooter with accessories, now only $12,799.00. Replacement blades sold separately.
Speaking of missing cats, my adoptive kitty, Sly, made his reappearance Monday after being AWOL for more than a week. Now, he comes into my workshop and meows until I come out. And then he won’t leave.
Reuters journalist: Mr. Shu Mansheng, this machine doesn’t really fly so well. Do you have any comments on this?
Shu Mansheng: What do I look like, an ornithologist?
Looking for a lift? Hover on over to the OE Blog
That’s a very urban looking farm.
Yay, Doc, and welcome home Sly. Glad you didn’t wind up in the Flying Wok. Now get back to work…. Doc needs all the pet therapy you can muster.
Didn’t they make a movie about this with Billy Bob Thornton?
China now has its own version of Balloon Boy. Granted, this flying machine didn’t fly too far, and the guy was actually in it. Otherwise, it’s the Chinese version of the Balloon Boy tale.
My motorcycle is awesome so neener neener to you.
He took 8 noisy motorcycle engines off the ground, and took them 3 feet higher up…
I can’t believe Reuters fell for this. That’s a Chinese combined harvester…what would a farmer do with a flying machine anyway…BECOME an ornithologist??
Laughing SO HARD at Paul Mollher right now.