Yes, that’s a man sitting inside of a giant floating banner. Those fast-moving propellers? Attached to motorcycle engines. Is he flying? Technically, I would say yes. Mostly, I’m very concerned as to how high he might go if it weren’t tied down.
The man is Chinese farmer Shu Mansheng, and this creation is all his doing. Apparently the contraption, which is 5.48m in diameter, can only stay in the air for 10 seconds at a height of 1m. So I, and indeed Shu, have very little to worry about in terms of bodily harm.
Parts came in at $3000-odd, which is significantly cheaper than, say, an A380.
I don’t think we’ll be posting a DIY guide on Lifehacker in the near future, though we’d welcome a few tips on Shu on getting started…
Our ten-second in-flight movie will be… [Reuters]