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Da Vinci to be honored by small helicopter flight
Posted on Monday, May 19, 2008 (CDT) by Isis
 A Japanese man who developed the world's smallest helicopter will take flight in the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci in tribute to the Renaissance genius' original idea. Gennai Yanagisawa, 75, said Thursday that a demonstration flight of his one-man helicopter is planned in the city of Vinci, near Florence, Italy, on May 25. Yanagisawa developed the GEN H-4 helicopter — with rotors, a chair, footrest and handle bar — in the late 1990s.
"The concept of my helicopter comes from Italy, and I've always wanted to fly it in da Vinci's birthplace," Yanagisawa told The Associated Press from Japan's central city of Matsumoto, where he runs an electronics equipment company. "I'm very excited." Renaissance-era visionary da Vinci designed an "aerial screw" in the 1480s — believed to be the first portrayal of a vertical-flight machine, according to Italy's National Museum of Science and Technology.
The GEN H-4 has two rotors turning in opposite directions to maintain stability, and four engines that enables a 30-minute flight with a top speed of about 56 miles per hour. Yanagisawa said Vinci Mayor Dario Parrini offered him an opportunity to fly his helicopter when the two met in the Italian city in February.
"Italian
people seem to welcome my realizing of da Vinci's idea in his
birthplace," he said. "I want to make my best flight so that I can live
up to their expectations."
Although the 165-pound
helicopter can ascend up to 165 yards, Yanagisawa said he will fly 16.5
feet above ground during his three, 10-minute demonstrations "so the
audience can see me and enjoy the flight."
A Guinness World Records
spokeswoman confirmed the recognition of Yanagisawa's helicopter as the
world's smallest model in terms of weight and rotor length of 13 feet .
Yanagisawa has sold five
GEN H-4s in Japan and two in the U.S. for recreational use. The
helicopters sell for about 6 million yen ($57,140).
"I hope someday this can be used just like a scooter," he said.
Copyright: Yahoo! News
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Re: Da Vinci to be honored by small helicopter flight
by Dexter on Monday, May 19, 2008 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | Due to the little weight, no license is required to operate this tiny helicopter. If it can enter the state of mass construction, this vehicle would become available to the common people, instead of staying a toy for the rich.
The only negative aspect to it, is that it cannot operate under havy winds, due to the relative little power of the engine.
It's even (relative) easy to operate: you just turn the handle-bar in the direction you wanna go, and the speed-gauge works like that of a motorcycle. |
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