Friday, July 12, 2013

Go, Canada!

Canadians invent human-powered helicopter (don't miss the video; the contraption is a thing of beauty).

H/T: Distinguished Canadian, Captain Heinrichs.

10 comments:

JeffS said...

That's a very elegant machine! Kudos to the young engineers for successfully pushing the envelope of technology. I rather liked their admission that the helicopter is always on the verge of falling apart in mid-air.

But .... their dream of having human power replace fossil fuel power? We've been there, and done that, before steam power was developed. And that's ignoring wind and water power. Thank you, no.

Bicycles are probably the zenith of human powered technology. And those require a pretty solid industrial base as it is.

RebeccaH said...

Let them build one where I don't have to do any pedaling, and I'll be interested.

mojo said...

"Yeah, ya can DO it, but why?"

rinardman said...

Cool. So, we've had a human powered airplane, and now a human powered helicopter.

The next step: a human powered space ship.

JeffS said...

Stuff enough beans into a person, r-man, add a parachute, and I think you've got the basics.

rinardman said...

Hmmm, might work Jeff, all you'd need is a source of ignition...a minor engineering challenge.

DavefromTacoma said...

Yeah, good luck trying to escape a sharknado in that contraption.

Steve Skubinna said...

Replace fossil fuel power with human power? As JeffS notes, that's been done.

It was known as "slavery."

Anonymous said...

Deborah .... If they want to build one without fossil fuel, then they are far from their goal. Let's see 'em build it without computers, use tools they've crafted by hand without modern technology, same goes for the harvesting of the sawgrass or whatever they're going to use for the thing. Make 'em go DaVinci.

Rman, beans meet blow torch.

Dave, no problem. They would have to carry a bar stool, pool cue, or a shotgun with a lot of rounds.

TimT said...

Steve and Jeff took the words out of my mouth.

In those guys defence though they're just doing what they have to for their research - ie, appealing to the greenies who are likely to fund it. It is an ingenious contraption.