China’s do-it-yourself aviators

Wired magazine recently had a fascinating article about China’s enthusiastic do-it-yourself aviators which included several great video clips and picture. The article mentioned that China’s small but growing aviator class is using just about everything imaginable, from old motorcycle engines to even their own legs in order to fulfill their dreams of getting off the ground.

And while the reaction from Chinese authorities has been mixed with some authorities forbidding would-be aviators from flying their contraptions on safety grounds to others just turning a blind eye; we can only imagine what the reaction of British or American aviation authorities would be such contraptions as Xu Bin’s homemade autogyro which uses an old motorcycle engine!

Meanwhile, would-be aviator Mao Yiqing who honed his skills at a company that makes high-end remote-controlled planes, has built China’s only human powered aircraft using some of the same techniques and materials (such as balsa wood, styrofoam and carbon fiber) that he uses to build model planes:

Given the above and some of the other experimental aircraft coming out of the “garages” and backyards of China right now, we can only imagine what the future contributions of Chinese aviators and inventors will be to the world of general aviation.