Chinese villager with no engineering expertise stopped from ‘test-flying’ home-made helicopter by alarmed police
- Chen Ruihua has no aeronautic or engineering qualifications, but has so far built three home-made helicopters, he says
- Police in Jiangsu province, eastern China, caught him trying to test-fly one in a local field
A Chinese villager attempting to test-fly a home-made helicopter made with a boat engine was stopped after concerned police intervened.
Chen Ruihua, 59, from Changshu in Jiangsu province, eastern China, is an amateur aircraft builder with no engineering expertise, according to a press release from local police.
“There were only two people including me who were involved in the test flying, and we did not allow any bystanders,” Chen told the police in response to their safety concerns.
Chen grew up loving handicrafts, and began building helicopters three years ago as a hobby.
According to Chen, the helicopter he was testing is the third generation he has made after the previous two models failed.
“I worked on this helicopter for about a year; so far I’ve spent about 200,000 yuan (US$31,250) on the hobby,” Chen said.
Chen said he learned how to build a helicopter by teaching himself using information he can find on the internet. He said the current helicopter is a replica of a Russian rotorcraft model, and was made with motorboat engines and parts bought online and from hardware stores.