Self-Made Seaplane Takes Three Years To Build

Liu Chun Sheng isn't an engineer or a pilot, but he is the creator of a semi-operational seaplane that looks like a banged-up mini Osprey helicopter.

Sheng is a Chinese factory worker with a love of aircraft. He spent the last three years building a sea plane using knowledge he picked up from books and magazines. Sheng welded stainless steel pipe for the frame and tacked on aluminum for the body. The cockpit can only hold one person and includes controls for the flaps, wings, and tilting propellers.

Sadly, the craft can only fly for a few seconds, a failure Sheng attributes to short propellers. He's eyeing a pair of longer props and two 100-hp engines that should let him reach his dream of flight very soon. [MIC Gadget]