World News

456 readers

478 users here now

Please help and contribute as we vote on rules:
https://quokk.au/post/21590

Other Great Communities:

Rules

Be excellent to each other

founded 10 months ago

MODERATORS

Deceptichum@quokk.au

Quokka@quokk.au

Grainne@lemmy.dbzer0.com

PhilipTheBucket@quokk.au

124

Russian man, 88, dies after homemade helicopter falls apart on takeoff (edition.cnn.com)

submitted 1 day ago by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/world@quokk.au

20 comments fedilink hide all child comments

An 88-year-old Russian man, who gained local fame for building his own aircraft, has died after attempting to take off in a homemade helicopter.

The man, a resident of the Omutninsky district of western Russia’s Kirov Region, attempted the flight in the self-built aircraft on Thursday, the Volga Region Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release Friday.

However, the helicopter self-destructed during take-off, it added.

The aircraft failed to lift off and, instead, “during engine startup, while still on the ground and as the engine power was building, the main rotor blades detached. This caused injuries to the pilot, born in 1937,” the district emergency services told Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti on Friday.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (3 children)

That looks like a gyrocopter, not a helicopter. Which is something a hobbyist could plausibly build by themselves.

[–] swemg@sh.itjust.works 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I think you just need a rotor part and a metal part. And a toolbox

load more comments (2 replies)