A group of students in Cambodia has created a manned flying device from an unexpected item: a school chair.
The young innovators at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC) invested $20,000 to transform a school chair into a flying device with eight propellers, capable of taking off to a height of 4 meters.
Cambodian students with the flying device they created. (Photo: Reuters)
In the future, this group of students hopes to improve the design so that the flying device can carry heavier loads and fly higher. They also believe that one day, this machine could be used as a means to assist firefighters in reaching blazes in high-rise buildings.
According to the Daily Mail, inspired by the desire to escape the traffic congestion in Phnom Penh, NPIC students designed this flying device to transport people around the capital. With eight propellers and a school chair serving as the pilot’s seat, they hope their product will soon be put into practical use.
“The machine shakes a lot when flying without a pilot, but when I sit in it, it becomes more stable. I find it very exciting,” shared 21-year-old student Lonh Vannsith.
The model “flying chair” can carry one person weighing 60 kg and fly for 10 minutes over a distance of 1 km. The students dedicated three years to research and develop this machine.
Last year, a Japanese startup called SkyDrive conducted test flights with a similar device. SkyDrive was founded by several former engineers from Toyota. Their goal is to invent the smallest flying car in the world.
