World's Smallest Helicopter to Fly at da Vinci's Birthplace
by Tim Stevens, posted May 20th 2008 at 11:02AM
We all know the dream of the practical flying car hasn't exactly come to fruition, despite a few one-off prototypes showing some level of promise. And, while jet wing backpacks look like fun, they seem a little too extreme for most. So, perhaps our future transportation needs really lie in backpack helicopters like the GEN H-4, a personal copter set to be flown over the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, the man said to be the first to dream up the technology required for flight.Da Vinci famously sketched a helicopter-looking device that would have used a large spinning-screw-shaped blade to lift itself off of the ground. It's unlikely that his concept ever flew, but the GEN H-4 does.
The contraption was designed by 75-year-old Japanese businessman Gennai Yanagisawa, and uses four engines to spin two counter-rotating blades. It's capable of airborne speeds of up to 56 mph and can be yours today for the not exactly practical price of $57,140. [Source: CNN]
