KANO (AFP) – Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi, a 24-year-old physics undergraduate in northern Nigeria, takes old cars and motorbikes to pieces in the back yard at home and builds his own helicopters from the parts.
"It took me eight months to build this one," he said, sweat pouring from his forehead as he filled the radiator of the banana yellow four-seater which he now parks in the grounds of his university.
The chopper, which has flown briefly on six occasions, is made from scrap aluminium that Abdullahi bought with the money he makes from computer and mobile phone repairs, and a donation from his father, who teaches at Kano's Bayero university.
It is powered by a second-hand 133 horsepower Honda Civic car engine and kitted out with seats from an old Toyota saloon car. Its other parts come from the carcass of a Boeing 747 which crashed near Kano some years ago.
Matatizo ya serikali za kiafrika huwa hatujali wala kuwapasapoti wale wote wanaojitahidi kuvumbua vitu ambavyo kama serikali ingewapa ushirikiano huenda tungetokahapa tulipo wao na wazungu tu nahisi haowazungu ndio wanaowatia UJINGA viongozi wetu:roll:hayaaaaaaaaaa
Uganda has finally made an helicopter plane which will take to the sky in just 3 months time. The europlane has not been made by a large institution or a large private company but by a group of young men in Ntinda a suburb in the Ugandan Capital of Kampala.
The group of volunteers is led by Christopher Matovu Nsaba and most of the men involved do not have any award from university or college,
The work to build the aircraft has so far taken one year and ten months and is expected to be completed by February next year when the plane will take to the skies for the first trials. The group is now taking final touches on the plane.
According to Matovu Nsaba, the work has so far taken over 116 millions Ugandan shillings. The helicopter plane which will weight 650 to 700 kilograms will be able to carry two passengers.
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