The Flying Dinghy
During our cruise in the Tyrrhenian Sea we were lucky to spot some of the world's hugest yachts. And yet, while size often impresses, our most peculiar catch was in fact a very small one. Small and, well, unusual.
We were lying at anchor in a Sardinian bay when a sudden and very loud roaring made us pause from our dinner. We were looking around for the source of the intense noise, expecting to see something really big. It took a while but then we finally spotted it. A little something ascended from behind the tip of a headland, loud as a departing 747. I grabbed my cam and zoomed in to capture more details of this difficult-to-identify flying object. And then I could see what this thing really was. A little rubber boat with a hang glider and a propellor mounted on it. It reminded me of these famous Everglade hover boats, just with wings. Crazy stuff!
The flying dinghy was ascending a few hundred meters and then started to loop over the bay. What an amazing view it's pilot must have had from there. Still, wild horses couldn't drag me on board of it.
Has anyone of you seen something like this before? Who of you would dare to board this aircraft for a little round trip?
Thanks for watching and 'til next time!
Shaka
All photos were recorded by myself with a Canon EOS 7D in 2017. All rights reserved.
That is great, I want one of those!
Really? Looks quite unstable and potentially dangerous
omg, that looks EPIC. yep, i'd definitely try that.
in fact... i live near a lake ( see blog for sunset photos upon aforementioned lake ) maybe i need to find a friend to make me one. surely it coulnt be that hard... right?
whats the worst that could happen? XD
It's really a cool construction. The worst that could happen? Well, crashing on the water from a height of 2-300 meters. That would be pretty much game over. However, I'm sure this guy knows what he is doing and the actual risk is probably very low.
being an inflatable though, there'd probably be a little give as it hit the water ( as long as it stayed flat, u may be ok.
also, its over water, so u'd probably only bre.... yeah, imma stop now before i ruin it..
cool pic XD
This is definitely one of the coolest vehicles I've seen.
That is so weird. Looks like there's a propellor, but that still looks super unstable / dangerous / makeshift. Still awesome that whoever owns it attempted to make it and was successful at it
How cool is that, I have never seen something before.
A normal hang glider with some kind of "lawnmower engine" are flying here a lot. But I've never seen one with a rubber boat mounted to start and land on the water.
With the additional weight of the rubber boat, maybe the engine of a 747 is not that wrong and well motorized. :-D
Yep, that's quite a ballast and not a very streamlined one. According to the noise it made the motor seemed to be pretty strong indeed.
Thank you for posting this futuristic type craft @shaka.
You do seem to be in the right place at the right time.......these are excellent photographs.
We thank the experimenters for their excellent sense of timing.....so that you had this fantastic opportunity to catch both a lovely seascape at sundown and this unusual conveyance.
Noisy....is it?.....that is quite a deterence in itself. ^__^
All the best.
Cheers!
Not really futuristic I'd say, weird and unique definitely!
Wild horses wouldn't drag me on one of those either!! Granted those massive yachts are in another league that I couldn't be tempted to be dragged on one of those either. But a small, cosy sailing boat now that would be an experience. Especially with such a spectacular sunset!
oh wow
it looks like an amphibian glider
since it looks like that
I would dare try it
cause even if it drops off
you'd still be able to float and if it's on rocks
it would somehow take time before that deflates imho
I love the first pic!
the tones of the mountain
almost like a painting!
that's something new - that flying dinghy
I'm sorry, but my attention was distracted by breathtaking sunset shots...
Astonishing photos as always! :)
Thanks :)
Looks like a weird James Bond gadget
Hehe, absolutely. But one from his early years, before Q equipped him with rocket-driven Aston Martins and such ;)
How are you my friend @shaka I have not had the opportunity to get on a flying boat the truth is that first time I see it like this with this structure and its built-in boat
I think it would be a great experience to get up and fly away. I like this. Every day we learn something new. I hope to get on one soon.