Now, as a little kid i've always had dreams of flying. Everyone has, perhaps. I was fascinated by airplanes and how you could soar through the sky like birds. But even airplanes still have this sense of being confined in a space, in the canopy, at the pilot seat, moving stick and peddle. They have limitations.
I was then an avid fan for fighter jets, and wanted to be a top pilot, an Ace. But i was young, a kid, and while i thought it was way cool i couldn't possibly grasp at the time what the job would entail. Today, i understand that being a great fighter pilot or even an Ace for that matter, means taking the life of 5 other pilots. Other human beings. Perhaps that other pilot had a family, or was just starting one. Perhaps that other pilot really deserved to be in their position and i was just in the position for a title, and not so much a mission with dignity or solid values... at the end of the day however, i figured out that I only loved the way fighter jets can fly and dance in the sky with unbelievable speed, strength, elegance, and beauty.
But that was years ago. I still take a peak at modern and upcoming fighter jets once in awhile just to see how they've progressed. But of course, the will, or rather desire to fly remains the same. Ive played games that had neat gadgets that let your character fly in specific ways, and that was interesting. Then one day, a video dropped and took the internet by storm for a short time. It was a video of a Swiss Inventor who designed a Carbon Fiber Wing with 4 compact German jet engines that he straps on his back, and jumps out of a helicopter thousands of feet above Dubai. This reignited my desire to fly yet again, this time in a whole new way.
Its at this point in my life that i realized the only thing really stopping me from achieving my desire to fly, is time constraint, but more commonly, finance. Lets be honest, if you had enough money and time, you too would be wearing jet wings and jumping out of helicopters. Hahaha, or maybe not.
Flying might not be for everyone... but what if it was? What i mean is, what if human flight was easily accessible to everyone if they so chose to fly? This is where Boeing comes in. I was scrolling Facebook checking on things when i came across a stray Boeing ad. Usually i skip by Ads, except, this one was a direct calling. Boeing threw down a gauntlet with $2,000,000.00 on the line for anyone one, or group of individuals who can come up with a flying machine suitable for everyone that can carry a single person 20 miles in sustained flight. This caught my attention. As a kid, i would always sketch and draw, so much so that my teachers would literally get pissed at the amount of airplanes they found on the side of each and every assignment paper that passed across my desk. Perhaps it was time to put my artistic and design skills to the ultimate test. So this is where it begins.
I have started a small group that currently consists of me, a friend of mine who does 3D Computer Aided Drafting, and a Pilot for knowledge of important factors of flight such as Control Surface Mechanisms, and possible Avionics. I've already got a basic layout for my design and further ideas for future designs and will begin work on finalizing the initial Airframe design. Its based on a Hang Glider of sorts, but the aim is to be as user friendly or even more so than a Hang Glider or Paramotor. While the compettition will run well into 2018 and 2019 respectively, Phase 1 is key to being one of the some 20 or so selected winning entries, each earning $20,000.00 which i see as being vital for even further research and development of new technologies that could turn this idea into something much, MUCH bigger.
But I'm only one man, and my skill only goes so far. I can make things look, and sound good, but i'm no "Jack Of All Trades". So as the saying goes, people make the world-go-round, i would like to know then, if anyone is willing to join the project. Im looking for tinkerers, and people who have skills in the area of Drone Mechanics, experience with making Remote Control Airplanes and or programing for VTOL aircraft, avionics and power supply for Model Aircraft. Theres currently no pay, with the only funds available for the project would come from winning entry, or Crowd Funding the project which i am looking into further down the line if things get serious and i can find the help needed to make things happen. I dont usually get feeligns for alot of things, but this... i got a great feeling about this one.