student bicycle takes to the skies
20 July 2010 by M&C
Aerospace Engineering student Jesse van Kuijk is the
first Dutchman to cycle 80 metres above the ground.
On Sunday 18 July 2010, he took off from Kempen
Airport in Budel in his own, self-designed and self-
constructed bicycle plane. Pedalling for all he was
worth, Van Kuijk managed to reach a height of about
one and a half metres.
Attempts
Van Kuijk made a previous attempt last year that
failed due to a malfunctioning chain tensioner. He
has since made a number of adjustments to the plane
to correct the problem. On Sunday evening, it took
the student about eight attempts before he
succeeded. Though he managed to get off the ground
a few times, he did not get very far before the plane
sustained further damage. Finally, after sawing off a
piece of the tail-wing, he managed to get the bicycle
plane airborne.
History
The twenty-year old student came up with the idea of
building a flying bicycle years ago. “I once read a
book on aviation laws. There was a section about an
American guy who had built his own plane with
material bought from the local DIY centre. It was
fascinating. The idea of going 'airborne' with a
homemade plane. There have been a number of
attempts made worldwide. In particular in the 1970s,
with a number of successes; but for some reason,
never in the Netherlands. ” Jesse van Kuijk has just
rewritten history.
Lightweight
Van Kuijk began designing his own bicycle plane at
the age of fourteen and began building it at sixteen.
The wingspan of the bicycle plane is 26 metres and
weighs fifty kilogrammes. The restricted weight of
the aircraft has been achieved with the use of the
lightweight materials aluminium, polystyrene,
special foil and model wood.
Further information
Video clips, photos and background information are
available at http://www.projectvliegfiets.nl/.

now that everything is taking to the skies i guess keke-napep will be next!