Our hats off to [SpeedyCop] and his [Gang of Outlaws] for turning a junked former Vietnam War helicopter into both an amphibious vehicle and a road race car. Yes, that’s right. It’s both driven on water and raced in the 24 Hours of LeMons at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
It started life as a 1969 Bell OH-58 Kiowa (US Army Vietnam Assault helo) and had not only served in Vietnam but also for a federal drug task force. It was chopped up for parts and the body found its way to [SpeedyCop] and friends. The body now sits on an 80s Toyota van chassis, has a Mazda Miata rear suspension, and Audi 3.0 V6 engine.
The pontoons were originally added to hide the seam between the helicopter body and the van but they then inspired the idea of making it amphibious. And with the addition of a four-blade, 7000 RPM propeller from a parasail boat, the idea became reality, as you can see in the video after the break (we suspect the trailing line is a rope to pull it back to shore in case of engine failure).
If you’re looking for more combinations in a single vehicle, how about this military multi-bladed VTOL and off-road vehicle that even if seen, wouldn’t be believed. And still on the theme of personal helicopters, there’s this one by a hacker in Africa who made his own helicopter.
[via Popular Science]
So HaD is becoming “tuning magazine” ? With videos showing vehicles moving (and the mandatory metal or trance music)
If you look closely you can see an Arduino on the dashboard.
Perhaps they should have you approve which types of hacks they’re allowed to write about?
Get over yourself already.
…if only there were more articles about fingering….
They built their own AMPHIBIOUS RACE CAR!!! In what world do you live where this is NOT a hack????
Reminds me of my old Action Man (GI Joe) Pursuit Craft, combining pontoons with a VTOL cockpit! http://www.lulu-berlu.com/copie-action-man-pursuit-craft-palitoy-ref-934873-a35317-en.html
Regular children formatting model, worldwide exported and consumed in all (first world, the others cannot afford such toys) countries. Too bad Freud is already dead…
Wut?
Is that jealousy I detect?
Agreed. The butthurt is strong with this one. I’m waiting for him to shoehorn in a talk about gentrification.
Ha! Exactly what I was going to post. :) May have been my favourite toy as a kid, so versatile.
I see far too many weapons on HaD!
Then look away.
LoL :)
Meh. It’s a gutted helicopter. It doesn’t fly and it can’t shoot anything anyway. I was hoping to see footage of that thing fly but nope.
I think he was referring to the two weapon arsenal being held by the people in the video.
Those were toys.
Yeah. Auto-correct changed what was mean to be “toy” to “two”. I must have fat fingered it.
But I appreciate the fact that you believed I just threw a random “two” into my sentence. :-)
I ignore most typos these days. Autocorrupt has corrupted me.
Welcome to HICKADAY
Rednecks can be hackers too, you know. It’s a big tent.
Red Green was one of the best hacking shows.
And welcome to the DICK OF THE DAY…..
That’s a weird thing.
And it floats.
SpeedyCop and crew have come up with quite a few awesome LeMons cars over the years.
“we suspect the trailing line is a rope to pull it back to shore in case of engine failure”
Hehe… I can tell you guys have never been to a Lemons race! We generate a lot of scrap metal!
Am disappoint… absolute first thing that should come into your head if you get a helicopter shell, is making a fake ambulance to rip off an Alliance medical facility.
I missed that episode..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_(Firefly_episode)#Production_details
Why is the Theme of The A-Team playing in my head while watching the video?
Because you have a touch of awesome. :)
ROFLCOPTER!