LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): A young man, who constructed a helicopter in the Greshk district of southern Helmand province, claimed on Thursday receiving threats from unknown individuals over his project.
It took one and a half years for the 18-year-old Ishaq Khan Noori to build his helicopter, which cost him a total of 100,000 afghanis.
Noori used a small car engine and simple metal pipes in making the copter, which has a small place for pilot and a fiberglass-made cabin. However, the helicopter is not ready for a formal test flight due to its engine being small.
Noori told Pajhwok Afghan News he loved making airplanes since childhood and his passion led him to embark on the project of building a helicopter.
“From the start, I understood the takeoff will not last long because of the small engine, but I was confident it would fly.”
He said the success of his project was dependent on engine and he could not buy a powerful engine owing to economic constrains.
“The problem is engine. If financially assisted, I will plant a big engine in the helicopter and will expand its capacity to carry four people.”
Noori recalled his first test flight was watched by a crowd of people amid security measures, but the helicopter did not go much up in the air because of the very small engine.
He said the helicopter was nearly four metres lengthy and more than a metre wide, but he did not know its exact weight.
Noori, who studied until 12th class in a mechanic high school, currently teaches at an English language centre in the Greshk town.
The young innovator said he had received threats on the phone from unknown individuals, telling him to abandon his project.
He said no government official had so far encouraged or assisted him and urged the government and businessmen to help him accomplish his plan.
Noori said he would be able to build standard helicopters if the government paved the ground for his higher studies in the same field.
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