It’s not every day you read a story as incredible and inspiring as this one, so take a comfortable seat while you read about Vusimuzi Mbatha.
Vusimuzi, a 35 year old man from Libode in Eastern South Africa, became fascinated with helicopters when he saw one fly over his head during a miner’s strike in 2014. Seeing the helicopter influenced his dreams and he became obsessed with having a helicopter of his own.
“I dreamt I was controlling a helicopter. That was in January last year, during the strike in the platinum mines. The dream continued and I decided to follow it. It was easy to build this helicopter because I have a vision of what I wanted to do,” he claimed.
Over the following year, Vusimuzi took pieces of scrap metal from near his home and bought other parts, bit by bit. Without any expert knowledge, he eventually managed to self-build a giant recycled sky-bird. Currently it sits unused outside of his shack on a workers settlement near Rustenburg, gaining him a lot of praise and attention. He wants to fly it, but has asked for the help of pilots and aviation experts first, just in case!
“We thought he was playing when he started to assemble it.” a local, Kgositsile Lumko, said, before adding “We are surprised. We never expected something like this to come from our area. This guy is talented. Government needs to help him to take his dream further.“
Having had an interest in science and the military as a child, Vusimuzi wears camouflage trousers and a beret, and styled his homemade chopper on the army equivalents. Coming from a poor background, his family could not afford for him to finish school, and so he left to work aged 13.
The Beast
Unemployment usually doesn’t prove to be so productive, which is half of what makes this such an inspiring story. Then, we find out what recycled materials the helicopter is made from and it gets even better! It has a TV set, for when those long flights get really boring, and it’s engine is powered by petrol and a motor bike battery. Most of the interior is made from soft drink crates, like the rotor hub and the cockpit. There is a fire extinguisher just in case, and the whole thing sits on a trolley, also made from salvaged scrap metal. The steering wheel is made from a PlayStation console! There is also a clock in the back of a seat.
“The clock helps me to know what time the flight took place and what time I return.”
Mr Mbatha admits that the helicopter is still not finished, but he does believe that one day he will be able to fly it safely.
“The helicopter is incomplete, there are some parts that I have to put in. The challenge is the money. I am not working and depend on odd jobs to build this helicopter. Flying is dangerous. I want the helicopter to be inspected for safety before I can fly.”
Finding inspiration in adversity
A local called Thabang Khang said Mbatha’s recycled creations were a motivating factor for children in Siza.
“A lot of children must draw inspiration from this man, with limited education he pursued his dream and is just few steps away from reaching his goal. He is highly talented.”
Reaction
When we first heard about this story, we were pleasantly surprised. It shows how people can be resource efficient even when things are not going their way. It also shows how much potential rubbish has, with the majority of the helicopter’s parts coming from scrap and waste.
In the follow up to this story, the ending gets even happier. Mbatha has been offered several jobs, including one with SADS Aviation, after readers of a local newspaper were touched by his story. Readers have also contributed to take Mbatha on a real helicopter ride, something that he finds very emotional and he is surprised at the warmth he is receiving. The Kickstarter campaign is aiming to raise enough money to send Vusimuzi to Cape Town and rent him a helicopter and pilot for the day!
Then the story took another positive turn! Honestly, this guy is having the best week of his life. After the media attention he’d gathered from his recycled helicopter, Bidvest Protea Coin, a highly skilled security company who claim that the helicopter he had seen at the strikes was theirs, offered to help out. The COO of Bidvest Protea Coin said:
“The guy wants to fly and it seems like he wants to become a pilot one day, so let’s just take our stuff there, park next to him, take a photo or two, get him in our chopper, get him in the air, and take a flip so he can see what it’s like.”
An engineer will also take a look at his helicopter and give him feedback! This wonderful story from the rainbow nation really pulls on the heartstrings!