Home-made Helicopters in Nigeria

W33dz writes "A 24-year-old undergraduate from Nigeria is building helicopters out of old car and bike parts. Mubarak Muhammed Abdullahi, a physics student, spent eight months building the yellow model seen on yahoo or on Gizmodo using the money he makes from repairing cell phones and computers. While some of the parts have been sourced from a crashed 747, the chopper contains all sorts of surprises."

Would you buy one?

[BarneyL]

Personally if I received an e-mail from Nigeria offering me a cheap helicopter I doubt I'd trust it.
I think I'll keep saving for my skycar [moller.com]

Helicopter or Hovercraft?

[maroberts]

it will be able to fly at an altitude of 15 feet for three hours at a stretch...

or until it encounters a tree, telegraph pole, house, giraffe....

Re:Ay AY yay caramba!

[moosesocks]

A stepladder is provided as part of the safety equipment.

Re:Would you buy one?

[maroberts]

Dear Sir,

You have been recommended to me as astute investor. I expert builder of helicopters in Nigeria. I need £20,000,000 (TWENTY MILLION POUNDS) to....

I'll buy you one...

[maroberts]

..provided you name me as your sole heir....

DEAR SIR

[Arthur B.]

GOOD DAY TO YOU AND GOD BLESS. I HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURING HELICOPTERS FROM USED CAR SINCE 10 YEARS (AS SEEN ON YAHOO) AND RECENTLY SOLD MY FLEET FOR THE SUM OF $100,000,000. UNFORTUNATELY, THE PAYMENT OF THIS MONEY IS STILL SITTING IN ESCROW IN A NIGERIAN BANK AS THE STATE AIRFORCE WHO BOUGHT THE HELICOPTERS REFUSE TO PAY. I NEED YOUR HELP TO UNLOCK THAT SUM FROM THE ESCROW, FOR THIS SERVICE YOU WILL BE PAID A FULL 5%, THAT IS $5,000,000. IF YOU CAN HELP ME PLEASE FAX ME YOUR PASSPORT.

(hey it's caps-lock day today anyway)

Shades of B.A. Barracus

[NeuroManson]

"I watched action movies a lot and I was fascinated by the way choppers fly. I decided it would be easier to build one than to build a car,"

It's easier to crash one too.

Re:Ay AY yay caramba!

[Galaga88]

Hell, that's only 1D6 falling damage. I imagine he's at least a second level expert if he can build that thing, so he should have the HP to survive it easily.

Re:hummm..

[tom17]

Nevermind the 4 seats, what about the fact that it's monstrously big according to tfa...

measuring twelve metres (39 feet) long, seven metres high by five wide.

I think someone left their brain off when they wrote that article.

Re:No pitch control

[MarsDefenseMinister]

It works like this: The helecopter approximates a visual representation of helecopters familiar to people in America. People with money. You get those rich, stupid people in America to invest in your helecopter-representation, and their riches become your riches. That's how the helecopter/moneymaker works.

What is it with these Africans and their scams?

some language translation for you:

[circletimessquare]

"Mubarak Muhammed Abdullahi" is Nigeriasn for "MacGyver"

The R22...

[Anonymous Coward]

...only holds two people and on a hot day when the density altitude is high, is very underpowered with two persons aboard. The R22 is a good trainer, and a great chopper to fly solo. We use them a lot in the cornbelt states for low-level flying over the fields where the rotor downwash helps spread the pollen around the corn plants, a practice which we jokingly refer to as "corn screwing". [silverstat...opters.com]

Re:Ay AY yay caramba!

[wed128]

The heavier it is, the faster it falls from the sky

Not according to Galileo..

The Real Story...

[vrmlguy]

Request for urgent business relationship

First, I must solicit your strictest confidence in this transaction. This is by virtue of its nature as being utterly confidential and 'top secret'. I am sure and have confidence of your ability and reliability to prosecute a transaction of this great magnitude involving a pending transaction requiring maximum confidence.

I am a physics undergraduate in northern Nigeria who is interested in production of helicopters with funds which are presently trapped in Nigeria. In order to commence this business we solicit your assistance to enable us to transfer into your account the said trapped funds.

The source of this fund is as follows; during the last military regime here in Nigeria, the government officials set up aircraft companies and awarded themselves contracts which were grossly over-invoiced in various ministries. The present civilian government set up a contract review panel and we have identified a lot of inflated military contract funds which are presently floating in the central bank of Nigeria ready for payment.

However, by virtue of my position as a physics undergraduate, I cannot acquire this money in my name. I have therefore, been delegated as a matter of trust by my colleagues of the university to look for an overseas partner into whose account we would transfer the sum of US$21,320,000.00 (twenty one million, three hundred and twenty thousand US dollars). Hence we are writing you this letter. We have agreed to share the money thus; 1. 20% for the account owner 2. 70% for us (the students) 3. 10% to be used in settling taxation and all local and foreign expenses. It is from the 70% that we wish to commence the helicopter manufacturing business.

Please, note that this transaction is 100% safe and we hope to commence the transfer latest seven (7) banking days from the date of the receipt of the following information by telephone/fax; 234-1-7740449, your signed and stamped letterhead paper. The above information will enable us write letters of claim and job description respectively. This way we will use your name to apply for payment and re-award the contract in your name.

We are looking forward to doing this business with you and solicit your confidentiality in this transaction. Please acknowledge the receipt of this letter using the above telephone/fax numbers. I will send you detailed information of this pending project when I have heard from you.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi