# The ONLY way to fly **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995 "2016-08-16T15:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/1 "2016-08-16T15:49:01Z")
Oh, ghod-I want to [go up on this bird so bad it hurts!](http://www.newsarama.com/30650-miyazaki-inspired-jet-plane-takes-flight-in-japan.html) It’s almost like you’re Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/2 "2016-08-16T16:00:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Oh, ghod-I want to [go up on this bird so bad it hurts!](http://www.newsarama.com/30650-miyazaki-inspired-jet-plane-takes-flight-in-japan.html) I could see flying in plane based on a manga hurting fairly bad. I mean, let’s put the center of gravity well above the wing and see what happens. That’s certainly not going to affect the stability of the aircraft at all. OK, the prototype craft looks reasonably stable because the pilot’s body is plastered against the wing, but the gliders in the manga where people are perched on ladders above the wing in some gravity-defying way? I guess there’s a reason why they went into art rather than engineering. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/3 "2016-08-16T17:13:57Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I could see flying in plane based on a manga hurting fairly bad. I mean, let’s put the center of gravity well above the wing and see what happens. That’s certainly not going to affect the stability of the aircraft at all. > > OK, the prototype craft looks reasonably stable because the pilot’s body is plastered against the wing, but the gliders in the manga where people are perched on ladders above the wing in some gravity-defying way? Parking your body six feet above a fabric-and-tube ultralight might be a bad idea, but there are plenty of low-wing aircraft out there, not counting commercial jet liners with substantial dihedral and engines mounted below the wings. [Browsing for other pics of the rig featured in the OP](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1092&bih=859&q=Kazuhiko+Hachiya+plane&oq=Kazuhiko+Hachiya+plane&gs_l=img.3...844.2444.0.2600.6.1.0.5.0.0.89.89.1.1.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.0.0.0hOCfD1U8Ww#imgrc=g3IM6EgIey69vM%3A) it looks like the aircraft itself probably has plenty of mass, so that the pilot’s own body doesn’t shift the CoG upward by much. > [@Finagle](#): > > I guess there’s a reason why they went into art rather than engineering. I can be as hyperanalytical as any engineer, but you have to set that stuff aside and just enjoy fantasy pieces for what they are. If you need to continue this discussion, I’ll be waiting over here for the [cat-bus.](http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/catbus.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/4 "2016-08-16T17:26:48Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Parking your body six feet above a fabric-and-tube ultralight might be a bad idea, but there are plenty of low-wing aircraft out there, not counting commercial jet liners with substantial dihedral and engines mounted below the wings. [Browsing for other pics of the rig featured in the OP](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1092&bih=859&q=Kazuhiko+Hachiya+plane&oq=Kazuhiko+Hachiya+plane&gs_l=img.3...844.2444.0.2600.6.1.0.5.0.0.89.89.1.1.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.0.0.0hOCfD1U8Ww#imgrc=g3IM6EgIey69vM%3A) it looks like the aircraft itself probably has plenty of mass, so that the pilot’s own body doesn’t shift the CoG upward by much. Looking at those pictures makes me want to hitch a ride all the more. This would be perfect for a Bond or Kingsmen movie. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/5 "2016-08-16T17:56:52Z")
See: self-launching sailplane and/or motor glider OP’s rig is an ultralight wing glider with a bizarre fuel+engine pod where the rider/pilot should be and the rider/pilot where the powerplant should be ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/6 "2016-08-16T18:31:49Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > See: > self-launching sailplane > and/or > motor glider > > OP’s rig is an ultralight wing glider with a bizarre fuel+engine pod where the rider/pilot should be and the rider/pilot where the powerplant should be It’s a frikkin’ jetpack with wings, is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/7 "2016-08-16T18:32:20Z")
[United](http://www.ratatosk.nu/fun/strips/Flygning/Fly%20United.png)? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/8 "2016-08-16T18:37:46Z")
With the camera fixed on the left wing facing the pilot, it’s hard to get real perspective of the flight. Are there other videos taken of this thing from another aircraft or even on the ground? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/9 "2016-08-16T18:47:04Z")
[Here is “pilot view”,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnu6ziP8eaE) and [this longer video has shots from the ground.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0x7GS53EbA) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/10 "2016-08-16T18:57:59Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > With the camera fixed on the left wing facing the pilot, it’s hard to get real perspective of the flight. Are there other videos taken of this thing from another aircraft or even on the ground? [Here ya go.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ftsTVwTfs) It does not appear to have a wretched excess of thrust, but it does alright. …Ninja’d… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-only-way-to-fly/762995/11 "2016-08-16T19:51:03Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > [United](http://www.ratatosk.nu/fun/strips/Flygning/Fly%20United.png)? Actually, [Western Airlines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfmRKHtzfFs).