Advertisement
Indonesia
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Indonesian backyard builder hopes to beat gridlock with home-made helicopter

  • Jujun Junaedi spends most of his free time tinkering with his project, spending about US$2,100 on since he started 18 months ago
  • He said he will be happy just to see his do-it-yourself chopper make it off the ground, but his wife is not so sure

Reading Time:1 minute
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Jujun Junaedi, left, works on his home-made helicopter in his backyard in Sukabumi. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse
Indonesia’s notorious traffic gridlock has been known to send commuters into a spin, but one man has decided to rise above the daily grind – by building his very own helicopter.

Jujun Junaedi spends his free time in a backyard tinkering with his project, guided by instructional videos, as he dreams of flying above the snarled roads of his hometown Sukabumi.

“It’s so incredibly frustrating. You run out of petrol and it’s a waste of time,” the 42-year-old said of congestion in the city, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of the capital Jakarta.

“You end up being totally exasperated by the time you get to where you’re going.”

Jujun Junaedi tinkers on his home-made helicopter. Photo: AFP
Jujun Junaedi tinkers on his home-made helicopter. Photo: AFP

Buying parts and using scraps from his auto repair shop, Junaedi says he has spent about 30 million rupiah (US$2,100) on his creation since he started building it 18 months ago.

Junaedi’s young son and neighbour have both been roped into help build the eight-metre (26-foot) long petrol-powered chopper, which has yet to take its maiden flight.

Advertisement