Have You Seen This? Man flies with 54-drone craft

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UP IN THE AIR — The story of man and flight might not be a tale as old as time, but it's at least a tale as old as Leonardo DaVinci.

As humans we may have started in humble beginnings with the invention of kites, the sketches from DaVinci and the flight tests from the Wright brothers, but now we're flying humans to space and perhaps even as far out as Mars in the near future.

You'd think we'd all be pretty satisfied with the relationship between humans and flight, and perhaps take a moment to rest on our laurels, at least for a few years. But it seems that will never be the case as people are always thinking of new ways to fly and to apply new tech.

This video is the proof that's in the pudding. A British man built a flying craft made with 54 drones, which he simply calls "The Swarm Manned Aerial Vehicle Multirotor Super Drone." Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

(If it means anything to you, he created the craft with drones that are "counter-rotation propellers, six grouped control channels with Hobbyking stabilization. Take off weight 148kg, max lift, max approx. lift 164kg," according to the video description. It's Greek to me.)

It's actually an incredible sight — and I'm not talking about his black socks paired with his shorts — to see this man hover a few inches from the ground. At one point he even shoots several feet into the air, prompting a worried cry from the man behind the camera.

As far as I'm concerned, this could be the basis for a sequel to Disney's "Up," with 20,000 drones lifting Carl's home to a new exotic locale.

The only question now is has science gone too far, or has science not gone far enough?

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Have You Seen This?
Martha Ostergar

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