Three-Wheeled Car Flying In The Air With The Help Of Propellers

Holy flying facepalm, Batman! This totally unsafe flying contraption looks like it’s part Wright Brothers and part Fred Flintstone. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured, so we’re entitled to a guilt-free hearty belly laugh. That’s actually hard to believe. The only safe thing about this video is that it’s safe to say most of us knew how it would end. Enjoy!

The Reliant Robin 3 Wheeler had better not be a prototype of personal flying craft. Everything about it says, “don’t do this.” Is there really nothing between the pilot’s feet and the ground? Scary! We hear the driver shouting “Stop!” once he’s airborne, but by that time the poor man’s fate is up to the trustworthiness of his tow team. Either the tow driver doesn’t hear his pleas for mercy, or he doesn’t care. Ah, well…you drew the short straw, buddy. Looks like the whole town of Llanbedr, UK turned out to see this crazy stunt. There were no doubt many who wanted to witness a crash and burn, but were probably relieved to see the stunt pilot safely escaped a tragedy and survived the crash all in one piece.

Three-wheeled cars aren’t known for their safety to begin with, so of course it makes sense to turn one into a flying death trap. Is that helicopter rotor self-propelled, or is it spinning because it’s being pulled? The rotor does seem to serve a function, as the car initially lifts off the ground, which isn’t what cars are supposed to do when being pulled at high speed. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of control of the vehicle, other than steering. But that only works while earthbound. Once in the air, there is no rudder, no elevator, no ailerons, nothing to stabilize the “craft” at all. Just ineffective landing gear to give the illusion of safety.

You would think since this team of engineers has so much time on their hands they could apply additional modifications to improve its performance—assuming the pilot survives further testing. It’s doubtful there is an airbag, and a parachute would be superfluous if the driver/pilot can’t escape the cab. And that spectacular crash landing! We should probably admit that’s what we came for, anyway, although nobody wants to see a fellow carted away in an ambulance. Perhaps they could add smoke for a kind of a skywriting effect to take place.

The poor Reliant Robin three-wheeler suffers from bad press, but is often put to good use in great online entertainment. It can be seen in planned rollovers, crashes, road tests, etc. Unique customizations abound, and stock versions can be had fairly cheaply on major online auction venues. It’s not likely you would want to put too much money into restoration if your goal is to fall quickly to earth from 30 feet, and then ruthlessly dragged topside across the asphalt for another hundred feet.

Other possible uses for the Reliant Robin might include launching it from a giant trebuchet. In that scenario, it would be the car and not the pilot you attach a parachute to. Or not.