Chutian Jinbao, May 11, 2009

The first solo flight of 45-year-old farmer-turned-aviator Shu Mansheng was not a smooth one: yesterday, the self-taught pilot took his self-designed airplane for its maiden flight. The plane sports two 100cc motorcycle engines and remotely resembles a WWI Red Baron. It crashed three seconds after takeoff, causing the pilot some nasty scratches on both of his legs.

According to the Wuhan-based newspaper Chutian Jinbao, when Shu emerged from underneath a pile of metal scrap, he was apparently in great excitement and babbling "How could I forget to adjust the throttle in the air? And the tail is way too big, which made the plane impossible to balance and made the nose go down. But I will fix it next time."

Next time? Aviation officer Jiang Shun from China Civil Aviation doesn't think so. Officer Jiang had come in the morning to stop Shu's insane attempt after a tip-off. However, with reluctance, he eventually gave permission after Shu promised that he would only "drive it around on the ground". After the crash, officer Jiang was among the first who arrived at the accident site, which was about fifty meters away from the runway. To the pilot who was still struggling to break himself free, Jiang issued a warning: "Next time you play this trick again, your plane will be confiscated."

Shu's 84-year-old mother and his wife, who were both present to help him, are his most avid supporters. "He doesn't drink, he doesn't gamble. This is his hobby and dream. We are only concerned about his safety."

From Danwei, the report of yet another "flying farmer" that managed to build an airplane and fly, albeit only for few seconds, with no mention of any engineering training whatsoever. Another common feature is the mention that he "learned all my craft from the internet".

It's hard to put in words the genuine admiration I have for these guys. I know all about the "aviation bug", a terrible infection that can hit any human being without warning, even though it usually shows at very young age, never to vanish completely, so I can sympathize with them furthermore.

I already wrote about people like Mr Shu on Wired's blog Autopia and it's been fantastic to meet some of them. The excitement and the light in their eyes when they talk about their creations and the lengths at which they go to be able to make even just a few hops on a field are both amazing.

Even with all the linguistic and cultural barriers, I felt extremely close to these men; shared passions are a almost sure way to connect with individuals from all walks of life and corners of the planet. These guys also reminded me of some great people I met at the little great airport in which I learned gliding and got my wings, but on airfields around the world. Wonderfully crafty individuals that can design and build pretty much anything they set their ablaze minds to, with just their hands and a few simple tools.

I had the pleasure to help one of those men build an aluminum biplane while I was in college; needless to say, I learned a lot more in those long garage hours than in the classroom and I had more fun too.