The GEN H-4 is seen flying in this handout photo.

World's smallest helicopter to fly at da Vinci's birthplace

Friday 16th May, 07:00 AM JST

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Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

electric2004 at 11:35 AM JST - 16th May

Well, if the pilot makes a mistake, the name "chopper" for helicopter changes to its original meaning: the pilot is chopped into pieces. One should not promote such a dangerous tool.
motobujohn at 02:15 PM JST - 16th May

Cdigny,ridsr,himasan,Papas, and Electric. I see a picture here....I see a bunch of guys/girls in a very jealous mode. It seems that everytime someone does something different people have just got to fine a fault for it. Oh...well, if it wasn't for you guys/gals we wouldn't have much to say in this column. Enjoy and have a nice day
Helter_Skelter at 02:36 PM JST - 16th May

people have just got to fine a fault for it.

motobojohn - I couldn't agree more. All the negative comments.

I thought James Bond was flying one of those in Japan in the 1960s.

You Only Live Twice 1967
KyouNoNippon at 04:04 PM JST - 16th May

6 million yen. Not all that expensive!
himasan at 04:12 PM JST - 16th May

motobujohn- totally disagree, the comments were more realistic than negative, if anything your comment was negative.
xpompey8 at 04:30 PM JST - 16th May

Now that's cool. Put me down for a shiny silver one.
electric2004 at 06:59 PM JST - 16th May

motobujohn: Yes, for the "James-Bond" helicopter, this would be a nice gimmick to have or try to fly. But still I think, the helicopter here in the picture is dangerous. Imagine it going down near a couple of people and then slightly tilting. It has a rotor length of 4m and will fly only 5m over the ground,

so the audience can see me and enjoy the flight

Better he should keep a minimum distance of 50-100m to any person nearby.

Anyhow, maybe I am the first to mention that it resembles the Takecopter of Doraemon? This should give a more positive image for the next comments.
USNinJapan2 at 07:26 PM JST - 16th May

electric2004

It has a rotor length of 4m and will fly only 5m over the ground,

No, you read that into the article yourself. It only says that Mr. Yanagisawa is going to limit his altitude to 5 meters during his three demonstration flights. This remarkable piece of machinery is capable of flying much higher, and as an aircraft in the 'ultra-light' class he doesn't need a license to pilot it nor is he restricted in where he can and cannot fly it. http://www.gen-corp.jp/GENH-4_en/
Coligny at 07:39 PM JST - 16th May

Motobujon... In what is it jealousy to make the remark that the Russian back in the early cold war days where making smaller helicopter than this ? (source was Darkroastedblend, can't find the link now)

If anything, Im jealous not to be as shameless and clueless as the japanese who never fear to state they are the best in some field while they are in fact either 30 years late (eco-home) or just have stolen the technology somewhere else (Toyota Prius/LCD).
electric2004 at 08:47 PM JST - 16th May

Dear USN in Japan:

It only says that Mr. Yanagisawa is going to limit his altitude to 5 meters during his three demonstration flights.

I know it can fly higher, and exactly as you said it is planned to fly 5m over ground (because of the audience).

This remarkable piece of machinery is capable of flying much higher

Yes, limited by barometric pressure and the body condition (breathing) of the pilot.

as an aircraft in the 'ultra-light' class he doesn't need a license to pilot

This is difficult to believe for me. I know there are licenses for the 'ultra-light' class, because I was interested and read a book on the license guidelines before coming to Japan. At this time I had been living quite near to a small airport for Sports- and Ultralight airplanes, so I wanted to know more about it.

However, such an ultralight-license is much easier to obtain than a standard license for propeller airplanes.
USNinJapan2 at 10:59 PM JST - 16th May

electric2004

Per the FAA and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, for a single-seat aircraft that qualifies as an ultralight, neither the aircraft nor the pilot need licensing/registration. If it has two seats it becomes a sport plane and requires a sport pilot license/registration.
jonobugs at 11:11 PM JST - 16th May

It's interesting that a claim was made that Russia has already made the smallest helicopter but no link or name could be found. Hmm...well, I did find a link for a small Russian helicopter called the "Wasp"

http://englishrussia.com/?p=1695

And while it looks quite impressive, especially for 35 year old technology, I was unable to find any specifications for the aircraft at all. Another interesting note is that although they stated it was fully functional, I was unable to find anything that backed this claim. I did find a site which claims that it was not a stable craft which is why it was never fully pursued.

Assuming that it was stable it's difficult to know whether or not the Japanese helicopter is smaller or not since the Russian helicopter's specifications are still unknown. Just by looking at the pictures, I would have to give the prize to the Japanese model. It does look much smaller as well as lighter.

So, in light of further proof, I believe the Japanese claim that it is currently the smallest helicopter in the world. Mm, actually, on the site they say that it's the world's smallest co-axial helicopter...if that makes a difference. Perhaps they should say 'passenger' as well, since there are model helicopters that are incredibly small.
electric2004 at 01:32 AM JST - 17th May

USNinJapan2:

You are right. I checked that in the US no license for an ultralight is necessary. Sorry ... I was thinking about the German rules (now partly but not completely harmonized in Europe), which are more strict.
USNinJapan2 at 02:19 AM JST - 17th May

electric2004

Hey it should be good news for you. It means you too can shell out 6 million yen and hit the skies without anyone's permission! See you in the air...
electric2004 at 09:50 PM JST - 17th May

If I were in the US. But so far only for short work (conference) related trips.