I suppose that I have been dreaming of flying since my days of watching ‘Sky King‘ on television, or of winged flight as did ‘Icarus‘ (but not too close to the sun), in Greek mythology. That was decades ago, but the dream has not faded.

I am getting closer to flying above the water on my Hammerhead Flyboard (Flying on a Hammerhead Shark), which possibly could happen in 2026. Lately, however, an older thought has been haunting me. The thought of really taking to the air.

Years ago, there was a company called Future Horizons. They offered all kinds of plans for interesting technology that you could build in your garage.

One such plan was for a ducted fan flying machine, as shown below. Now whether this will actually lift me off the ground is debatable, but such crafts currently do exist, and are incredibly expensive to purchase. They are also known as ‘widow makers.’ I’ll let you ponder that idea. This homemade craft could be built for under $5000.00 dollars.

The ducted fan is a shroud surrounding a propeller, which increases the thrust compared to a propeller in open air. Lift is developed just as in an airplane’s wings, by varying the velocity and pressure of the airflow within the duct. Essentially, a lower pressure is created in the upper portion of the duct, as compared to a higher pressure below (Bernoulli’s Principle), while the propeller pushes downward providing thrust. The combination of the two, provides lift.

If you can imagine me as a Lego character, this would be me airborne.

All kidding aside, I will probably never make this craft. If I did, it would take quite a bit to learn to fly it. A special structure would need to be built, with safety tether lines attached, while I practiced. However, I can still dream about it!

Speaking of fans, I know one person who’d be very happy if I’d get the new ceiling fan installed. I told her that I’d have to climb a ladder, and that is very dangerous for older guys!

Somehow, I don’t think she’s buying it.

Happy landings!