Tokyo University of the Art professor Kazuhiko Hachiya watched flights of the Mehve, an imaginary aircraft in the Japanese animated film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and about 20 years ago decided that he wanted to build and fly one. Glide tests with a live human pilot happened about a year later.

Hachiya designed the project and is the only pilot to fly the resulting “Open Sky M-02J”. He started with a hand-launched, scale model to test the airfoil characteristics. Once he was satisfied with the basic design, he partnered with aeronautical engineer Tota Ueno of Olympos Company in Tokyo to scale up to a glider capable of carrying one person: Hachiya himself.

The glider, first flown in 2006, was launched from the ground by teams of people pulling a bungee cord. Once satisfied with its flight characteristic, Hachiya and Ueno worked to find the “right” engine to add as the powerplant.

Between 2010 and 2013, they were doing high-speed taxi tests and working through issues, particularly powerplant and regulatory issues. They ultimately decided to use the NIKE jet engine made by AMT Netherlands which produces 176 pounds force. The jet was designed for, and mostly used in, target drones.

In Nausicaa, the titular princess of the Valley of the Wind rides one of these, but launches it herself and then does a rather miraculous backflip to land on its upper service, guiding it by grabbing the handlebars and riding it like a wakeboard. Clearly this method wasn’t going to work for a real person trying to fly one. Screw up that backflip, and you’re probably quite literally dead. Instead, Hachiya opts for a prone position between the roll bars, strapped into position via a five point harness. The Mehve lifts off from a standing start instead, running on level ground to build up speed before becoming airborne. Idler wheels on its wings prevent the craft from tipping dangerously into the ground during takeoffs and landings.

The flight conditions must be just right. The M-02J needs headwinds under 10 knots, and crosswinds can’t be any higher than 6 knots. Hachiya has had it up to an altitude of about 500 meters, and believes it could go much higher, but Japanese airspace restrictions won’t allow him to try it. The craft isn’t particularly fast, crusing at about 85k/pm, but with this aircraft, speed isn’t the point.

Hachiya’s Mehve has flown dozens of times since its initial construction, traveled to the United States with it in 2016 for the annual airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and still flies it today.

The Mehve and Kazuhiko Hachiya are both testaments to the power of imagination. Hichiya started out as an anime fan, and grew into the creator he would become thanks to the power of imagination.

Thank you to Kazuhiko Hachiya and the Open Sky development group for bringing this wild creation to life.