Profile of Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi

Birth

This born star and genius is a Nigerian born in 1983. In 2007, at 24, this young undergraduate student in physics built a helicopter using pieces from old cars, motorbikes and aluminum scrap, among others.

Invention

Abdullahi’s chopper is powered by a second-hand 133 horsepower Honda Civic car engine and equipped with seats from an old Toyota saloon car. Other elements of the chopper stem from the carcass of a Boeing 747, which crashed near Kano some years ago. The helicopter is 12 meters long, 5 meters wide and 7 meters high. It was built in eight months and has flown 6 times without exceeding an altitude of more than 2.13 meters.

The cockpit is made of a push-button ignition, an accelerator lever between the seats, which controls vertical thrust, and a joystick that provides balance and bearing. The dashboard has a screen that connects to a camera underneath the helicopter for ground vision, while a set of six buttons adjusts the screen’s brightness.

Also Read: Profile of Professor Wole Soyinka

One or two minutes after the engine is turned on, one can shift the accelerator forward that will spin the propeller on top of the helicopter. The further one shifts the accelerator, the faster the propeller goes. And once 300 revolutions per minute (rmp) are reached, one can press the joystick and the chopper takes off.

Apparently, the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have not shown sign of interest or encouragement  in Abdullahi’s helicopter. Abdullahi admits, however, that his first helicopter lacks some basic equipment like devices for measuring atmospheric pressure, altitude, humidity and the like. Abdullahi has apparently started working on a new helicopter that should be more sophisticated than the first one.

The youths are interested in the development of this genius and appeal to the Federal Government to take up this responsibility. It is interesting world news that a Nigerian youth built helicopter. He is a distinguished Nigerian youth.