Plumber builds incredible hoverbike

English plumber, garage inventor and YouTuber Colin Furze has built an actual working hoverbike - an "unhinged flying bike/human blender [that] unbelievably gets off the ground and actually FLIES," as Furze puts it.

Furze's YouTube video, which shows his attempt at flying the bike has been viewed 7.5 million times.

The self-taught engineer built the contraption in his garage.

It has no brake or seat, but has two accelerators and can be steered. As he says in the video, Furze has no formal engineering qualifications and has never flown before, which makes the feat all the more heart-stopping.

While the flying bike seems to be manoeuvrable, it clearly still has trouble landing. Furze has to use his feet to stop the vehicle, and jump off to avoid being injured by the whirring propeller blades.

The bike has apparently been through a range of different prototypes, which are all featured in the video. Furze repeatedly breaks and mangles several earlier models as he tries to land unsuccessfully.

This isn't Furze's first outing as a mad stuntman. He has used his plumbing experience to build many contraptions, including the world's longest motorbike, the world's fastest stroller made with turbojet engines and a jet-powered motorcycle made with pulse jet engines.

This latest project was sponsored by Ford as part of the Unlearn campaign which encourages innovation by telling people to try completely new things.

- For more technology check tomorrow's NZ Herald

- Telegraph