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Now THIS is Kiwi ingenuity

No doubt you've already seen the flying hovercraft that's for sale on TradeMe right now.

If not, then check out the auction.

I love this... not the craft itself but the way it shows the real way for smart Kiwis to create new industries in NZ.

This craft is attracting world-wide attention and, almost without exception, that attention is very positive. Matt Hickley from CNet for instance, says in his coverage "I want one--badly".

It seems that the hoverplane was knocked up by its builder Rudy Heeman using stuff he mainly had lying around the workshop. Bits from a scooter, some car parts and lots of "repurposing" meant that he's built a new class of vehicle that's attracting world-wide attention.

This is the kind of "bloke in a shed" inventiveness that Michael Cullen said didn't exist in this country.

Compare it to the Martin JetPack and you'll see just how far off the mark the so-called "smart money" is when it comes to investing in NZers with good ideas.

I've seen no accurate estimate of how much it cost to build this fully working craft that's been demonstrated flying three times the height of the Martin Jetpack.

What's more, while the jetpack requires hours of tuition -- Rudy seems to have taught himself to fly this hoverplane and now handles it like a pro. By comparison the JetPack still hovers around like an old woman with a zimmer-frame.

Despite his "DIY" strategy and meagre investment, by the middle of this month, Rudy will have sold his first hoverplane -- while Martin are still talking about vague deals with secret nations that are still just vaporware.

Why the hell would anyone invest (tens of) millions of dollars in a ridiculously impractical jetpack, when Rudy's come up with an exceptionally practical recreational vehicle that has effectively sold itself to a global market?

I'm sure the government agency that doled out $1m of taxpayers funds to Martin and Number 8 venture capital will be trying to convince themselves that theirs is ultimately a more profitable investment -- but *I* wouldn't agree.

Rudy has shown us how it should be done and I hope a lot of people are paying attention.

If it's properly commercialised and marketed, I can see the hoverplane being almost as popular as the jetski as it creates a new market for recreational vehicles.

However, just as the Martin JetPack isn't the first, neither is Rudy's flying hovercraft. Here's one thats' been around a while longer but it looks a *lot* more expensive and, to be honest, nowhere near as much fun.

The truth is that there is always a market for recreational vehicles providing they're obviously a lot of fun and affordable. I've lost track of the number of requests I've had to build jet-powered gokarts for people (mainly overseas) for example.

The problem with NZ right now is that we just lack any kind of infrastructure support for guys in sheds with great ideas for building things that may have no actual purpose -- other than just having fun.

Martin obviously sold his investors a great story about the military and commercial applications for his JetPack and that's where they saw the revenue coming from. If Rudy had gone to the same people and requested funding to build his hoverplane I bet he'd have been sent away with a flea in his ear.

"Who'd buy a flying hovercraft?" would have been their first question and I'm betting that these stiff-as-a-board "suits" would not have thought for one minute that there are masses of rich people with lots of time on their hands who'd think nothing of plonking down $30K-$40k on such a craft so as to get some thrills.

This lack of support for "kiwi invented" was even visible in the way Rudy's craft has been reported. It took an Australian TV channel to come over and film it in operation before anyone woke up and took note. Where were our own broadcasters?

So what happens now?

If Rudy's got his head screwed on, he'll work hard to capitalise on the high profile that this craft has right now. He'll sign up some manufacturing deals with revenue guarantees for himself and move on to something new.

Why not just set up your own manufacturing operation?

Because what Rudy's done is not novel nor patentable. His only real asset right now is that he has a working craft (until it sells) and the massive free publicity he's presently enjoying.

You can bet your bottom dollar that within six months, someone, somewhere else on the planet will start churning out craft that look surprisingly like Rudy's. They'll have spotted the market that Rudy as created and, backed by a fat wad of VC, they'll be churning out hoverplanes as fast as they can.

If Rudy wants to mortgage his house to the money-lenders and work his guts out, he might create a production line that can supply just 5% of that market.

As Kiwis, we have great ideas and we can even turn them into brilliant prototypes but the next step requires capital and investors with vision. That, is where we seem to fall flat on our faces.

Instead of investing our millions in incredibly marketable craft like Rudy's, we seem hell-bent in throwing it away on "pie in the sky" ideas like strapping a snowmobile engine and a couple of fans to our backs.

What do you think?

If you had to invest a wad of cash, would you be more inclined to put that money into the Martin JetPack or Rudy's hoverplane?

How many other brilliant ideas are languishing in Kiwi sheds for lack of any kind of funding or support infrastructure for such "follies"?

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