Panamarenko
(c)image: M HKA, Christine Clinckx
Super Pepto Bismo, 1996
"In fact, this was a particularly simple invention, the kind you'd think someone had already thought of, but hadn't. That's because most of minihelicopters are in reality super dangerous. They have one large rotor, and it's impossible to land, because if you lean a bit forward or hang at a slant, then the rotor crashes against the ground. And, moreover, if you come down with that thing on your back amidst a group of people... " - Panamarenko
Panamarenko designed his first Portable Air Transport in 1969. The idea of raising yourself into the air using a motor and a propeller led to numerous flying rucksacks in the 1980s. The first Pepto Bismo – a high-performance, portable
flying machine worn on the pilot’s back – was created in 1994, followed by Super Pepto Bismo two years later. Rather than air displacement via a fan, as in the rucksacks, the machine is propelled by a series of short rotor blades driven by
small but powerful engines. The helicopter principle allows the pilot to take off vertically and to steer entirely by moving his or her body. In the years that followed, Panamarenko came up with variations in which the rotors – which revolve
in opposite directions – are driven by powerful nickel and cadmium batteries. He developed a newer version still in 2002, which he mounted on a dummy, dressed as an aviator. The pilot wears a crash helmet and a headset. The new design sought to address the problem earlier versions had with overheating batteries. The issue was solved using six small petrol engines, placed on a metal shaft located horizontally above the pilot’s shoulders. A bronze version of Pepto Bismo was installed in 2003 as a monument on Sint-Jansplein in Antwerp.