Amphibious two-wheeler steals the show

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At first glance, it resembles one of those inherently dangerous contraptions Q would supply James Bond with.It’s developers, four youngsters call it an Amphibious Two-Wheeler and it kicked up some interest at the National Aerospace Manufacturing Seminar (NAMS-2011) which began here Friday.A generous mishmash of parts ripped off from motorcycles and scooters, bike-boat was developed by Rahul V R, Arun S, Shyam Mohan and Vishnu C S, former BTech mechanical engineering students of the Sarabhai Institute of Science and Technology, Vellanadu.It’s actually our final year project, said Rahul. A large air-tank on its underbelly keeps the vehicle afloat. Jerk back a lever and two rocket-shaped, auxiliary floats snap up to the sides, readying it for the water. It’s two-metre span stabilises what is now a water-scooter. The auxiliary floats remain folded when it runs on land, he said.The prototype uses a two-stroke engine which remains fully covered and placed above the water level. The vehicle can zip at speeds ranging between 40-50 kilometres per hour on land, but the drag slows it down in the water. Still, it can do respectable speeds of 15-20 kmph. The prototype cost Rs 30,000 to build, according to the students. It also won the award in the projects category at the seminar, which was organised by the Society of Aerospace Manufacturing Engineers (SAME).