Artist behind 22-year project takes to the skies one last time on real-world version of Hayao Miyazaki flying machine.

You could get into a spirited debate as to whether Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind belongs in the fantasy or science fiction genre, but either way, the anime film from the artists who would soon after form Studio Ghibli is set in a world of fiction. That gave director Hayao Miyazaki unbridled freedom not only in designing the characters and creatures that appear in the movie, but the vehicles too, and with his love of aircraft, that meant imaginative creations like Nausicaa’s glider, alternatively called the mehve or mowe, depending on the translation you’re going by.

In 2003, though, 19 years after Nausicaa premiered in Japanese theaters, Kazuhiko Hachiya decided to try to bring the glider from the anime world to the real world. Hachiya, who describes himself as a media artist, didn’t want to just make a replica model, either. His goal was to create an actual working mehve that a single pilot could take into the skies, while still looking and being operated like Miyazaki’s version.

This was no easy task. While Miyazaki’s interest in aeronautics regularly influences his artwork, he’s still an animator first and foremost, so his aircraft looking cool ultimately takes precedence over real-world functional feasibility. Early on in Hachiya’s OpenSky Project, which he dubbed the development process, he had to settle for short, downhill hops like the one shown in this test conducted in 2006.

But Hachiya kept at it, with his efforts culminating in the M-02, a jet engine-powered glider which the pilot rides strapped face-down to the machine, shifting their weight in the harness to change pitch and roll in order to turn, climb, or dive.

The M-02 is capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) per hour and an altitude of roughly 100 meters. It’s equally impressive to otaku and engineers, but the excitement of seeing the M-02 in flight at the Sora Matsuri air show in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, last Sunday was mixed with a bittersweet emotion, as it marked the final flight for the real-world Nausicaa glider.

▼ The last flight of the M-02

After 22 years, the 59-year-old Hachiya says it’s time for him to pass on the project to younger engineers and pilots, along with the knowledge he’s gained from the two decades-plus he’s been chasing this dream.

Online reactions to the glider’s last flight have been filled with admiration for both Hachiya’s vision and his courage.

“That looks awesome, but I don’t have the guts to hang on the outside of something that’s flying 100 meters up in the air.”
“It’s got to be crazy scary to fly like this without any kind of cockpit.”
“Even since I was a kid, I’ve wanted there to be something like the mehve, and it makes me so happy that he did this.”
“It’s so inspiring seeing it lift off from the ground.”
“The video shot from above the glider makes it look just like it does in the anime.”
“He even landed in a field of gold!”
“It’d be like a dream come true if they put this on display in the Ghibli museum.”

As for exactly why Hachiya has decided his M-02 flying days are done, age is likely a factor, as it’s clearly physically demanding to pilot the thing. The machine is also likely designed and calibrated specifically for his body size and weight and can’t be safely operated by anyone else without modifications, which could be why the November 16 flight in Noda was designated as its final flight. Thankfully, the M-02 isn’t going to be demolished, and the current plan is to keep it intact for display purposes, with its engine left functional as well.

Source: Asahi Shimbun, YouTube/朝日新聞
Images: Studio Ghibli
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