Hayao Miyazaki-Inspired Glider Takes Flight in Japan

Japanese animation icon Hayao Miyazaki has a bit of an obsession with flight. Imagery of planes and dirigibles pop up throughout his filmography, tracing all the way back to one of his earliest works, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The 1984 animated classic features one of the coolest aircrafts ever envisioned in science fiction, and now a group of engineers has built a version that flies in real life.

According to Popular Science, the jet-powered glider is the product of Japanese artist Kazuhiko Hachiya’s OpenSky project. A scaled-down model first took flight in 2003, and last month the full-sized vehicle dazzled onlookers at the Takikawa Skypark in Takikawa, Hokkaido.

To watch a Miyazaki scene come to life, check out the video below.

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