How Tech Works (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Episode #1.8 - full transcript
On this episode
of How Tech Works.
We get a lift from
this taxi driver.
You haven't lost anybody yet
have you?
No.
At the speed of 180 miles
an hour.
Hi there.
I am Basil Singer
and I advise you
to strap yourself in,
because you're in
for a wild ride of a show.
We're going to fly a jet
fighter plane and...
we'll find out just how much
G-force one human can withstand.
But first I want to
take you back
to childhood.
Now remember the absolute joy
of playing with a new toy.
Well our intrepid reporter
Mark Miller,
knows that feeling well.
As you're about to see
from his encounter with a toy
that is literally larger
than life.
All the way to Japan,
Mark discovers two engineers
with a passion for giant,
mechanized monsters.
Their latest invention
stands three meters tall.
Weighs as much as a car,
and walks upright
on two legs.
They call it
'The land walker'.
And it's the ultimate
monster toy.
If you want high-tech
cool gadgets,
then you know this,
is the place.
In Japan they've got
their super trains,
their amazing robots,
Konnichiwa!
and now this.
What can only be described
as a life size transformer.
He's the land walker.
The creation of two guys
who built agricultural machines
in the farm country
northwest of Tokyo.
Sakakakibara Kiaki is
a family run company.
that has found itself using
more and more automation
to make farming in this area
more efficient.
After the guys designed
their last robotic tractor,
they found themselves
drafting plans
for the world's
first land walker.
Ultimately it's a giant
machine powered by
a mere 250 horsepower
motorcycle engine.
That's not the only thing
that makes this
machine super cool.
Now it's really important
to remember that this
is a company that specializes
in building autonomous robots.
But when the engineer started
building this thing they knew
to maximize the fun factor
with this thing,
it would need a pilot.
This is not a robot or
a remote control toy.
This is a fully wearable
walking machine.
He want to be on,
right on the robot and drive.
That's why he wanted to make.
It's the world's first consumer
exoskeleton.
I don't know if you can
play TV game, you know,
that you can drive.
Land walker is as tall
as a house
and as heavy as a car.
It is a complex system
of actuators, levers,
wheels and brakes.
All computer controlled
to produce that walking motion.
Now the engineers claim
that pretty much anybody
can drive this thing.
But before they let
me take the stick,
they say I gotta go through
a little training.
Okay, I am not ready
for that one.
OK, so I didn't wreck it.
With a passing grade
on the mini exoskeleton,
it's time to move up
to the heavy metal.
Is this thing designed to take
my kind of weight?
Back, back. OK.
Left,
turn right, turn left.
Just in case of a tip toe.
Here we go.
Driving this monster is
surprisingly easy.
Although all that shuffling
back and forth means
the ride isn't as comfortable
as it looks.
It's easy to turn
but it's hard to walk straight.
Getting the exoskeleton
to walk was one of the hardest
engineering challenges
with this machine.
A computer controls a complex
series of actuators
that alternate brakes
on wheeled feet
as one leg slides forward
the other stays locked in place.
But by far this is
my favorite feature.
Two rubber ball cannons.
Now you're about to meet
a woman named Sabine.
with an amazing job.
You see Sabine is a taxi driver
but not just any taxi,
Sabine drives people around
on one of the worlds
most famous race tracks.
At speeds of up to
180 miles an hour
we call her queen
of the Nurburgring.
The town of Nurburg.
Home to one of the most
dangerous and challenging
race tracks in the world.
The Nurburg ring.
It's a very special day here.
Race fans are putting on
race suits.
I think I am gonna have more
trouble getting into this suit
than I am
actually driving the car.
The fans are going to be
rocketed around the Nurburging
by pro drivers in fast cars
called race taxis.
There we go. No problem.
James Dowling is
a website editor from London.
His taxi fare covers two laps
and costs about 800 pounds.
And his cabby
is no Sunday driver.
Hey!
-So you're my date right?
-Yes.
My name is Sabine Schmitz
and my job is to drive people
around the track,
around the Nurburgring.
They call her the queen
of the Nurburg ring.
She's won loads of races here.
broken many speed records,
basically she's a
pretty big deal.
Surprisingly she is also a bit
of a country bumpkin.
She's got lots of animals.
Sabina grew up in Nurburg
and learned about
horsepower at an early age.
I took my mom's car and
did some laps in a BMW
on the track.
Without license, shh,
don't tell anyone.
but then I thought by myself,
it's really
such a great track
it's so much fun.
And then I decided to
start my racing career
as soon as possible.
The ring surrounds the town
of Nurburg.
Fifteen miles of
angulating ysvled, steep hills
and sharp turns that generate
powerful G forces.
A severe test for any driver.
If your car is not in shape,
it won't survive.
Sabina's car is in great shape.
My race taxi is at the moment
a Porsche GT3RS.
The newest model.
My ring taxi job
is so special.
Who has a track like this?
Who has a car like this?
I know exactly what I have to
do to scare the people.
Sometimes fast is boring
but I can drive with
lots of corner weights
where people get
bumped in the car,
then it's even more
exciting for them.
I am sure I'll probably survive.
You haven't lost
anybody yet, have you?
Nine of these fans have tickets
to ride with Sabina.
James is up first.
I don't need to breathe out
do I?
The people are very different.
I had one guy who was
screaming the whole lap.
He says he can't breathe,
he was just screaming!
It was so funny.
Sometimes I can't drive because
I am laughing and crying.
From laughing and
I can't see the track anymore.
Sometimes it's very dangerous
for me as well.
Take care of your balls.
This is a road car so it still
has ABS and stuff?
Yeah, only the ABS.
The rest...
we don't need traction control.
I've got traction control
in my butt, you know!
Sabina is at the front
of the pack.
So you can't see
any other cars.
The main sensation is not
the speed it's the G forces.
Yeah, even the car goes
Sabina's driven so many laps
she knows almost every bump.
Brake! Brake! Bump!
How many laps have you done?
30 thousand.
You never get bored.
It's impossible
Little bumps are new here,
then we got new
tarmac over there.
On the second time round she's
already lapping other cars.
Come on let's eat a BMW!
Yeah, don't hold me up!
James's race taxi ride
comes to an end.
Sabina drove 30 miles
in about 18 minutes.
Thank you my love,
that was wonderful.
We'll be right back with more
How Tech Works .
Welcome back to How Tech Works .
I am Basil Singer.
Now while we're still
on the adrenaline rush
from all those high speed laps
around the track.
There's only one sensible thing
to do now
and that's go faster yet.
When it comes to speed humans
can't travel much faster
than the sound barrier
And that's exactly
what fighter pilots must do
every time they take
to the skies.
So let's take a look
behind the scenes,
of a machine that
puts fighter pilots
to the ultimate speed test.
Being a fighter pilot
is prestigious,
glamorous and grueling.
They scream through the air
faster than the speed of sound.
And inside the
cockpit they endure
excruciating G forces.
Hold that breath.
One more breath.
This gig is part guts,
part glory.
And these recruits want to
get in on the game.
Before they can fly
they've got to prove
they've got what it
takes to survive
in a high G environment.
Feels like a giant is squeezing
your whole body.
And yeah that was just
a weird sensation.
This is the navy's aviation
survival training center.
We maximize the survivability
of the war fighter.
That's what we do.
When fighter pilots
make fast turns
they experience forces
that can be as large
as 9 times gravity.
I weigh roughly 200 pounds.
Like a mac truck is sitting
on you.
The rookies are learning how
these forces affect the body.
Hearts are designed
to pump blood
to our heads at one G.
Not 7, 8, 9 gs.
so it lacks the capacity
to do so.
It has troubles.
Obviously when blood isn't
getting to the brain,
the pilot is going to
pass out.
So we have a technique called
the anti-G strain maneuver,
so that they can stay
conscious all the way up
in these high G levels.
They've got to force blood
to the brain,
by contracting their muscles
and doing a special
breathing technique.
They'll practice inside
this centrifuge.
Profile is running.
And you will feel the gradual
onset of gs right about now.
During that onset,
when the Gs come on,
that's when the most fluid shift
when the most blood from your
head down is going to happen.
and it's really important
that you do everything you can
to restrict that from happening.
Legs, breath, hold it,
you're on top, breathe.
Wait for me sir! Breathe.
So you'll hear us say
the command - legs.
That means to tighten up
the legs. Breath.
when we say breath we want you
to initiate, then lock it down,
so you're squeezing your legs,
you've locked down your air
and you're increasing
that pressure
in order to restrict
that fluid from shifting.
Right now all they care about
is staying conscious.
Once they get in the jet
it'll be a lot tougher.
They'll have to make critical
combat decisions too.
Stay on those abs.
Then at about three seconds
we go ahead...
have them relax,
the blood runs out
your heart is able to
beat normally.
About one good time,
get some good fresh
oxygenated blood up about here.
and then you continually
do this on and on.
7.5 is next - you gotta give me
all you got.
These crazy facial expressions
are common.
And let's be honest,
pretty hilarious.
Like you're constipated
and on the toilet.
Essentially you're doing
the same thing.
It does look funny,
but it hurts like hell.
It's like wrestling a bear.
Kind of like a 90 minute workout
in ten minutes.
my feet have cramps in them
from tightening so hard.
Back in the trainer
Ensign Harry Davis is prepping
for one of the toughest
exercises.
So whenever you are
feeling up to it,
start slowly turning your head.
In a combat scenario fighter
pilots will turn
to see their enemies.
This posture makes
it a lot harder to pull off
the anti G strain maneuver.
Legs. Breath. Hold it.
Get those glutes.
One more time.
And coming down.
And we're there,
you can let go of the stick.
Wow that was a little fast.
It's done!
It's done.
Nice job.
You wanna go again?
What? Yeah.
Nah we're good.
We're going to bring you home.
Nice job!
Am I swirling?
That's crazy.
You have to really be careful
otherwise you could wind up
unconscious like that.
Really bad.
That's exactly what
the instructors want to hear.
People come back and tell us
"What you did saved my life".
Today's lesson was agonizing.
But you know the saying
no pain no gain.
I would say this,
if flying was as painful
as this machine,
people would not fly.
That being said when
they complete it
they then have the confidence
that I can take anything
the aircraft can dish out
and I am doing it right.
Finally when it comes
to world records,
this has got to be up there
with some of the strangest
The world's fastest
mobility scooter.
I ask you,
who wouldn't want to meet
the guy who created
this category?
And then went ahead
and built it.
Anyway, his name is
Colin Furze and...
well let's just say Colin
wants to put his money
where his mouth is
Step up to the plate,
throw down the ultimate gauntlet
by racing an airplane
with his mobility scooter.
No saying it out loud doesn't
make it any less strange.
Check this out.
This is the beginning
of an epic race.
You've got to see it
to believe it.
Master pilot vs Colin.
He's got no chance.
Feast your eyes on
the world's fastest
mobility scooter.
71.5 miles an hour.
A hundred and fifty kilometers
for the metric people.
Colin Furze is England's modern
day Evil Knievel.
He's conquered the wall
of death.
Become a human motorboat...
and lit up the night sky
on more than one occasion.
Now he's created
this beast.
Everyone said that can keep
up with cars on the motorway
and things like that.
Yeah it can, can't it.
But of course you can't
ride this on the motorway
against cars.
It's not legal,
so I thought the next best thing
surely is to race a plane
up a runway.
Some people might not
want to try it.
But I think it's alright.
It definitely takes,
how to put this,
a specific breed of person.
Mad.
Done a risk assessment.
We've assessed there is risk,
and we will ignore it.
Me and the people in my head.
The people I speak to.
Today's attempt starts
with a donation.
There's a shop in
town where I live
and the shop owner is a fan of
my videos, watches all me stuff.
And he gave Colin
this beauty.
I just remember looking at it
and just thinking...
how fast we can get
that thing to go.
That sort of thing,
as you do.
I suppose I had one of them
male moments.
"It's not fast enough",
sort of thing.
And took it from there really.
The original is
the scooter equivalent
of a larder.
Not exactly a speed demon.
So Colin had to soup it up
to Ferrari status.
'Cause everybody asks
the same question,
"Are you an engineer?"
"Have you ever been to college
or anything like that?"
And I haven't, I am a plumber.
A plumber with a
knack for clever engineering.
Here we have
the 125 motorbike engine.
It was really quite
tight to package in
cause I had to fit it
all in this housing.
The exhaust pipe is the
most difficult bit
because normally
on the motorbike
it would come twisting out here
and disappear off to the back.
These are the gear shifters.
Shift up, shift down.
All the linkage and everything
underneath
and if I just flip it up
underneath,
you can see the cooling system
under here laid flat,
which doesn't work very
well but it does work.
To a certain degree.
And that's it, you are not going
to go off roading on it.
Off roading - no,
on runway - yes.
I've never been
in this position before.
I am in a mobility scooter,
20 foot from a plane.
I'll beat him easily.
I always win.
Very determined.
On your mark.
Get set.
Colin's faster off the block.
Slight steering
movements at high speed do have
a big impression on what
you're doing so...
You really do have to
concentrate on just keeping it
in a straight line.
I remember thinking
dip your head down
and you might go a bit faster
and of course I tried to dip
my head down and ended up
fishtailing all over the place!
Look,
it's even Steven now.
No helmet. That's health
and safety gone mad.
Do not try this at home.
If I have a helmet on
it's gonna...
I don't know I just don't think
it'll look as good.
Luckily he is wearing one piece
of safety gear.
This is my safety tie.
It came about 4 years Ag
when I rode the wall of death.
After riding a lot of
people on YouTube,
particularly it was someone
from Canada actually.
A guy called Chuck and he said
"It's your safety tie".
And I kind of thought,
yeah it is, isn't it.
So ever since then
on all my videos
I've always worn the same
clothes - this shirt and tie!
Thank goodness for that tie.
Kept Colin safe
right to the finish.
It was surprising
he kept up with me.
Fair contest, obviously
once he gets in the air,
there's not much I
can do about it.
But other than that,
it was fantastic.
In a bizarre way,
this race just confirms
the awesomeness
of Colin's creation.
Granddad's rock.
Do I sense
a bruised ego?
Feeling like a loser?
No, why?
He can't fly... yet.
Good point.
I think it's safe to assume,
there's more up these
tweed sleeves.
This is a big question moment,
isn't it?
I have got some plans
for things.
I am not gonna give
too much away.
Yeah, watch this space.
Well that's all the time
we've got for today.
Thank you very much
for watching
How Tech Works.
I'm Basil Singer.
See you next time.
of How Tech Works.
We get a lift from
this taxi driver.
You haven't lost anybody yet
have you?
No.
At the speed of 180 miles
an hour.
Hi there.
I am Basil Singer
and I advise you
to strap yourself in,
because you're in
for a wild ride of a show.
We're going to fly a jet
fighter plane and...
we'll find out just how much
G-force one human can withstand.
But first I want to
take you back
to childhood.
Now remember the absolute joy
of playing with a new toy.
Well our intrepid reporter
Mark Miller,
knows that feeling well.
As you're about to see
from his encounter with a toy
that is literally larger
than life.
All the way to Japan,
Mark discovers two engineers
with a passion for giant,
mechanized monsters.
Their latest invention
stands three meters tall.
Weighs as much as a car,
and walks upright
on two legs.
They call it
'The land walker'.
And it's the ultimate
monster toy.
If you want high-tech
cool gadgets,
then you know this,
is the place.
In Japan they've got
their super trains,
their amazing robots,
Konnichiwa!
and now this.
What can only be described
as a life size transformer.
He's the land walker.
The creation of two guys
who built agricultural machines
in the farm country
northwest of Tokyo.
Sakakakibara Kiaki is
a family run company.
that has found itself using
more and more automation
to make farming in this area
more efficient.
After the guys designed
their last robotic tractor,
they found themselves
drafting plans
for the world's
first land walker.
Ultimately it's a giant
machine powered by
a mere 250 horsepower
motorcycle engine.
That's not the only thing
that makes this
machine super cool.
Now it's really important
to remember that this
is a company that specializes
in building autonomous robots.
But when the engineer started
building this thing they knew
to maximize the fun factor
with this thing,
it would need a pilot.
This is not a robot or
a remote control toy.
This is a fully wearable
walking machine.
He want to be on,
right on the robot and drive.
That's why he wanted to make.
It's the world's first consumer
exoskeleton.
I don't know if you can
play TV game, you know,
that you can drive.
Land walker is as tall
as a house
and as heavy as a car.
It is a complex system
of actuators, levers,
wheels and brakes.
All computer controlled
to produce that walking motion.
Now the engineers claim
that pretty much anybody
can drive this thing.
But before they let
me take the stick,
they say I gotta go through
a little training.
Okay, I am not ready
for that one.
OK, so I didn't wreck it.
With a passing grade
on the mini exoskeleton,
it's time to move up
to the heavy metal.
Is this thing designed to take
my kind of weight?
Back, back. OK.
Left,
turn right, turn left.
Just in case of a tip toe.
Here we go.
Driving this monster is
surprisingly easy.
Although all that shuffling
back and forth means
the ride isn't as comfortable
as it looks.
It's easy to turn
but it's hard to walk straight.
Getting the exoskeleton
to walk was one of the hardest
engineering challenges
with this machine.
A computer controls a complex
series of actuators
that alternate brakes
on wheeled feet
as one leg slides forward
the other stays locked in place.
But by far this is
my favorite feature.
Two rubber ball cannons.
Now you're about to meet
a woman named Sabine.
with an amazing job.
You see Sabine is a taxi driver
but not just any taxi,
Sabine drives people around
on one of the worlds
most famous race tracks.
At speeds of up to
180 miles an hour
we call her queen
of the Nurburgring.
The town of Nurburg.
Home to one of the most
dangerous and challenging
race tracks in the world.
The Nurburg ring.
It's a very special day here.
Race fans are putting on
race suits.
I think I am gonna have more
trouble getting into this suit
than I am
actually driving the car.
The fans are going to be
rocketed around the Nurburging
by pro drivers in fast cars
called race taxis.
There we go. No problem.
James Dowling is
a website editor from London.
His taxi fare covers two laps
and costs about 800 pounds.
And his cabby
is no Sunday driver.
Hey!
-So you're my date right?
-Yes.
My name is Sabine Schmitz
and my job is to drive people
around the track,
around the Nurburgring.
They call her the queen
of the Nurburg ring.
She's won loads of races here.
broken many speed records,
basically she's a
pretty big deal.
Surprisingly she is also a bit
of a country bumpkin.
She's got lots of animals.
Sabina grew up in Nurburg
and learned about
horsepower at an early age.
I took my mom's car and
did some laps in a BMW
on the track.
Without license, shh,
don't tell anyone.
but then I thought by myself,
it's really
such a great track
it's so much fun.
And then I decided to
start my racing career
as soon as possible.
The ring surrounds the town
of Nurburg.
Fifteen miles of
angulating ysvled, steep hills
and sharp turns that generate
powerful G forces.
A severe test for any driver.
If your car is not in shape,
it won't survive.
Sabina's car is in great shape.
My race taxi is at the moment
a Porsche GT3RS.
The newest model.
My ring taxi job
is so special.
Who has a track like this?
Who has a car like this?
I know exactly what I have to
do to scare the people.
Sometimes fast is boring
but I can drive with
lots of corner weights
where people get
bumped in the car,
then it's even more
exciting for them.
I am sure I'll probably survive.
You haven't lost
anybody yet, have you?
Nine of these fans have tickets
to ride with Sabina.
James is up first.
I don't need to breathe out
do I?
The people are very different.
I had one guy who was
screaming the whole lap.
He says he can't breathe,
he was just screaming!
It was so funny.
Sometimes I can't drive because
I am laughing and crying.
From laughing and
I can't see the track anymore.
Sometimes it's very dangerous
for me as well.
Take care of your balls.
This is a road car so it still
has ABS and stuff?
Yeah, only the ABS.
The rest...
we don't need traction control.
I've got traction control
in my butt, you know!
Sabina is at the front
of the pack.
So you can't see
any other cars.
The main sensation is not
the speed it's the G forces.
Yeah, even the car goes
Sabina's driven so many laps
she knows almost every bump.
Brake! Brake! Bump!
How many laps have you done?
30 thousand.
You never get bored.
It's impossible
Little bumps are new here,
then we got new
tarmac over there.
On the second time round she's
already lapping other cars.
Come on let's eat a BMW!
Yeah, don't hold me up!
James's race taxi ride
comes to an end.
Sabina drove 30 miles
in about 18 minutes.
Thank you my love,
that was wonderful.
We'll be right back with more
How Tech Works .
Welcome back to How Tech Works .
I am Basil Singer.
Now while we're still
on the adrenaline rush
from all those high speed laps
around the track.
There's only one sensible thing
to do now
and that's go faster yet.
When it comes to speed humans
can't travel much faster
than the sound barrier
And that's exactly
what fighter pilots must do
every time they take
to the skies.
So let's take a look
behind the scenes,
of a machine that
puts fighter pilots
to the ultimate speed test.
Being a fighter pilot
is prestigious,
glamorous and grueling.
They scream through the air
faster than the speed of sound.
And inside the
cockpit they endure
excruciating G forces.
Hold that breath.
One more breath.
This gig is part guts,
part glory.
And these recruits want to
get in on the game.
Before they can fly
they've got to prove
they've got what it
takes to survive
in a high G environment.
Feels like a giant is squeezing
your whole body.
And yeah that was just
a weird sensation.
This is the navy's aviation
survival training center.
We maximize the survivability
of the war fighter.
That's what we do.
When fighter pilots
make fast turns
they experience forces
that can be as large
as 9 times gravity.
I weigh roughly 200 pounds.
Like a mac truck is sitting
on you.
The rookies are learning how
these forces affect the body.
Hearts are designed
to pump blood
to our heads at one G.
Not 7, 8, 9 gs.
so it lacks the capacity
to do so.
It has troubles.
Obviously when blood isn't
getting to the brain,
the pilot is going to
pass out.
So we have a technique called
the anti-G strain maneuver,
so that they can stay
conscious all the way up
in these high G levels.
They've got to force blood
to the brain,
by contracting their muscles
and doing a special
breathing technique.
They'll practice inside
this centrifuge.
Profile is running.
And you will feel the gradual
onset of gs right about now.
During that onset,
when the Gs come on,
that's when the most fluid shift
when the most blood from your
head down is going to happen.
and it's really important
that you do everything you can
to restrict that from happening.
Legs, breath, hold it,
you're on top, breathe.
Wait for me sir! Breathe.
So you'll hear us say
the command - legs.
That means to tighten up
the legs. Breath.
when we say breath we want you
to initiate, then lock it down,
so you're squeezing your legs,
you've locked down your air
and you're increasing
that pressure
in order to restrict
that fluid from shifting.
Right now all they care about
is staying conscious.
Once they get in the jet
it'll be a lot tougher.
They'll have to make critical
combat decisions too.
Stay on those abs.
Then at about three seconds
we go ahead...
have them relax,
the blood runs out
your heart is able to
beat normally.
About one good time,
get some good fresh
oxygenated blood up about here.
and then you continually
do this on and on.
7.5 is next - you gotta give me
all you got.
These crazy facial expressions
are common.
And let's be honest,
pretty hilarious.
Like you're constipated
and on the toilet.
Essentially you're doing
the same thing.
It does look funny,
but it hurts like hell.
It's like wrestling a bear.
Kind of like a 90 minute workout
in ten minutes.
my feet have cramps in them
from tightening so hard.
Back in the trainer
Ensign Harry Davis is prepping
for one of the toughest
exercises.
So whenever you are
feeling up to it,
start slowly turning your head.
In a combat scenario fighter
pilots will turn
to see their enemies.
This posture makes
it a lot harder to pull off
the anti G strain maneuver.
Legs. Breath. Hold it.
Get those glutes.
One more time.
And coming down.
And we're there,
you can let go of the stick.
Wow that was a little fast.
It's done!
It's done.
Nice job.
You wanna go again?
What? Yeah.
Nah we're good.
We're going to bring you home.
Nice job!
Am I swirling?
That's crazy.
You have to really be careful
otherwise you could wind up
unconscious like that.
Really bad.
That's exactly what
the instructors want to hear.
People come back and tell us
"What you did saved my life".
Today's lesson was agonizing.
But you know the saying
no pain no gain.
I would say this,
if flying was as painful
as this machine,
people would not fly.
That being said when
they complete it
they then have the confidence
that I can take anything
the aircraft can dish out
and I am doing it right.
Finally when it comes
to world records,
this has got to be up there
with some of the strangest
The world's fastest
mobility scooter.
I ask you,
who wouldn't want to meet
the guy who created
this category?
And then went ahead
and built it.
Anyway, his name is
Colin Furze and...
well let's just say Colin
wants to put his money
where his mouth is
Step up to the plate,
throw down the ultimate gauntlet
by racing an airplane
with his mobility scooter.
No saying it out loud doesn't
make it any less strange.
Check this out.
This is the beginning
of an epic race.
You've got to see it
to believe it.
Master pilot vs Colin.
He's got no chance.
Feast your eyes on
the world's fastest
mobility scooter.
71.5 miles an hour.
A hundred and fifty kilometers
for the metric people.
Colin Furze is England's modern
day Evil Knievel.
He's conquered the wall
of death.
Become a human motorboat...
and lit up the night sky
on more than one occasion.
Now he's created
this beast.
Everyone said that can keep
up with cars on the motorway
and things like that.
Yeah it can, can't it.
But of course you can't
ride this on the motorway
against cars.
It's not legal,
so I thought the next best thing
surely is to race a plane
up a runway.
Some people might not
want to try it.
But I think it's alright.
It definitely takes,
how to put this,
a specific breed of person.
Mad.
Done a risk assessment.
We've assessed there is risk,
and we will ignore it.
Me and the people in my head.
The people I speak to.
Today's attempt starts
with a donation.
There's a shop in
town where I live
and the shop owner is a fan of
my videos, watches all me stuff.
And he gave Colin
this beauty.
I just remember looking at it
and just thinking...
how fast we can get
that thing to go.
That sort of thing,
as you do.
I suppose I had one of them
male moments.
"It's not fast enough",
sort of thing.
And took it from there really.
The original is
the scooter equivalent
of a larder.
Not exactly a speed demon.
So Colin had to soup it up
to Ferrari status.
'Cause everybody asks
the same question,
"Are you an engineer?"
"Have you ever been to college
or anything like that?"
And I haven't, I am a plumber.
A plumber with a
knack for clever engineering.
Here we have
the 125 motorbike engine.
It was really quite
tight to package in
cause I had to fit it
all in this housing.
The exhaust pipe is the
most difficult bit
because normally
on the motorbike
it would come twisting out here
and disappear off to the back.
These are the gear shifters.
Shift up, shift down.
All the linkage and everything
underneath
and if I just flip it up
underneath,
you can see the cooling system
under here laid flat,
which doesn't work very
well but it does work.
To a certain degree.
And that's it, you are not going
to go off roading on it.
Off roading - no,
on runway - yes.
I've never been
in this position before.
I am in a mobility scooter,
20 foot from a plane.
I'll beat him easily.
I always win.
Very determined.
On your mark.
Get set.
Colin's faster off the block.
Slight steering
movements at high speed do have
a big impression on what
you're doing so...
You really do have to
concentrate on just keeping it
in a straight line.
I remember thinking
dip your head down
and you might go a bit faster
and of course I tried to dip
my head down and ended up
fishtailing all over the place!
Look,
it's even Steven now.
No helmet. That's health
and safety gone mad.
Do not try this at home.
If I have a helmet on
it's gonna...
I don't know I just don't think
it'll look as good.
Luckily he is wearing one piece
of safety gear.
This is my safety tie.
It came about 4 years Ag
when I rode the wall of death.
After riding a lot of
people on YouTube,
particularly it was someone
from Canada actually.
A guy called Chuck and he said
"It's your safety tie".
And I kind of thought,
yeah it is, isn't it.
So ever since then
on all my videos
I've always worn the same
clothes - this shirt and tie!
Thank goodness for that tie.
Kept Colin safe
right to the finish.
It was surprising
he kept up with me.
Fair contest, obviously
once he gets in the air,
there's not much I
can do about it.
But other than that,
it was fantastic.
In a bizarre way,
this race just confirms
the awesomeness
of Colin's creation.
Granddad's rock.
Do I sense
a bruised ego?
Feeling like a loser?
No, why?
He can't fly... yet.
Good point.
I think it's safe to assume,
there's more up these
tweed sleeves.
This is a big question moment,
isn't it?
I have got some plans
for things.
I am not gonna give
too much away.
Yeah, watch this space.
Well that's all the time
we've got for today.
Thank you very much
for watching
How Tech Works.
I'm Basil Singer.
See you next time.