North helicopter-maker urges young designers not to give up
"My biggest dream is to design a car that will be driven all over the world."
The man famous for building a replica police helicopter has urged young designers not to give up on their dreams even if they seemed impossible to reach.
Hendrick Chibanga from Dilopye in Hammanskraal said he realised that he was gifted when he was four years old.
“I designed wire cars for local boys. I started taking it seriously when I turned 17 and I am 31 years old now. I never went to school for it, I was just a God-given talent.”
Among his long list of designs, Chibanga built a train during the pandemic to help cheer up the children in his neighbourhood.
He said one of his proudest designs was his hand-made sports car called “Cyclone Mantel”.
“Among all my designs, I’m very proud of my Cyclone Mantel. I love the design because I created it from scratch. It took me nine months to complete building that car”.
VIDEO https://fb.watch/5VGRBxG0ME/
He said he created his helicopter using scrap materials and it took him eight months to finish it.
“I later got a call from someone who wanted to buy it and put it on display in a resort. That person bought it for R38 000.”
Chibanga said his talent has helped him put food on the table and has also allowed him to hire other locals.
He said his biggest dream was to design a car that would be driven “all over the world”.
“That would be the proudest moment and that is where I want to go. I am not worried about the money. I only want to get an opportunity to produce my designs, because designing doesn’t need you to have money but only your talent.”
He urged young designers not to give up and be strong.
“Good things will come. I started very small. I sometimes went to dumping sites for material but now I can afford to go inside a shop and buy material.
“I now get orders from other countries like Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and the United States. This really makes me proud because even in China people order my stuff and that is where people usually say everything is made.”
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