Man realizes flight fantasy of childhood

Three years ago, Zhao read about a hover surfboard in Canada, and that was when his "flying motorbike" fantasy became more of a reality.

Despite his enthusiasm, Zhao's road to success was by no means smooth. He experienced countless failures while trying to make the manned aircraft airborne during 1,559 flight tests. Zhao even had to sell his apartment and borrow money from friends in order to continue his project.

He named the drone Jindouyun, or "Magic Cloud", which was a flying cloud used by fictional superhero Monkey King, a character from the Chinese classic Journey to the West.

He claims the lithium-battery-powered scooter can spend up to 30 minutes in the air, has a top speed of 72 kilometers per hour and can reach a height of 3,000 meters.

Zhao believed that the manned drone could prove to be an effective solution to ease traffic congestion, as well as for use by the fire departments or security forces.

He hopes to fly across the Yellow River on the aircraft one day. "It's not just to realize my own dream, but also the dreams of many others to fly," he said.