Hans Theys


A SHORT SURVEY OF RECURRENT SUBJECTS IN PANAMARENKO'S WORK


I

The most important subject, which actually first appears in his work in 1968 and has since taken on various shapes and forms, was initially called Closed System Theory. Panamarenko started from the principle that it had to be possible to build machines that, with an equal supply of energy, could generate ever-increasing force by accelerating this force. He not only supposed this to be possible, he also tried to understand precisely why it was impossible. Since the few scientists he knew had never managed to explain why something did not work, an integral part of Panamarenko's work consists of attempts at finding his own logical errors or, more precisely, at trying to understand why something is 'wrong' or impossible.

The Closed System Theory was first applied in the solar-powered spaceship General Spinaxis (1968), in Closed System Power (1969) and when building the Accelerators (1969-1970). He assumed that the impulse that sets a body in motion got split into two separate reactionary forces. Whilst one of these forces ensured forward motion, the other maintained rotation. He concluded that since this second force was not actually involved in stabilising forward motion, it could be used to propel a spaceship. "It is theoretically possible", Panamarenko once wrote, "to accelerate a body by giving it a push somewhere outside its centre of gravity so that it starts rotating spontaneously. (...) The result is a recuperating object that can repeatedly be accelerated in a closed machine."

On 31 December 1974 Panamarenko hit upon the idea of linking this theory with the special theory of relativity. In the little blue book (Marzona, 1975) he demonstrates how this provides an explanation for the hydrogen electron's rest orbit. If one imagines a rolling electron as a wheel, which has no velocity at the point where it touches the ground (else it would shift or skid), it would pull itself into orbit due to its two different forward velocities, and the resulting differences in mass and time. Later on Panamarenko also applied this principle to celestial bodies like the sun and neutron stars without companions. The theory then not only provides an alternative explanation for the orbit of an electron (i.e. other than the gravitational force exerted by the atomic nucleus), but can also account for the absence of large, invisible masses that are supposed to explain the revolution of certain stars. Toy Model of Space, as the latest version of the theory is called, provides an equally unbelievable, yet elegant explanation for a number of phenomena where traditional science time and again has to revert to hypothetical 'particles' and mechanisms like the graviton, Hics fields, black holes, etc.

Since March 1992 Panamarenko has been working on a new spaceship that will be propelled by the centrifugal, relativistic force liberated when thousands of parallel vertical axes are brought into rotation.


II

Another recurring subject is the construction of man powered planes. In fact we can basically distinguish two different types of planes: aeroplanes with a propeller (hang gliders, planes with 'traditional' propellers, jets and helicopters) and aeroplanes with insect wings.

Das Flugzeug (1967), Panamarenko's first man powered plane, is a helicopter with six aeroplane wings. Delta Man Powered Aeroplane is a man powered propeller plane with a Rogallo-Flexwing. The most advanced propeller plane must be U-Kontrol III, which Panamarenko actually tried to fly in England. He especially designed a system of pedals for it, making use of the pilot's legs as well as his arms to drive it. He uses the same system for his helicopters.

The second type of man powered planes shows Panamarenko's attempts at the mechanical reconstruction of the wing-beat of insects. In The Mechanism of the Meganeudon Panamarenko refers to it as "probably the most efficient form of flying." It involves converting the continuous drive provided by the pedalling pilot into high-frequency vibrations. The energy generated by the pilot is captured by means of a flywheel that is coupled to the wings at the the beginning of each beat. The various Meganeudons, Chistos and Umbillies use different types of torsion springs that have to receive the falling (and disconnected) wings and send them flying up again. The best results were booked with Umbilly I, where the macrolon spring was replaced by a steel torsion spring. The name Umbilly refers to the disconnection of the drive mechanism during the power stroke, since the connection between the flywheel and the flapping wings is, as it were, cut like an umbilical cord at the beginning of each beat.

In a sense this mechanism is also related to the Closed System Theory. The idea of a 'double trampoline' namely relies on the expectation that the wings, which rebound both upwards and downwards, will keep flapping faster and faster.

Panamarenko's original intuition, namely that the flight of insects is not nearly as primitive as always supposed, has, however, been confirmed. Researchers like Torkel Weis-Fogh discovered in the mid-seventies that insects like the encarsia formosa seem to fly by means of an ingenious wing-beat mechanism, which so far has only been partly analysed. In later versions (e.g. the studies for Big Flip Flap) of the mechanism of the meganeudon Panamarenko tried to incorporate Weis-Fogh's findings , making the wings describe a certain angle. The insect helicopter Big Flip Flap remains Panamarenko's last attempt at building a man powered aeroplane to this day .

Lucius Grisebach wijst erop dat Panamarenko zich bij het bouwen van verschillende vliegtuigen heeft gebaseerd op het boekje Man Powered Flight van Keith Sherwin. Dit is juist. Panamarenko heeft dit boekje echter nooit beschouwd als een canon, maar als een middel om beter door te dringen tot de materie. In zijn inleiding geeft Sherwin als een van de redenen voor het bestaan van zijn boekje dat hij hoopt dat het vliegen met door mensenkracht aangedreven vliegtuigen zal uitgroeien tot een echte sport. Niets is verder verwijderd van Panamarenko's werk dan de sport: de ultieme en stompzinnige celebratie van de vanzelfsprekendheid en de repetitiviteit.


III

Panamarenko has also designed motor-driven aeroplanes, helicopters, cars, a half-track, a flying boat and a flying carpet. The first motor-driven 'aeroplane' was Portable Air Transport (1969), a small portable helicopter that actually looks like a seat. Early drawings of Portable Air Transport foreshadow his later rucksack planes. The idea of a portable flying device also recurs in 1 Min. Heli Electric (1990), an electric helicopter that can be carried in a shoulder-bag.

Panamarenko's first design for a flying car dates from 1972. At the time he was still thinking of a car with only one propeller. K2, The 7000-Meter-High Flying Jungle and Mountain Machine, in fact a combination of four rucksack planes, looks again at the problem which had arisen in earlier studies for a four-propeller helicopter (1971), namely the instability of planes with vertical take-off.

The rubber car Polistes (1975) was the result of an attempt at designing a very simple car. Polistes is propelled by two turbines that, when turned the other way, make brakes superfluous. Since the propulsion is direct, i.e. not via the wheels, gear changes are not necessary either.

Thundercloud (1971) could be described as a motorised version of Delta Man Powered Aeroplane (1972). Scotch Gambit, the flying boat on stilts, is propelled by two motors, each setting in motion a four-blade propeller. Paradox is an aeroplane that is supposed to lift itself by blowing air into a parachute. In the sense that it is an impossible, but very probable mechanism, Paradox is similar to the Closed Systems.

The first rucksack planes consist of a propeller, a stator, an air duct and a pastille motor. The motor makes the fan turn, creating a current of air which is deflected and accelerated downwards via the stator and air duct. The pilot determines his flying altitude with his hands by interrupting the air current which escapes from the exhausts.

The pastille motor, called this way because it is as flat as a pastille, is a very light and elegant pneumatic motor, that was originally built for the rucksack planes.


IV

The Aeromodeller, which often draws attention, is a work that stands a bit on its own within Panamarenko's oeuvre. Its balloon consists of strips of polyester foil glued together. The cabin is made of woven Palembang cane. The self-made mahogany plywood propellers are driven by four Flymo motors resting on a manoeuvrable under-carriage.
Panamarenko's original intention was to go and live in the cabin. In this sense The Aeromodeller should be seen in the context of Panamarenko's interest in spaceships. "The highest purpose one can have," he once said, "is to devise a way to leave the earth." This is not escapism. In the end man can never be more directly confronted with himself than on a spaceship: forever going nowhere.


V

Towards the end of the seventies Panamarenko was especially occupied with the possibility of a magnetic spaceship. "So-called real space travel," he wrote, "depends on the technology of the rocket, because it is the only valid principle in space. Personally I feel that in order to help along space travel we ought to look for a solution among the already existing interplanetary forces of the universe. One of these especially interests me: magnetic fields."

Magnets in a uniform magnetic outer field (e.g. the earth's magnetic field) will direct both their poles towards the poles of that field and not move for the rest. Consequently, all Panamarenko's magnetic spaceships are attempts at devising and constructing a magnetic monopole, a "system of magnetic coils of which only one single pole, be it north or south, is active."

The swimming cigar Flying Cigar Called Flying Tiger (1980) consists of three superconductive magnetic coils with their repelling poles placed against each other. The whole is at least one kilometer long with a diameter of 170 meters. Around the central coil a magnetic bubble with a radius of 25 km develops. Unless the whole construction falls over, this invisible balloon will be pushed away from the earth's surface. The cigar can be directed by means of the outer legs, which can exert a force opposing the magnetic field. The magnetic field then functions as a sort of wave to surf on. The whole construction consumes no energy at all.

The bell-shaped spaceship Mirror Discs (1984) consists of a hollow aluminium disc rotating above three wake eddies so that an artificial, alternating terrestrial field is created which repels the spaceship. This principle is demonstrated in the Magnetic Fields (1981) on which small flying saucers can float by means of two pairs of crosswise magnetic coils forming a magnetic bridge.


VI

Panamarenko has been working on the Archaeopteryx since 1988. The Archaeopteryx is supposed to become an autonomous construction working on solar energy, driven by servo-motors and steered by analog electronic brain. This brain registers incorrect (combinations of) movements and precludes them for the future. The Archaeopteryx then, can learn from its mistakes. (See also the drawing Automaton Alluminaut, 1970.)

VII

Since 1990 Panamarenko has also designed several devices to make snorkelling or walking on the bottom of the sea easier and more elegant. Apart from the Portuguese Man of War, a diving-suit called after the sub-tropical hydrozoan it resembles, Panamarenko has designed the Elbow, an electric cylindrical device to give the diver extra momentum in emergencies. As well as elaborating Toy Model of Space, in 1992 Panamarenko mainly occupied himself designing and perfecting a mechanical Elbow, a sort of broomstick-underwater-propeller-bicycle, which is to replace traditional flippers.


Montagne de Miel, November 1992