Sky is no limit as IT consultant vows to build Kenya's first jet

Mr Gabriel Nderitu (in blue shirt) assisted by his workers fix a propeller at a remote controlled aeroplane which he made at his Kahawa garage. The drone is the fifth aeroplane that Nderitu has made since he started the project in 1997. He tested the drone at Kiawara area in Kieni West over the weekend and he will this morning test two other aeroplanes he has made at the same ground. Photo/JOB WERU/Standard].

Gabriel Nderitu is not your ordinary aeroplane enthusiast: his passion is making planes using any available material, including tins and papers to make toy aircraft. Today, he is in the process of manufacturing a drone.

Making jets is a dream the 47-year-old father of two has nurtured since childhood. His dream started soon after he cleared his IT course in 1997. He was not trained on aviation-related courses and his knowledge was purely derived from research.

“My principles are three: Read, research and experiment,” he says.

To actualise his dream, Nderitu established a garage at Kahawa West in 2007 and began to purchase iron rods and aluminium sheets.

With the help of wielders and fabricators, he built his first plane in October 2010 using an improvised motor vehicle engine.

The plane weighed more than 500 kilogrammes, making it too heavy to cruise or even take off. Nderitu says weight is a crucial component in airplanes, but very light aircrafts are also weak and fragile.

But with time, he learned from his mistakes and went back to the drawing board. His fifth and latest attempt, the Upendo drone, weighs 130kgs, which he intends to reduce to 100.

One Saturday in February, Nderitu drove from Nairobi to Kiawara area in Kieni West, Nyeri County, to test-fly Upendo. He chose the area because it is secluded and the grounds are plain.

Arriving at his chosen site along the Nyeri-Nyahururu road shortly after 3pm, it took him and his crew barely 15 minutes to assemble the iron and aluminum made plane. And what a structure it was! One could easily be tempted to hop in for a fly-about. Although he chose the area to avoid attracting a multitude, word quickly spread, attracting tens of villagers from Kiawara who flocked the open field to see a locally-made aeroplane.

Fifth attempt

Many could have taken the upcoming manufacturer for a joker, but just before the beaming sun disappeared behind the magnificent Aberdares Ranges, the drone was cruising at high speed on the rugged and stony terrain.

The roar of its engine drew even more spectators from their homes, many abandoning their evening chores of milking their cows and preparing dinner. Children too came in their numbers to witness this great spectacle.

But their curiosity was short lived after the drone, cruising at high speed, bumped over rocks and rough desert grass before it plunged into a bush.

All this time, Nderitu was busy on a remote control that look liked a modern aeroplane cockpit.

The drone would have lifted off the ground had it not been for the rugged runway, he says. “Our biggest challenge is getting a place that is smooth enough for the aircraft to cruise well without hitting potholes and other objects,” he said.

To Nderitu, his dream of building an aeroplane is not far-fetched.   In fact, Upendo was his fifth attempt. But he has never given up.

After his first attempt failed, he imported a Sh400,000 aircraft engine which he  for pilot tests.

“If everything moves with speed as we have achieved in the last two years, and if we receive an engine a friend donated to us, we will complete the project by the end of the year,” he predicted.

Nderitu’s vast knowledge in physics helps  come sin useful.

After high school, Nderitu joined university to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. He would have preferred  aeronautical engineering though.

Valid dreams

“I refused to give up and vowed I would make an aeroplane from my garage in Kahawa West area in Nairobi even without training in aeronautics,” he told The Standard on Sunday, as the engine of his one seater remote controlled Upendo drone roared.

“But after completing my physics degree, I enrolled for an information technology (IT) course and became an IT consultant. That is how I raise money to fund my projects,” he said.

“I use local manpower and locally available materials. I want this to be a Kenyan project because I want to prove that Kenyans also have skills,” he said.

Nderitu is hopeful that before the end of the year, his project will be completed, especially after acquiring a new engine.

“The main challenge is lack of an airstrip, and I believe that if I get a runway that covers about 500 to 1,000 feet,  we can complete the pilots and finish the aircraft within three months,” he said.

For now, he has retreated back to his garage, knowing that his dream of building a jet is valid.