Panamarenko

An artist, an inventor and a visionary, Panamarenko has conducted an exceptional long-term research on concepts such as space, movement, flying, energy and gravity. His work is a combination of an artistic insight and a technological experimentation.
As an introduction to his practice M HKA has mapped out almost his entire oeuvre in a chronologically and thematicly structured digital platform. M HKA would like to share the gathered information further with the public. Welcome to the digital archive!

R.p.M.

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(c)image: Luc Schrobiltgen, Courtesy Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery

Maquette van Scimitar [Model of the Scimitar], 1992

Private Collection, Courtesy Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery,Knokke

Panamarenko

Object , 56 x 220 x 113 cm

metal, rubber, nylon, tape, styropor, balsa

This model for the Scimitar is a small helicopter with a single rotor and three curved rotor blades. A small stabilizing tail rotor is fitted at the back with a rod. The main rotor is positioned at the aircraft’s centre of gravity, above the pilot. Panamarenko named the machine with the curved wings after the curved sword of Saladin, who had a scimitar made of Damascus steel. Panamarenko made his helicopter’s bent rotor blades from polystyrene around a balsa-wood armature that narrows towards the tips. The wings were coated with liquid putty and then covered with silk. To operate the machine, the pilot lies on a balsa-wood seat. The helicopter is powered by a combination of arm and leg movements. A lever on the pilot’s left-hand control rod adjusts the position of the tail rotor and hence the direction
of the aircraft. The original flying machine, with a span of 11 meters, has hung in the arrivals lounge at Brussels International Airport.

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