News ‘Nausicaä’ glider takes final flight in Chiba

[thomas]

It was said that almost ten years had passed since Kazuhiko Hachiya first managed to lift his version of the glider from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind into the air, and that he brought that chapter to a close with one final flight. The aircraft, known as the M-02J and modelled on the Moewe—or Mehve—seen in the Studio Ghibli film, reportedly drew warm applause from the crowd gathered for the Sora Matsuri 2025 festival at the Sekiyado Glider Field in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, on 16 November.

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Although the last flight lasted only a few minutes, observers remarked that the path leading to it had taken far longer. Hachiya, now fifty-nine and known as an artist working with new media, was said to have begun constructing the glider back in 2003. It finally took to the air in 2016, the first flight becoming one of the central moments of what he has described as his OpenSky project.

Hachiya said he began working on it at the height of the Iraq War in the hope that the plane would serve as a symbol of peace like Nausicaä, the title character of the 1984 movie, who acts as a mediator between warring forces. The single-seater is powered by a jet engine and is designed for the pilot, secured with safety gear, to lie on top of it. In place of a traditional steering system, Hachiya uses a harness connected to the wings to change course and shifts his body weight to ascend and descend. The craft can reach a maximum altitude of about 100 meters and a top speed of 90 kph, according to Hachiya. Outside of the event in Noda, the M-02J has won fans who found it through YouTube and elsewhere. Hachiya's decision to retire from piloting stems from a desire to share his skills, as the only person currently able to fly it.

Real-world ‘Nausicaa’ glider goes on final flight in Chiba | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis