Pilot creates his own prosthetic

Steven was 18 when he was left critically ill in a bike accident with damaged lungs, spleen and liver, a broken leg and a severed arm. His right arm was torn off by another rider's footpeg during a collision.

Steven believes that a number of 'unique features' make his arm stand out: "I basically bought a milling machine and a lathe and started making components out of aluminium and putting them together.

"It has all been made by me, nothing is shop bought. I actually had to design some parts because they didn't exist before. It has a very special shoulder socket that I have a patent on now, I also had to design a special jacket so that arm can fit over it."

Since his crash, the inventor has never worn a prosthetic arm but realised he needed one to accomplish his lifelong dream of getting his private flying licence.

Steven built his own working prototype in 2015, for £200. This was due to several failed attempts with an National Health System (NHS) prosthetic. When he started flying the NHS prosthetic limb fell off each time he tried to operate the joystick, making flying as a one-armed pilot impossible.

His new arm even has a quick-release shoulder socket.

"People don't think about getting out of them quickly but you don't want to be stuck if you are in trouble in a plane. It also has positive locking on the shoulder and it can fully rotate as well. It looks pretty impressive. I look a bit like RoboCop”, the pilot explained.

Steven now needs to fly ten hours solo and carry out various navigation tests before he is a fully-qualified pilot.

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2tK6VjR

More info: http://steven-robinson.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2W7nOsTy1E