“Most people think it’s a spaceship,” Schaller said of his silver creation that measures 56 feet long, 20 feet wide and 17 feet tall. “It was originally designed to be a hovercraft. Now it looks like it’s going to end up as a houseboat. I won’t live long enough to get enough money to make it a hovercraft – not unless I went back to work full time; and then I wouldn’t have the time to work on it.”

Much of the vessel is constructed out of found materials—like a travel trailer he found in the woods, a former acid dipping vat from the Piper Aircraft plant and an old satellite dish. It’s brilliant—like a free association sculpture from a genius engineer. Seriously, this guy built his first solid-fuel jet engine in a high school shop class. I built a toolbox. Advantage: Schaller. [TCPalm via Fark]