Electric Wheelchair Steampunk Glider

Here is a finished project by me and Steve Bowtie I want to share :)

My sister-in-law was going to go to Comicon with us. I was making her a really cool costume and we were going to have a blast. Unfortunately her leg surgery ended up getting pushed forward to two days before the convention. No way was she going to be able to walk the con floor after that! Doc said she needed to keep completely off her feet for a week! She was pretty upset. She had been looking forward to it for months. 

So I already had a steampunk set of wings...... and I was already planning on my friends set since she already had a costume......... so maybe we could do a steampunk group for a day instead?

I roped Steve in because I needed his robot base, aptly named "Sparks", to act as the mobile wheelchair. I found this antique looking chair at a thrift store for $10. I had to make a base for it so it could connect with sparks, and he wired up a gaming joystic to operate sparks from the armrest. Bonus, it had a sensitivity slider so Nat could turn it off around curious kiddos. We were not looking to ACTUALLY launch her into the air, sadly.

I designed the basics and the glider, and made the wooden/fabric glider and did all the decorating, Steve welded the frame together and helped with the latch mechanism at the back, since Im not nearly as clever as I think I am apparently. It was a crunched project, but I think it came out pretty slick considering. 

But honestly the best part was Nat's reception at the con. SOOOOOO many kids with disabilities came up to her in awe. They didnt know they could cosplay, they didnt consider how they could turn costuming to their advantage. It was so great getting to talk to them and their parents about what they could cosplay and how they could make it work for them. 

Anywho, here is a little video. Someday I hope we can do it again, though since Nat can walk now we may need a new rider :P