Their homegrown helicopter may never actually fly, but through their determination to dream and learn and do for themselves, three young Ugandans have already “slipped the surly bonds of Earth.”

This is one of those stories of Africa you probably won’t see on your evening news.

Ronald Kagugube is 33. James Ssendi is 34. Moses Ssentalo is 29. Childhood friends and a trio of self-taught auto mechanics in a Ugandan slum.

Together, they are chasing one of humanity’s oldest dreams — the dream of flight.

From scratch, they’ve created their own homebuilt helicopter, which they say is close to being ready for its first test flight.

It’s easy enough to dismiss this quixotic quest, especially when you look at the contraption they’ve produced. What’s not as easily dismissed is the way they’ve gone about it.

They’ve been working at it for 17 years, on their own time and their own dime, cobbling together spare car and motorcycle parts to create a chopper of their own design.

And at times, not surprisingly, damn-near killing themselves in the process.

In between, the grade-school dropouts have been cracking the books, reading up on physics, aerodynamics and mechanical engineering — on their own.

They may be crazy, but Kagugube swears they’re not kidding.

“People should not take this for a joke; we’ve come a long way to get to this stage and there are many successes,” he says.

American 19th century writer Stephen Crane never met these three Ugandans, but he may have had them in mind when he wrote this poem:

“I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they sped.
I was disturbed at this;
I accosted the man.
“It is futile,” I said,
“You can never -”

“You lie,” he cried,
And ran on.”

Mssrs. Kagugube, Ssentalo and Ssendi are chasing their own horizon in Uganda, with their own hands, apparently boundless perseverance and the most unlikely of machines.

Auto mechanics without formal education, trying to design and build their own helicopter? Sounds impossible, even dangerously insane, doesn’t it?

Until you remember that before they built the world’s first successful powered aircraft, Orville and Wilbur Wright were bicycle mechanics.

At least, these guys know a few things about engines.

Of all the reasons to visit Africa, one of the least discussed — but easily one of the most rewarding — is to meet people like this.

You can read their story in the Ugandan newspaper The Observer here.

Just looking at this craft, I doubt very much that will it ever get off the ground very high or for very long — although I’m sure that at some point, more than a few folks told Igor Sikorsky the same thing about his first helicopter.

Let’s face it, the thing looks like something Sikorsky might have dreamed up after a night of binge-drinking a lot of very low-grade vodka.

But that really is not the point, nor is it what makes these three a remarkable, inspiring story.

What does?

They’re not afraid to learn, to try something totally outside their experience, to work hard. They’re not letting a lack of formal schooling stop them.

And if they’re actually willing to strap into this thing and start it up, they clearly aren’t afraid to fail.

What may be even more amazing, as you’ll see when you read the Observer story, is that these three aren’t even unique in Uganda.

This is the spirit of the inventor, the innovator, the entrepreneur. It doesn’t wait until the time is right. It doesn’t turn back because the road isn’t smooth or the task isn’t easy. It doesn’t wait on the blessing of others nor give in to their doubts and disparaging.

This is a spirit that transforms lives, liberates peoples and lifts up nations. It’s a spirit you can find all over Africa, if you look.

Meanwhile, if I’m the Ugandan horizon, I’m hearing footsteps.

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