What leaps tall buildings in a single bound is faster than a locomotive ? Is it a bird ? Is it a train? No its a hoverbike. Not your ordinary traditional hovercraft since it has a possible altitude reach of 10,000 feet and a top speed of 278 km/h or 173 mph. For the time being though its somewhat theoretical, since the inventor, Chris Malloy is yet to conduct real world flight tests.
The craft looks more like a bicycle on its side but includes a 1170 cc 4-stroke engine delivering 80 kW driving two ducted propellers. Controlled with a set of handlebars used for controlling direction, lift and speed, and a standard 30L fuel tank.
The frame is engineered from kevlar reinforced carbon fiber with a light foam core, while the propeller blades are made of Tasmanian Oak with the leading edges covered in carbon fiber. And since there’s two of them spinning in opposite directions, there’s no need for a tail rotor to cancel out the rotational forces.
Visit Chris Malloy's website to learn more about availability, price and should you feel so inclined donate to his project.
