Is the hoverbike about to become reality
He trained as a mechanical engineer (with automotive and aeronautic design) before becoming a journalist. He has worked at the BBC for over a decade and has reported from areas as diverse as war zones and technology showsRussian hovercraft shocks bathers Sunseekers enjoying the white sands of Russia s Baltic Coast got an experience they would not have expected when a military hovercraft made a surprise appearance.
Getting from A to B is very rarely boring in the world of science fiction sadly real life is often a let down in comparison. We do npatagonia new wetsuit 2013ot have many floating, hovering, flying vehicles, despite a great deal of engineering effort from entrepreneurs to develop jetpapatagonia better sweater vest dark walnutcks, flying cars, and radical hovercraft.
But if the hoverbike currently being developed by Los Angeles based Aerofex, gets off the ground, this could change. It is uncannily reminiscent of a Speeder Bike from the original Star Wars trilogy.
The device is named the Aero X and it takes up about as much room as a small car. Eventually there will be space for just two passengers though, and early prototypes show only one brave test rider, who perches on top of two horizontal spinning blades encased in circular housings.
The company calls it a crossover vehicle. It is technically a hovercraft, but it apparently feels like riding a motorbike. It is designed for low altitude flying, and can zoom over ground that even an all terrain vehicle (ATV) would struggle with. Aerofex says it will be capable of 72km/h (45mph).
But at a cost of $85,000, who is a crossover hoverbike aimed at, beyond the odd rich eccentric with a head for heights? Although it a niche product, the company CTO and founder Mark DeRoche told me it could be a lucrative niche. really nothing bpatagonia jackets reviewsetween a ground vehicle and an aircraft, he says, apart from much more expensive helicopters and small planes. Aerofex thinks its vehicle could be useful for farmers, both for agriculture (crops)patagonia everlong review 8x82 and herding animals. It could also be used by emergency services, for disaster relief or search and rescue, as well as for border patrols.
None of these people fly aircraft for a living, so the vehicle will have to be easy enough for a non pilot to fly. The company says that should be possible, and that the rider sits in a position where the vehicle responds to his movements similar to the way a motorcycle would. Aerofex says it has foupatagonia kids synchilla fleece brown 2 tone full zip boy girls jacket large 12nd that, for this type of vehicle, it makes sense to fly up to around 20ft (6m) above the ground.
The concept behind the Aero X isn new, with similar designs dating back to the 1950s. Piasecki Helicopter Co (now Piasecki Aircraft) built three variants of flying Jeep for the US army. DeRoche says this is to prove that the controls are as intuitive as possible. It important to prove that stable flight is possible without constant, complicated computer intervention, says DeRoche. we had said, by the way there a computer in there it would be like photoshopping our videos. hoverbikes will probably have more computers to help guide the pilot, particularly in extreme circumstances. Like traction control technology in a modern car, the computer could help a driver going too fast, or who, in a flying vehicle, encounters strong winds for example.
Another significant design consideration is the engine. The Aero X uses a special rotary engine, which DeRoche says offers additional safety benefits. have some features that we need, he says. example a piston engine could seize we can allow that.
A rotary engine design should continue to allow the blades to rotate, even if it stops running, which could help in landing thpatagonia everlong review internete craft in an emergency. A conventional engine, on the other hand, can lock in one position if a major component fails. That because rotary engines do away with conventional pistons which recpatagonia everlong review vinyliprocate, up and down action that has to be then converted into rotational movement. Instead they have a spinning rotor to do the jobs of compression, ignition, combustpatagonia everlong review 8x8ion and exhaust in sequence.
It will be interesting to spatagonia freeport maine directionsee if the company can overcome some of the well known limitations of rotary engines. Mazda was one leading car maker that used them, in their RX line of vehicles, but in general they have proven to be difficult to make clean and fuel efficient, and they need scrupulous regular maintenance to avoid engine failures. (Mazda has since stopped rotary engine car sales, aspatagonia everlong review 8x83patagonia everlong review 8x80 they could not meet emissions standards).
Aerofex says ipatagonia everlong review 8x81t is working on three different proposals to bring vehicles such as the Aero X into commercial production. The company is talking to the US government, looking at the commercial market, and also working on an unmanned versiopatagonia guide pants urbann of thpatagonia guide pants valete vehicle a drone that could be used for crop dusting, for instance.
The company says deliveries should start in 2017 if you feeling optimistic you can place a deposit for one now.
The Aerofex may not whisk you between giant trees at 200mph sorry Star Wars fans but it is definitely more out of this world than your average hatchback.
