Man builds the 'hoverbike': the world's first flying motorbike
It may not be equipped with a laser cannon but Stars Wars fans could soon get behind the controls of a real ‘hoverbike’.
Inventor Chris Malloy sits on his tethered ‘hoverbike’, which he built in his garage and hopes to sell for £30,000 to farmers in remote areas of Australia (Picture: Caters)
Chris Malloy claims his flying machine, which is ridden like a bike but has horizontal propellers instead of wheels, will reach altitudes of up to 3,000m (10,000ft) and speeds of more than 270kph (170mph).
But the 32-year-old’s creation has so far remained tethered just a few metres off the ground.
‘I am still ground testing at the moment, only because I’m not 100 per cent sure what will happen so the straps are there to cover the unknown,’ he said.
‘I haven’t had the pleasure of flying round the countryside yet. It is quite stable and doesn’t want to tip over but, if something unplanned happened during testing, I wouldn’t want to break the prototype.’
The hoverbike bears a striking resemblance to The Speeder Bike seen in the Star Wars films (Pic: LucasFilm
The Australian inventor has spent his life savings and two and a half years constructing the space-age bike in his Sydney garage using a custom built frame and a BMW engine.
The futuristic design, which is complete with parachutes in case of an emergency, bears a passing resemblance to the Speeder Bikes seen roaring across alien planets in the Star Wars films or The Jetsons’s 2062 hovercar.
Mr Malloy hopes outback farmers will be willing to pay £30,000 for his creation to help them control cattle on sprawling ranches.
Previous experience of flying a helicopter or plane would help before piloting his bike, which could fly for about 45 minutes on one tank of fuel.
‘This is a new way to fly and one would need to learn to ride the hoverbike in much the same manner as a helicopter or riding a motorcycle,’ he added.
Watch the hoverbike be subjected to a smoke test in the video below:
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Chris Malloy builds the 'hoverbike': the world's first flying motorbike | Metro.co.uk
via metro.co.uk
