Forget Flying Cars Flying Bikes Are Go

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6fd8469e4774.jpg[/atsimg]

Australian engineer Chris Malloy has spent his spare money and time building a flying motorcycle he calls the Hoverbike. The Imperial Speeder Bike-like bike could reach 10,000 feet and fly 170 mph when finished.

Using his garage, he custom-built the carbon-fiber airframe attached to a 107-hp BMW boxer-twin engine. The wood rotors with carbon-fiber edges counter-rotate, allowing Malloy to avoid the vertical blade that would make a flying bike hostile to any human occupant.

Never wanted a flying car, but this , well this just cries out to me on so many levels..
I would make a space in the garage for one of these anyday
Australian hoons at it again..
source
Main web site

I don't think I want spinning blades of death that close to my extremities.

I can see a few Darwin Award winners claiming their prizes on that thing.

Originally posted by grey580
I don't think I want spinning blades of death that close to my extremities.

I can see a few Darwin Award winners claiming their prizes on that thing.

Agreed, and although it's a really cool idea, I don't see this thing being very practical on multiple levels. First off, the engine on that thing sounds like it's taking a beating just on the ground, and if it happened to fail/run out of fuel while airbound you'd be done for. And for some reason conventional rotors/spinning blades don't feel like the best way to go if we're thinking flying bikes of the future. I'm thinking something less bulky, more advanced, perhaps powered by Rossis cold fusion generator? Cold fusion/anti-gravity flying bike sounds better to me.

reply to post by grey580

You mean like a high power sports bike or strap on paraglider?
Its actually safer then it looks, the site has a full run down on the specs and safety .
But you only live once, you might not ever get on on, otheres would.same as a motor bike,
but i wouldnt call it Darwin award territory..

How safe is the Hoverbike?
Very safe. The hoverbike was designed with safety as the over-riding factor in all design. If you have ever flown and pre-flight checked a helicopter you will appreciate the simplicity of this design. With so many parts on a helicopter - and a large number of single parts that could alone cause catastrophic disaster if they should fail - it is just a matter of time. The hoverbike has as many components as possible with triple redundancy which requires at least 2 other components to fail before you might have a serious airborne failure. This combined with a massive reduction in total parts (compared to a helicopter) and the hoverbike becomes safer and cheaper.
Parachutes. With the hoverbike you have the choice to wear an emergency parachute and have two explosive parachutes attached to the airframe, with a helicopter you have no such choice. The hoverbike in it's current configuration cannot autorotate (with adjustable pitch propellers it can) but this should not be viewed as a discredit to the design. Engine failure in a helicopter or plane by no means assures you that you will survive a autorotation or glide, as air crash statistics show. The option of removing yourself from the vehicle and descending via parachute to the ground may well save your life
The propeller blades will have on the next revision (and certainly the final product sold) a fine mesh over the entire ducting, which will stop any wandering hands or large debri from entering the duct.

Gives a whole new meaning to the word 'chopper' !


Peace

reply to post by Raelsatu


The engine sounds like its revving because it is, its strapped to a bench for duct flow testing so it wont take off...
so the mount of throttle isnt relevent to its height in that video

but read the specs on the site, power to weight etc etc..
site link in first post

Feck yah!

At a glance
Airspeed Vne - 150 KIAS (untested)
Hover (out of ground effect) - >10,000ft (estimated)
Dry weight - 110kg Max gross weight - 270kg
Total thrust - 295kg
Engine - 80kw @ 7500rpm
Hoverbike Applications Aerial Cattle mustering Search and Rescue Aerial Survey Wildlife and Parks Film Power-line Inspection

Photos so hot

Darwin award? Pffft I think not Im thinking more Aviation award. This guy is a pioneer like the Wright Brothers.

reply to post by sprocket2cog


cool!! imagine flying to and from work! however i want seat belts and a parashute .gear it a little better so the motor isnt so stressed

reply to post by granpabobby


Yeah, i think the motor isnt stressed though, its under testing so it is revving, but the specs call it at 7500rpm and as a motor bike motor is good for well over 10000rpm in most cases
i think he knows what he is doing
but im sure any issues like that would be ironed out.
he is an enginner after all
not just a tinkerer.

reply to post by sprocket2cog


Well, how does it go forward?

I sure hope it's not too similar to the Segue in terms of leaning this way or that to move forward and backward.
That sounds like a disaster!
But I'd love to have me one of these, regardless!

reply to post by AnimusInvictus


no forward flight is controled by the left twist grip
height by the right .
it uses control vanes

How do you control the Hoverbike?
To lift off into a hover, one needs to increase the thrust via a throttle grip with the right hand - exactly the same as the throttle on a motorbike
To fly forward a combination involving an increase in thrust and the deflection of air from the front control vanes (twisting the left handle grip) will tilt the total thrust vector forward resulting in an acceleration forwards (twist back to go backwards)
To to make the bike roll (turn) left and right, all one needs to do is push the handle bars down on the side you wish to turn (handle bars work just like a bicycle, but with an extra axis so that they rotate up and down a little) - you could lean in the appropriate direction just like a motorbike, but this is proving to be not as sensitive as one would expect or like.
Yaw (nose left or right) is via control vanes front and rear and actuated by turning the handle bars - just like a bike

reply to post by sprocket2cog


Screw hoverboards and flying cars. I want this!

I do agree with the poster from above. Many people who will the Darwin Awards if they use this openly. You should have to have a limited flying license to use one of these babies.

With a few years of development and investors, you can add fly-by-wire system, wireless HUD system for your helmet, and other features. That will make it easier to fly, like being in a video game.

I want one.
Hope they come with steel cups.

reply to post by guppy


yeah, but the goes for motorbikes , gyro-copters, hang gliders, wing suits, paragliders and so on..

you will need training and an ultralight license to fly one..
but more people die on the roads then in air crashes
dangerous? yes
darwin award. well that implies inherently stupid with no real chance of survival..
theres lot easier ways to kill yourself then this..

This makes so much more sense than a "flying car" if for just one reason. Less stuff raining down on the populace when the inevitbale war with gravity is lost! But don't get me wrong, if they can make this concept work, I would be there! It just makes so much more sense than a flying car! or a personal helicopter!

reply to post by CosmosKid


the site actually lists explosive chutes on the airframe ,so in the event you have to bail
it will be able to parachute itself as its light enough.
so even less collateral damage from a failure.

With the hoverbike you have the choice to wear an emergency parachute and have two explosive parachutes attached to the airframe, with a helicopter you have no such choice.

This is a fantastic idea, but I'm wondering what gives it horizontal stability? Chances are good those fans lend a gyroscopic effect to prevent it from just flipping over. It's a cool design, but there's no fault tolerance built into it. A parachute would be the only think you could wear that would keep you from getting killed if a fan was damaged or the engine died.

And then there's the people on the ground when that thing falls out of the sky. Some sort of rocket assisted 'chute that is activated by a lanyard or something?

Here's what I envision:

1) Fan fails
2) Pilot bails and the lanyard that attaches them to the craft is pulled out, activating the 'chute.
3) At that same instance a loud alarm goes off on the craft alerting anyone that it's coming and activates some sort of GPS locator/emergency beacon.

reply to post by grahag


yep thats basicly right.
chutes on the airframe
see my post above yours
the stabilty issues are adressed as well on the site.

How stable is the Hoverbike?
Great! With the limited ground testing done thus far the hoverbike has preformed exactly as predicted. In comparison to a helicopter the hover is less sensitive to input and inherently stable. Contrary to popular belief, having greater mass above the centre of pressure does not mean an unstable craft (yes it is less inherently stable than below) A good point of comparison is with fixed wing aircraft, which you can crudely put in three categories - wing above (mass hanging below), wing below (mass sitting above) and wing in the centre - all have their benefits and tradeoffs

and as its an ultralight lass you cant fly over residential areas as a matter of the FAA rules.
they wont allow it

What happens when the motor stalls?




ETA: I failed to read the thread.



-5 points for skimming.

I've been reading about this all day!

I have dreamed of something like this since I was in Jr. High and I am sooo happy someone has had the vision to make this happen.

I can't wait to see the real nitty gritty details about this.

I can just picture my College adding this to the design team since they are thinking of getting rid of the formula race car.