Home Built Hoverbike
Posted by Ryan on June 15th, 2011
An Australian chap named Chris Malloy has built a hoverbike from motorbike parts, and he claims it can fly at 173 mph at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
Those are theoretical figures for the time being because the contraption hasn’t flown too far yet. Malloy bases those outlandish specs on the 231-pound device’s thrust-to-weight ratio. It consists almost solely of a pair of massive propellers powered by an 1,170-cc engine good for 107 horsepower. The fuel tank contains enough juice to give it a range of 92 miles at a cruising speed of 92 mph.
The pilot’s right hand controls the thrust of the rotors, while the left adjusts the angle of the control vanes, pitching the nose down or up to move forward or backward. Turning the handlebars turns the machine.
[Wired]
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June 23rd, 2011 at 6:34 am
The main problem with all ducted fan type craft is the fact that if you have engine problems you’re toast. Most planes have some glide and helicopters have autorotation. With this you lose power and you’re a rock.