A Californian company is making the dream of the hover bike a reality. Aerofex’s contraption is a little larger than the one Marty McFly rode around on, but as you’ll see in the company’s promotional video, it’s just as desirable.
The video shows the hover bike, which flies around using a pair of ducted fans, performing a number of manoeuvres including cornering, hovering and landing — the latter of which would prove pretty essential if one of these is to become your daily driver.
A previous version of the contraption had caught fire during testing but Aerofex shows the updated prototype is a much less volatile beast. Its makers claim it has a top speed of 30mph and can reach a maximum altitude of 15 feet.
Interestingly, the method of driving (or is it riding?) is extremely intuitive as there are no fancy switches or levers to manipulate. Controlling the yaw, pitch and roll is done simply by moving your body in the appropriate way.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a real life hover bike in action. We previously reported on remarkably similar gravity-defying contraption built by Chris Malloy. His interpretation of the concept uses two downward-facing propellors powered by a four-stroke engine.
Though it hasn’t been tested, Malloy believes his bike could reach heights of 10,000 feet and speeds up to 170mph. He even reckons he could get it to market with a price tag of around £30,000 — a tad more than your average family car.
Watch the Aerofex hover bike in action below. Just don’t expect to hear the roar of its engine – the video was filmed without sound for some reason.
Source: Autoblog
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