Posted on 06/16/2013 5:23:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Three Czech companies have teamed up to make a prototype of a flying electric bicycle that successfully took a test flight Wednesday inside an exhibition hall in Prague.
It looks like a mountain bike with attached industrial fans -- a bit like a helicopter. It weighs just over 200 pounds and has two battery-powered propellers in the front, two in the back and one each on the side to provide lift and balance.
Czech Republic companies Duratec Bicycles, Technodat and Evektor developed the flying bike with support from French company Dassault Systèmes.
A lightweight dummy rode in the saddle for the remote-controlled test flight in front of press. Milan Duchek, technical director of Duratec, says more powerful batteries will be needed before the machine can carry a human.
But as battery power and capacity improves, city cyclists could find themselves flying high above traffic. Engineers hope their invention will be used not just for commuting, but for sport, tourism and recreation.
A Bicycle built for flew
They should just call it the Plummet-cycle.
He should have known not to tempt Lord Humongous Ruler of the Wasteland.
Interesting concept, it reminds me of a Quadrotor in many ways. Of course once OSHA and the NTSA get into the act it won’t ever be practical.
Pretty impressive flight on a BATTERY!
Cool !
You couldn’t use it in cities like Chicago or Oakland. You’d be shot out of the sky.
What could go wrong? (wink, wink)
Jeez, you asked for a flying car, they give you a flying bicycle!
What could possibly go wrong?
Right now it's just a very very fancy remote controlled helicopter which is utterly unable to lift any load at all. The claim is that since battery capacity doubles every ten years (you heard it here first, we can expect 4800 mah AA rechargeable batteries any moment now) that within ten years, someone will develop batteries that can be used with this system to lift a person.
Classic vaporware demonstration; take near off the shelf components, slap them together, call it something brand new, and then say you're just waiting for some non-existent technology to come along so you can launch into action. Investors have a nifty demonstration, more investors want to jump in, and not a single person bothers to ask the most obvious question: Could this system fly if you substituted in a gasoline engine instead?
If the answer to that question is no, then it probably won't matter what future technology might or might not come along, as it probably will never work.
What are you going to do with a bike/helicopter? Fly over traffic? I don’t see the application for urban areas, at least.
It would be great in third world countries, where you could fly over poor sections of road or streams.
It would make sense if the fans were low to the ground, so the craft would function like a hovercraft. It would save on fuel, provide a smooth ride, and make the transition from hovercraft to bike smoother.
Some redneck (maybe me :^)) will attach a rocket.
That will certainly help the muslims with what they love best.
What? Bigger batteries are needed? Hhrrmmphhh.
STrap some solar panels on or sumthin’, booster rockets, mini sails
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