Talk about taking drone tech to the next level. An English engineering corporation by the name Malloy Aeronautics is now developing a hoverbike. The tests being conducted with unmanned flights at the moment are an attempt to reach as high as 9000 feet with this hoverbike. A manned prototype will become a possibility as soon as the company achieves the aviation certifications for their unmanned variant. Upon its completion the manned variant would either be controlled with a remote controller or a person sitting inside. The hoverbike currently used for testing is said to be one-third the size of the finished product.
Reuters suggest that the hoverbike can achieve speeds as high as 115 miles per hour. Mind you, this hoverbike is an update to the convenient to use traditional helicopter. The managing director of Malloy Aeronautics Chris Malloy expresses his interest in designs and complex machines such as helicopters. He also stresses that hoverbike is a machine that is even safer than the traditional helicopter which is attributable to the simplicity of design. The problem with helicopters is the rotor-strike. Protection of propeller blades from airborne obstacles as well as the ground prevents rotor-strike. Hoverbike is a different story.
For those of you eagerly waiting for this to come out, you can expect the finished model to be out there in the few months to follow. Thanks to the Kickstarter campaign, Malloy has now received over $77,000 for the project with six more days left. Here’s hoping something good comes of it.
