Alright, where are all the Star Wars nerds going to hold a "speeder bike race" in the woods when this craft becomes avilable?
I'd pay money to watch that.
I'd pay money to watch that.
Australian Unveils Prototype Hoverbike
- Thread starter Earnest Cavalli
- Start date
I might believe that it could hit 170mph, but hovering at 10,000 feet with fans? No, I'm calling B-S on this. Sorry Australian sir, but unless I see some video footage, I'm going to say no, and even if I do see some footage, I'm going to be doubtful.
I confess to skepticism, and if it is real I'd imagine someone is going to buy the patent (goverment or business) from the guy and then sit on it.
At least in the US it wouldn't be that impressive to have one unless the laws change, especially seeing as there would be so few places you could use one. All comments about pilots liscences aside, even with one I very much doubt we'd let people commute to work with them for example, at least not until a viable three dimensional traffic system is implemented (of which I believe there are several theoretical models).
At least in the US it wouldn't be that impressive to have one unless the laws change, especially seeing as there would be so few places you could use one. All comments about pilots liscences aside, even with one I very much doubt we'd let people commute to work with them for example, at least not until a viable three dimensional traffic system is implemented (of which I believe there are several theoretical models).
eeehhhh looks way to unstable if you realistically want to build this you need the center of mass to be bellow the fans. In theory ducted fans work great for this kind of work in practice you have a hard time getting enough power (see mythbusters and the US defense industry)also I see no control surfaces on that vehicle no way it would be actually pilot-able and the props looked wooden a biiiiig problem it also looks a little to heavy and the lack of a horse power number on the site also makes me wonder because with that number it would be easy to tell it was fake if their was not enough power.
All I can think of is the ROTJ speeder bike chase scene. Mainly the part where the trooper eats treebark.
it probably does hover but to get the speeds he's talking about at that altitude would at heast require some sort of windshield
Say Mr. Scientist, how much is 170 mph in km/h?
A fucking shitload you say?
Goddamit, getting me all exited about non-existant things.
A fucking shitload you say?
Goddamit, getting me all exited about non-existant things.
I hope engine technology advances far enough so that the machine doesn't sound like a riding lawn mower running in front of a microphone hooked up to a concert stage soundsystem.Crusnik said:
In other words, THAT THING IS FRIGGIN' LOUD. No sneaking home at 2 in the morning on one of those.
Just read the website - it says everything you need to know and isn't being coy about it. It's not a finished product at all (the guy estimates it's 10% finished) they can achieve lift but have no idea quite how well it'll fly because they haven't got it to a suitable stage for untethered testing - the numbers for speed and altitude are just estimates based on physics (lift to weight ratio etc) he's not trying to claim they've achieved them.
Looks like it has a lot of potential (and also looks exceedingly cool) but there's a long way to go yet!
Looks like it has a lot of potential (and also looks exceedingly cool) but there's a long way to go yet!
I'm calling bull. Someone has already tried this before and the problem is that, yeah, it works well enough close to the ground, but once you gain a bit of altitude the blanket of air generated by the turbines turns into a jet-stream. When that happens good luck keeping that thing in control.
Notice how in all of the pics it's tethered to the ground?
Notice how in all of the pics it's tethered to the ground?
The first thought that popped into my head was "Meuller". That's the name of a guy who "is making hovercars". His site's very flashy, and has awesome concept art. Not mentioned are his twenty-year working period and lack of presentable prototypes, despite certain investor's hopes.
I'm not getting my hopes up on this. VTOL aircraft exist, but to my knowledge, the closest thing to a hoverbike currently in production is a Cessna.
I'm not getting my hopes up on this. VTOL aircraft exist, but to my knowledge, the closest thing to a hoverbike currently in production is a Cessna.