Chapter 211

An Australian man has invented what he says is the world's first flying motorbike, and is building it in his garage. The Hoverbike is claimed to be able to reach a theoretical height of 10,000 feet - really - and fly at 100 miles per hour. It's based on much the same principles as a twin-propeller helicopter such as Boeing's Chinook. Christopher Malloy says he's been building the vehicle for the last two years, using a custom-built carbon-fiber airframe and BMW engine. He's now at the testing stage, although so far he's only flown it tethered to the ground, at an altitude of just a few feet."With the limited ground testing done thus far the hoverbike has preformed exactly as predicted," he says. "Because we do not know 100 percent what might happen during testing, the straps are there to cover the unknown. The hoverbike is quite stable and does not want to tip over - however, if something unplanned happens during testing, we don't want to break our prototype!"The Hoverbike's designed with triple redundancy, says Malloy - three components need to fail before there could be a serious accident. If anything does go wrong, two parachutes are built into the airframe, he says.Eventually, Malloy aims to sell the Hoverbike commercially, at a price of around $50,000. He sees uses in cattle mustering and search and rescue, as well as good old fun. It shouldn't need a pilot's license in most countries, including the US, as it would be classed as an ultralight vehicle.

Spherical Flying Machine demonstrated -- Weighing in at about 12 ounces (350 g), the 16-inch (42 mm) diameter flying ball can launch and return vertically, maintain a stationary hover and zip along at up to 37 mph (60 km/h). Coupled with a camera, it could become a valuable reconnaissance platform. 

75-year-old Gennai Yanagisawa, who runs an electronics equipment company in Matsumoto, central Japan, created a 75kg (165-pound) one-man aircraft which, at the time, set the world record for the smallest helicopter.

At the end of October 2011, Thomas Senkel of e-volo made the first manned flight with an e-powered multicopter at an airstrip in the southwest of Germany. The flight lasted one minute and 30 seconds, after which the constructor and test pilot stated: "The flight characteristics are good natured. Without any steering input it would just hover there on the spot". This could be the future of flight, piloting a device as simple as a car. More information: www.e-volo.com

One of the key engineers on the team that won the $5 million Automotive X Prize was Chief of Aerodynamics, Barnaby Wainfan.  Wainfan is a leading thinker and teacher of aerodynamics at Northrop Grumman, one of the world’s premier aircraft design firms, and has worked on both classified and unclassified projects there.  He is also an adjunct professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Michigan.  Working with Ron Mathis on a number of auto racing projects, Wainfan has made a lasting impact by introducing a new perspective from his experience in high-performance aircraft design.  His knowledge and application of aerodynamic design helped achieve the breakthrough efficiency of the Very Light Car.

See the whole team here http://www.edison2.com/personnel/ and read about the X Prize winning Very Light Car project.

Yves Rossy flying with his jet powered wings in switzerland.

Swiss pilot Yves "Fusionman" Rossy shows off his birdman skills.