You could theoretically land one in a good-sized back yard, but it’s still far from a grocery-getter. However, the options on display in Detroit were more of a commuter aircraft with vertical take-off and landing ability, rather than anything that could double as a car. The Hoverbike was far from the only flying vehicle on display at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, as several other contenders also showed up to display and talk about their implementations of this lofty idea. The evolution of flying “cars” continues to the hover bike by Xturismo - think the flying bikes the storm troopers rode in “Return of the Jedi.” At the moment, the hoverbike has a range of about 40 miles, so research is ongoing. Think of those flying bikes the storm troopers rode in “Return of the Jedi,” plus an insane amount of propeller noise, and you’ve got the idea. While the Hoverbike rides on air, it does so within a few feet of the Earth. Perhaps the inventors of the Hoverbike by Xturismo have their feet, um, more firmly planted on the ground. Even with bottomless-pocket backing from Google co-founder Larry Page, Kittyhawk has announced they will shutter their operations. Right on cue, there’s new interest in flying cars happening today with producers such as AirCar, Samson Switchblade, and even industry giants such as Toyota, Hyundai and GM getting in on the research into fixed wing flying cars and perhaps more sensibly, drones big enough to carry a person.īut at the same time, the challenges of “democratizing the skies” as startup Kittyhawk boldly proposes to do, always seem to prove insurmountable. Hyundai and Uber once partnered to develop flying cars to be used as ride-sharing vehicles. “Mark my word: A combination airplane and motorcar is coming,” Ford said. Henry Ford himself toyed with the idea of “The Model T of the skies” in 1926 with an attempt at an affordable single-seat airplane called the “ Flivver.” As late as 1940 the auto industry magnate still predicted that a roadable aircraft was an inevitability. It was called a “roadable aircraft” instead of a flying car, and the naming convention is significant.Īnything that’s going to fly really has to be an airplane first and foremost. The very first serious attempt to combine cars and planes came in 1917, when the Curtiss Autoplane was unveiled. It’s a dream that has continued to fascinate inventors to this day. In that era of ingenious invention and boundless possibility, ambitious entrepreneurs soon dreamt of combining the fledgling motorcar with the aeroplane. The mashup of airplane and automobile started early in development of both, including the 1917 Curtiss Autoplane.
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