Larry Neal creates the Super Sky Cycle, a registered flying motorcycle - with video
Flying cars, the dream of many a crack inventor, have never really gotten off the ground (hee hee). Sure, there have been a few that have actually been produced and offered to the public, but none has ever been even close to what most would consider a success. So, Larry Neal, a maker of kit gyroplanes, as decided to go a different route altogether and forgo the car completely. Larry has chosen to start off with a motorcycle as the basis for his personal flying transportation option. A quote from the inventor, taken from the article linked to below: "The problem with flying cars in the past was what to do with the wings once you were on the ground," said Neal. "With a 'fly-drive' gyroplane, just fold the rotor blades and drive on down the road. Using rotor blades for the wings of a flying car makes the fly-drive Super Sky Cycle a new kind of vehicle." Neal said. "There's nothing else like it, a gyroplane that can fly at better than freeway speeds, land in 20 feet, be driven home as a motorcycle, and fit in your garage."
Interested in adding both a motorcycle and a gyroplane to your vehiclular stable with just one vehicle? Save up $40 grand and you'll still have some left over for motorcycle gear and some flight lessons. Good luck.
[Source: Gizmag]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Howard Lee Harkness 3:44PM (4/20/2007)
As a licensed pilot, I am very glad that flying cars have never "made it". This one probably won't either, for a fundamental reason based in economics. Right now, a little over 60% of the price of a new general aviation aircraft is is the cost of liability insurance that the manufacturer has to buy. So that $40,000 is actually going to translate into $100,000+ shortly after the first batch of people that crash these things. But if we are lucky, this project will die for lack of venture capital.
Flying is nothing like driving -- for starters, when you run out of fuel, you don't just pull over to the side of the road. There is no such thing as a minor accident in a general aviation aircraft. And the #1 cause of GA aircraft fatalities is continued flight into IFR conditions by a VFR pilot (as a Texas Certified Defensive Driving Instructor, I am also aware that the vast majority of drivers over-rate their own skill).
We are nowhere near solving any of those problems in a way that is affordable for general aviation.
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Lithous 10:56AM (4/21/2007)
What is wrong with this guy? He should be waiting for Honda (or Toyota) to come out with this first). He could join the UCS in begging Honda to build one. Of course that is sarcasm. Good to see such things being attempted.
Isn't his more of a trike than a motorcycle? Very Mad Max.
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rgseidl 11:39AM (4/21/2007)
Here's an similar concept for a vehicle that can both fly and move on the ground, with room for two adults in an enclosed cabin.
The Carver One leaning trike is shipping but the gyrocopter variant from PAL-V is still vaporware. The latter company claims it will ship in 2009 but I'm a little sceptical their rear wheel setup will permit sufficient lean angles for high-speed cornering on the ground. The extra weight of the rotor blades and mount raise the center of gravity, making leaning all the more important for such a tall, narrow design.
As Howard rightly points out, vehicles that can both fly and drive on the ground are not appropriate for everyone. Liability insurance is much lower in the European market but getting and keeping a recreational pilot's license (even one restricted to gyrocopters) requires some dedication. I could see some commercial applications, though, e.g. for policing traffic and securing borders.
http://www.pal-v.com/
http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Home/Index.asp?nc=1
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