Video Purports To Show Successful Hover Bike Test Flights

Oh! Look! by rrohbeck · 2012-08-21 17:07 · Score: 1, Troll

A small hovercraft without a skirt!
Yawn. Ground effect only. That's not flying.

Re:Oh! Look! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 17:52 · Score: 5, Insightful

A small hovercraft without a skirt!
Yawn. Ground effect only. That's not flying.
And, so what? It's called a hover bike not a 'flying' bike.
A flying bike would require ridiculous thrust if it were made out of something more substantial than balsa wood. I doubt you'd want to ride something like that without an enclosed cockpit.
Re:Oh! Look! by wvmarle · 2012-08-21 18:00 · Score: 4, Interesting

The article claims they flew it at 15 ft, and that they think they can way higher like 10,000 ft: if true that's definitely not just ground effect, but unfortunately video doesn't even show the 15 ft trials, only hovering really close to the ground. I would expect them to show off their top tests too.
The think I'm mostly wondering about is stability. How do they do that? Hovercrafts are notorious for their instability, especially smaller craft. Flying them is a tough balancing act.
At least the videos look genuine to me, so it seems to be a real product. Oh well, time will tell how true it all is.
Re:Oh! Look! by Splab · 2012-08-21 18:03 · Score: 2

If it turned out to be only ground effect I'd still want one, looks fun!
Re:Oh! Look! by TubeSteak · 2012-08-21 18:48 · Score: 3, Interesting

In the 50s, the military paid for development of similar technology, but the power:weight ratio and range just wasn't there with 50s engine technology.
TFA mentions that they're staying under 15ft for safety reasons, not because it requires the ground effect to operate.
The idea for this basic design was thought up in the 40s and the only reason it was abandoned in the 50s/60s was because the military decided to put their money behind conventional helicopters.

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o0t!
Re:Oh! Look! by Grishnakh · 2012-08-21 19:01 · Score: 3, Informative

Wow, what an incredibly dumb comment. Look at the article title: "Hover Bike". Go look up the definition of "hover", as in "hovercraft". They don't need to fly above ground effect, that's the whole point of a hovercraft, is to stay close to the ground but hover enough that you can fly over rough (roadless) terrain and water.
Re:Oh! Look! by shaitand · 2012-08-21 20:24 · Score: 1

I'm reasonably impressed just by what I saw in the video. That level of directional control is impressive for a hovercraft. From what I've seen you normally wouldn't be able to keep one in your lane on the road which is one of the primary reasons you don't seem them used for consumer travel.
If it can get substantial height that is a real bonus but it is cool stuff either way.
Re:Oh! Look! by shaitand · 2012-08-21 20:27 · Score: 1

Unlike most hovercraft this looks like it has decent control. A normal hovercraft couldn't be kept from floating into oncoming traffic on the road. This looks like it could. Beyond rough terrain that has significant benefits in reducing wear on the road and eliminating tires and the hassles that come with them.
Re:Oh! Look! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 21:42 · Score: 1

It does seem to show a little wobble, so as a quick question what happens at if a huge sudden gust of wind (very common at altitude) capsizes you? Can you flip it back upright?
Also what happens if you crash, the fan casing fails and the the blades come towards you at full speed? Imagine that'll make the skin torn-off injuries coming off a motorbike look like a scratch.
Re:Oh! Look! by SteveAyre · 2012-08-21 21:45 · Score: 2

"but the power:weight ratio and range just wasn't there with 50s engine technology"
Yep, modern batteries should give the required energy storage capacity while electric motors give much better power/torque at very very low weight. Plus the lightweight materials to build the chassis which just didn't exist before the space race and have only improved since then.
In the 50s I imagine the batteries meant an electric motor was just impossible without tethering you to the mains, so it required a internal combustion engine which naturally means very heavy motor and very heavy fuel.
Re:Oh! Look! by somersault · 2012-08-21 22:03 · Score: 1

Where are you getting your figures for all of that?
The Tesla Roadster is based on the Lotus Elise chassis. The Elise has 217bhp and weighs 914kg, which is 241 bhp/ton. The Tesla Roadster has 248bhp and weighs 1283kg, so 196 bhp/ton. And guess which has a better range?
Personally I'd love an electric vehicle for commuting and short trips, but what you said doesn't really make sense.

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Re:Oh! Look! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 22:38 · Score: 2, Insightful

If there is a bit of wind: Free haircuts for pedestrians!
Re:Oh! Look! by Joce640k · 2012-08-21 23:10 · Score: 2

Get yourself an ordinary hovercraft, it'll be cheaper, easier, work much better and it's available now.
(Or maybe you enjoy the risk of a device with whirling blades underneath the pilot that will chop him into tiny pieces at the slightest mistake)

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Re:Oh! Look! by SternisheFan · 2012-08-21 23:12 · Score: 1

Keep that Star War'sy speeder-bike thingy away from my new car's paint job! I can see pebbles and dust flying around everywhere this thing goes. For stability's sake, throwing a couple of gyroscopes on wouldn't hurt either. As proof of concept, looks promising. I'd still wear a helmet, for now.
Re:Oh! Look! by Joce640k · 2012-08-21 23:18 · Score: 4, Insightful

Unlike most hovercraft this looks like it has decent control.
Huh? I watched the video twice and didn't see any impressive braking or steering. Or speed.
All I saw was a guy driving like he was constantly worried about falling into the whirling blades six inches under his feet.

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Re:Oh! Look! by avandesande · 2012-08-22 03:56 · Score: 1

There are careful aircraft engineers and there are dead ones. I wouldn't be surprised if the max height was done remotely with a tether.

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Re:Oh! Look! by wvmarle · 2012-08-22 04:19 · Score: 1

Article suggests it was done with a driver on board, though it's not mentioned explicitly. They claim they have not tried to push it to max. height and speed yet (for safety reasons indeed). Though a fall off such a thing at 5m high and going some 50 km/hr will hurt. A lot.
Re:Oh! Look! by flyingsquid · 2012-08-22 04:23 · Score: 3, Interesting

The think I'm mostly wondering about is stability. How do they do that? Hovercrafts are notorious for their instability, especially smaller craft. Flying them is a tough balancing act.

My impression is that it doesn't have good stability. Stability refers to the tendency of an aircraft to correct deviations in its flight path. An aircraft has inherent stability in three axes- pitch, yaw, and roll. Pitch refers to the nose pitching up and down, yaw refers to the nose yawing left and right, and roll is rolling about the long axis. So if a gust of wind rolls one wing up, the plane will automatically compensate and level out-without any action on the part of the pilot. This machine seems to perhaps have decent pitch and yaw stability, but roll stability seems to be pretty minimal. You can watch the machine slowly rolling in the movie; it's presumably the result of having a high center of gravity, like a man standing in a canoe.
As far as I can tell, the machine isn't actually stable, instead the pilot continually makes small adjustments to keep the machine flying level. According to the article, "Aerofex's new proof-of-concept craft keeps itself stable by responding to a human rider's natural sense of balance" and "The company has apparently rectified the issue with the addition of knee-level "control bars" on either side of the vehicle that make the vehicle more responsive to the pilot's movements." So from the video and the article it would seem that they haven't made the machine stable, they've made it controllable, and given the pilot the ability to continually make small adjustments to keep it level. If he gets distracted, of course...
Re:Oh! Look! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 04:39 · Score: 0

I will just wait for the Dyson bladeless version to come out.
Re:Oh! Look! by wvmarle · 2012-08-22 04:40 · Score: 1

It's claimed to be as easy as riding a bike. When cycling I never pay attention to keeping balance, my body does that automatically. The suggestion is that this machine works much the same.
Re:Oh! Look! by rpresser · 2012-08-22 04:55 · Score: 1

Indeed. A bicycle is never stable either (unless it's lying down).
Re:Oh! Look! by LifesABeach · 2012-08-22 05:15 · Score: 1

It's a shame the cameras didn't catch that test. Maybe next time?
Re:Oh! Look! by LifesABeach · 2012-08-22 05:17 · Score: 1

Now that is worth considering! I hope Moller reads /.
Re:Oh! Look! by ceoyoyo · 2012-08-22 05:33 · Score: 2

Just think how much more efficient it would be with a skirt. Could probably get high enough off the ground to go somewhere other than the desert too.
Re:Oh! Look! by Crudely_Indecent · 2012-08-22 06:34 · Score: 1

Newsflash, the Dyson Air Multiplier has blades.... they're hidden in the base.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/home/dyson-bladeless-fan1.htm

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Re:Oh! Look! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 06:43 · Score: 1

The article claims they flew it at 15 ft, and that they think they can way higher like 10,000 ft
I'd like to see the calculations they used to arrive at this figure. There's a 25% engine power loss when operating at that altitude. Considering there's also propeller efficiency losses due to lower air density, I highly doubt they have the power to do so.
From the website:
Airspeed Vne - 150 KIAS (untested)
Hover (out of ground effect) - >10,000ft (estimated)
Dry weight - 110kg
Max gross weight - 270kg
Total thrust - 295kg
I don't think anyone in Denver will be using this craft. That said, riding this looks like tons of fun even if it is only in/near the ground effect.
Re:Oh! Look! by PaladinAlpha · 2012-08-22 21:02 · Score: 1

A bicycle is not flying.
With a bike, you control balance directly -- i.e. leaning and whatnot actually dominates the force on the bike, allowing you to control it with the same reflexes that allow you to stand up and run away from tigers.
What they have with this thing is controls. You're once removed from the action -- your reflexes create inputs that the device acts on. It's a second-order effect, and that means it is much, much more difficult to do without concentration.
Re:Oh! Look! by GameboyRMH · 2012-08-22 22:17 · Score: 1

If it really used ionic thrust as it claimed it would be an extremely dangerous device worthy of high voltage signs and a tall fence.

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Re:Oh! Look! by GameboyRMH · 2012-08-22 22:20 · Score: 1

There was an Aussie or Kiwi guy working on something similar that had a better layout - it was like a motorcycle with the ducted fans at seat level. This should be more stable than standing completely above the fans.

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I will decide if this is real... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 17:07 · Score: 0

When I get to ride one!

I'll be impressed after 5 mins of stable flight by DeTech · 2012-08-21 17:12 · Score: 1, Insightful

This thing looks marginally stable on flat ground in ideal conditions for 5 seconds... I've had more successful "flight" tests falling out of bed in the AM.

Also, please buy a camera. Or a phone... On second thought how did they even TAKE a video this bad.

Re:I'll be impressed after 5 mins of stable flight by Joce640k · 2012-08-21 23:21 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'm just glad the video had no sound. I don't think my eardrums could have taken it.

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Re:I'll be impressed after 5 mins of stable flight by budgenator · 2012-08-22 03:48 · Score: 1

First the guys are Engineers, basically math geeks so there cinematography skills isn't so hot. Stability seems pretty good for a proof-of-concept even with an engineer in the driver's seat, I've seen Apache pilots flying a lot more squirrely with the stick of a Kiowa in their hands instead. Strap that thing to the ass of a real rotary wing pilot or even a hardcore motorcycle freak and you'll see a big difference, hell just dropping the center of gravity below the pilots pelvis and the ducted fans above it would help a lot.

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Re:I'll be impressed after 5 mins of stable flight by DeTech · 2012-08-22 09:04 · Score: 1

Yeah, Drop the CG on the thing and it'll be more stable, also a ultralight helo... as-is, yeah right, when's that last time you've seem a rotary wing fly upside down using a manual control system. Not a proof of concept.
It's pretty obvious that this "thing" doesn't work and they're just looking to stir up a round of suckers, I mean investors. This is almost as bad as the aussi guy who built one and chained it to the ground at 3 points to keep it from flipping.

In other news... by Meshach · 2012-08-21 17:16 · Score: 0

Slashdot falls for another obvious fake article.

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Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 17:58 · Score: 1

Slashdot falls for another obvious fake article.
If it's a fake, it's pretty conservative.
I'd think a faker would want to demonstrate flying 20+ feet above the ground and zooming around a bit more, not hovering ~1.5 feet above the ground and slowly maneuvering.
Why would they bother faking something not much different from an average hovercraft?
Re:In other news... by TubeSteak · 2012-08-21 18:49 · Score: 4, Informative

They sure went to a lot of trouble for a fake product.
Registering their website in 1997, going to conferences in 2012.
That's the kind of trolling that takes planning and dedication
Future Vertical Lift Aircraft Design Conference 2012 (PDF)
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Thrust Augmentation & Control of Ducted-Fan VTOL Air-Vehicles -- Mark De Roche, Aerofex Corporation

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[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 18:57 · Score: 0

Slashdot falls for another obvious fake article.
Your hovercraft is full of ills!
Re:In other news... by ceoyoyo · 2012-08-22 05:37 · Score: 1

They claim they can fly as high as they want. You'd think they'd support that claim with the video.
Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 13:11 · Score: 0

And here is the actual paper Mark DeRoche presented at that conference:
https://vtol.org/store/product/thrust-augmentation-and-control-of-a-ductedfan-vtol-airvehicle-6032.cfm.

The Important Question by Intoblivion · 2012-08-21 17:16 · Score: 2

Is it allowed through the drive-thru?

Re:The Important Question by rvw · 2012-08-22 00:56 · Score: 2

Is it allowed through the drive-thru?
Only when the girl at the counter needs a hairdo.
Re:The Important Question by TemporalBeing · 2012-08-23 05:03 · Score: 1

Is it allowed through the drive-thru?
It wouldn't registered as drive-thru have weight sensors to tell the person when a car approaches. I've tried going through on rollerblades, but it wouldn't trigger the weight requirement. (Didn't want to go inside of out safety concerns.)

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Somewhat disappointed by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2012-08-21 17:16 · Score: 2

When I saw the term "hover bike", I thought they were talking about something human powered.

Still, I wouldn't mind getting to ride on it...

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Re:Somewhat disappointed by subreality · 2012-08-21 21:10 · Score: 2

Human powered has been done, sort of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland_Gamera_II_Human_Powered_Helicopter
It only flies in ground effect, but they've gotten it in the air for nearly a minute (with someone in much better shape than me pedaling like mad).
Re:Somewhat disappointed by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2012-08-22 06:12 · Score: 1

Human-powered ground effect flight is STILL pretty darn cool.

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Does not look too stable by gweihir · 2012-08-21 17:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

My impression is that the driver is under high stress and may have trouble to control this thing. May not be nearly as stable as the video tries to imply.

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Make it extreme! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 17:19 · Score: 0

When is it going to do a back flip?

WASP X-Jet by Penurious+Penguin · 2012-08-21 17:28 · Score: 5, Interesting

And somehow, for some reason of time rather garbled and strange, this seems so boring in comparison to this wonderful antique: Williams WASP X-Jet

I'm not saying I don't want one, but if given the choice....

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Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012

Re:WASP X-Jet by ozmanjusri · 2012-08-21 17:54 · Score: 1

Pretty, but real men prefer the meg-1x .

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Re:WASP X-Jet by AHuxley · 2012-08-21 17:57 · Score: 1

Young people dont like to be reminded of what they have rediscovered :)

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Re:WASP X-Jet by Penurious+Penguin · 2012-08-21 18:16 · Score: 3, Funny

Who needs real men? I'd wear high-heels, lipstick and a dress any day for a ride in an X-Jet. Hell, I'd even shave my legs and sing the Lumberjack song if I had to.

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Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
Re:WASP X-Jet by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 01:43 · Score: 1

Expensive (military jet engine based, bonus points, useful tech for developing cruise missiles) with low endurance, low capacity and no safety in the event of engine problems.
Can't see why it wasn't a bigger success really.
Re:WASP X-Jet by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 03:49 · Score: 0

Looks like they rediscovered the Piasecki Air Jeep to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SERvwWALOM
Re:WASP X-Jet by wierd_w · 2012-08-22 05:56 · Score: 1

I see this, and immediately think about all the fun pranks you could do dressing it up as a dalek, and zooming around london.
Re:WASP X-Jet by Penurious+Penguin · 2012-08-22 06:11 · Score: 1

Sounds like fun, but as far as I know, it's only water-resistant.

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Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012

I am waiting for my Matel Hover Board by zaphod777 · 2012-08-21 17:35 · Score: 1

Until I can have the board from Back to the Future ::YAWN::

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magnets by ThorGod · 2012-08-21 17:46 · Score: 1

why don't we just line our streets and cars with (electro) magnets?

(What? Afraid of the poles reversing?)

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Re:magnets by ThatsMyNick · 2012-08-21 17:53 · Score: 1

That would be way more expensive than each person owning one of these.

Re:magnets [on auto wheels?] by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 18:00 · Score: 0

Ok, don't smash me to smithereens, but with four spinning wheels, couldn't a little electricity be extracted from automobile wheels with four electric motors? It shouldn't create much friction, and the added weight could be compensated for by downsizing, maybe.. maybe? I know close to nothing about mechanics or electrical theory.

Rank Amateurs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 18:23 · Score: 0

The design is missing so many known technologies it's laughable.

They are either complete amateurs or they are afraid of patents and therefore trying to create this with the minimum use of existing technology.

It's entirely feasible to build a machine using fans which will self hover and maintain it's position at a given height without any operator input, you just need to utilitise the right tech to do it.

And why did they put the center of gravity so high up ? Why not move the operator seat lower down - would make it far easier to balance.

Re:Rank Amateurs by 91degrees · 2012-08-21 19:12 · Score: 2

And why did they put the center of gravity so high up ? Why not move the operator seat lower down - would make it far easier to balance.
Steering? I know from one-man hovercraft that the rudder is mostly useless, and you steer by leaning. You need a Cog to be high enough to do this.
Re:Rank Amateurs by Gordonjcp · 2012-08-21 23:51 · Score: 1

Let's see yours, then.
Re:Rank Amateurs by Fallingwater · 2012-08-22 00:12 · Score: 1

I wish I could throw money at a project like this so I could show you mine. :P
If I could, though, I suppose it'd be a scaled-up quadrotor (possibly turbine-powered) with a pilot under it. It seems just more sensible than this two-rotor thing that seems to want to kill its pilot at the slightest provocation.
Also, the fact that it flies without electronics is not a good thing. Multirotor setups, especially those with a high center of gravity, benefit immensely from computer-controlled stability.
Re:Rank Amateurs by Amouth · 2012-08-22 01:45 · Score: 1

Also, the fact that it flies without electronics is not a good thing. Multirotor setups, especially those with a high center of gravity, benefit immensely from computer-controlled stability.
No true, remember the KISS principal. Given that their intended use is in outback and 3rd world places where replacement electronics are likely to be unavailable but a welder is, the more simplistic and basic mechanical they can make it the more durable, usable, and practical it is for their intended use.

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Re:Rank Amateurs by FishTankX · 2012-08-22 02:48 · Score: 1

The only multi rotor setup I followed was the Gen H4 helicopter
http://www.youtube.com/user/genh4?feature=results_main
It seems to do pretty well, seems easy to control, can fly with the loss of 1 engine and do emergency landing after loosing 2. It's available now in a kit for like $40k. Not too bad. I think it qualifies as an ultralight.
Re:Rank Amateurs by budgenator · 2012-08-22 04:38 · Score: 1

Not sure where I read it, following links in the article, that now they have proved the concept and shown basic useable stability w/o electronics, that the next step is to develop a computerized stability assistance of some sort. There are many improvements that would improve the stability to the machine even without electronics; one of the problems with relying too much on electronics for stability is how screwed you'd be when they fail.

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don't be fooled by tbonefrog · 2012-08-21 18:24 · Score: 5, Funny

The terrain looks suspiciously like the surface of Mars. Don't be a sucker. This could not work in Earth gravity.

Air ballast by JimboFBX · 2012-08-21 18:27 · Score: 1

So nobody's invented a ballast tank that works by creating a vacuum yet? No lightweight material that can maintain shape at 14 psi?

To me a helicopter/hot air ballon/motorcycle hybrid seems feasible.

Re:Air ballast by Viol8 · 2012-08-21 20:32 · Score: 1

"So nobody's invented a ballast tank that works by creating a vacuum yet?"
The difference in lift between between a tank filled with hydrogen and one with a vacuum will be negligable because H2 is such a light gas already so its not worth the bother.
"No lightweight material that can maintain shape at 14 psi?"
Not light enough to use in an airship.
Re:Air ballast by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 22:03 · Score: 1

It just doesn't work like that. Small tanks lose because of square-cube; for positive-pressure, the solution is just make it bigger, but for negative-pressure, big tanks have to be thick, else they fail by buckling.
What's wrong with hydrogen? Do you think you can build internal bracing lighter than it?
Re:Air ballast by SWPadnos · 2012-08-22 06:35 · Score: 1

Gases occupy 22.4 liters of volume per mole of material at STP (standard temperature and pressure, which is 300 K, 1 atmosphere pressure). One mole of material weighs as many grams as the sum of the atomic numbers of the atoms in each molecule. Air is mostly Nitrogen, which is atomic number 7 and has an atomic weight of ~14. Since Nitrogen gas has two atoms per molecule, one mole (22.4 liters) of nitrogen weighs about 28 grams.
So if you take a 1000 liter (257 gallon) tank, and get it down to perfect vacuum inside, you will offset about 1250 grams of mass. (28 g/mol * 0.0446 mol/liter * 1000 liters)
There isn't much point in using vacuum as a "flotation ballast".

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- The Sigless Wonder
Re:Air ballast by JimboFBX · 2012-08-22 12:09 · Score: 1

Yes there is, because you could create it on demand rather than carrying the gases with you all the time.

What everyone is missing by Grayhand · 2012-08-21 18:46 · Score: 2

All the articles I've seen they boast of this mechanical system for balancing the craft. The guy looks terrified to move even slightly. This type of VTOL craft is inherently unstable. There's a good reason he never guns it, the craft would flip. I'm sure it's perfectly capable of reaching a 100 to 200 feet or more but not safely. The LEM for the Moon landing was very similar but there was more finger crossing than technology involved in the first Moon landing. It's a cool idea but any moderately safe system would have to involve computers for balance correction rather then a mechanical linked system. They can become unstable in less than a second. Hearing it was mechanical in nature made me call bullshit before I even saw the video. After seeing it I'm still convinced that there's no passive way to make them safe. Even the Moeller Skycar with all it's computer assistance never got more than 15 feet off the ground. The Harrier jet was one of the few successful VTOL crafts that ever was ever widely accepted.

Re:What everyone is missing by slacka · 2012-08-21 19:29 · Score: 1

They are working on a very similar concept in Australia.
http://www.hover-bike.com/index.html
I love the concept, but I agree. the stability problem needs to to be fixed with computers and gyros, not human balance. And when someone does finally nail it, it's going to be one hell of a toy!
Re:What everyone is missing by UncleTogie · 2012-08-21 19:54 · Score: 2

Hearing it was mechanical in nature made me call bullshit before I even saw the video.
A gyroscope flywheel is mechanical, yet would serve such a purpose. Mechanical gyros are used in spacecraft and aircraft.
http://www.pilotfriend.com/training/flight_training/fxd_wing/gyro.htm

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Re:What everyone is missing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 20:16 · Score: 1

"The LEM for the Moon landing was very similar but there was more finger crossing than technology involved in the first Moon landing. It's a cool idea but any moderately safe system would have to involve computers for balance correction"
Actually the LEM used an analog computer for stabilisation.
Re:What everyone is missing by drinkypoo · 2012-08-22 00:05 · Score: 1

Flywheel by definition adds weight, and either makes the vehicle difficult to turn or increases cost and complexity significantly. What is needed is a stationkeeping electronic control system. People trying to eliminate such are kidding only themselves. Only a goddamn ninja airman can fly an inherently non-aerodynamic aircraft which requires manual control.

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Re:What everyone is missing by avandesande · 2012-08-22 04:00 · Score: 1

Not sure what you are expecting the to see- the wright brother's plane didn't seem very practical either.

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love is just extroverted narcissism
Re:What everyone is missing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 04:03 · Score: 0

Have you ever watched a pilot holding a helicopter in hover? That is a very non-aerodynamic, unstable aircraft with full manual control.
A flywheel doesn't have to be a wheel. It can be two weights on the ends of rods (AKA a 'flybar'). Look at a typical Huey rotor - it uses just such a system. Essentially, the rotor and flybar are linked together in such a way that any difference between the planes of rotation of the rotor and flybar cause the pitch of the rotor blades to change in a way that returns the rotor to the plane of the flybar. Neither complex nor particularly heavy. Even if this doesn't make a helicopter perfectly stable, it increases the natural frequency of the instability to something that can be controlled by a person.
A bicycle is not a stable machine, but the gyroscopic action of the front wheel combined with the steering geometry causes an uncontrolled moving bicycle to fall more slowly than a stationary bike. The response is slow enough that it can be easily controlled by a normal person with just a little practice.
Walking on a ball is not stable. Walking on a small, light ball is very difficult. Walking on a large, heavy ball is not so difficult, since you have a bit more time to react.
A machine such as a hoverbike doesn't have to be stable, any more than a motorcycle has to be stable. The instability just has to have a natural period long enough to allow a person to react. With a little practice, just like riding a bike, the reaction becomes muscle memory.
Re:What everyone is missing by drinkypoo · 2012-08-22 04:40 · Score: 1

Have you ever watched a pilot holding a helicopter in hover? That is a very non-aerodynamic, unstable aircraft with full manual control.
The inertia of the rotor gives it some inherent stability, and the move in helis is towards computer control, with the latest military models having the ability to hover in place if you let go of the stick as the front-mounted cannon tracks your view through the IR camera on the visor HUD.

A machine such as a hoverbike doesn't have to be stable, any more than a motorcycle has to be stable. The instability just has to have a natural period long enough to allow a person to react.
You would basically have the asshole-clenching experience of making a high-speed fly-by in a helicopter at very low altitude at all times except when you were trying to avoid one of the many obstacles near ground level that you're going to be encountering very quickly. More power to anyone who is willing to risk smearing themselves across the landscape trying, but it's not really likely to be very useful without a computer in the mix.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:What everyone is missing by budgenator · 2012-08-22 05:03 · Score: 1

Mechanical gyro have pretty much been replaced by ring laser gyro in everything except general aviation, you also need accelerometers to do anything useful with the pilots seat out of the feedback loop.

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Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Re:What everyone is missing by budgenator · 2012-08-22 05:11 · Score: 1

Not as hard or as heavy as you'd imagine.

--
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Re:What everyone is missing by johnkzin · 2012-08-22 18:22 · Score: 1

If you put the fans ABOVE the center of gravity, such that the center of lift is above the center of gravity, then: a) it will look even more "bike" like, and b) you wont need to worry about negative stability.

Mars? No. Nevada? Yes. by Okian+Warrior · 2012-08-21 18:58 · Score: 4, Informative

This looks suspiciously like the Black Rock desert in Nevada. About a hundred miles North and a little East of Reno, near the town of Gerlach.

The place is the largest section of "flat" in the US. It's the remains of a prehistoric lake (Lahontan) that has dried up, leaving behind a perfectly flat dried mud surface.

It's where the land-speed records are set. It's where amateur rockets are launched. It's where Burning Man is held.

Re:Mars? No. Nevada? Yes. by Dog-Cow · 2012-08-22 01:49 · Score: 1

Woooooooooooooosh!
(And that's not the sound of the turbine!)

Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 19:14 · Score: 0

boringly old tech, see Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep for one that was real.

I WOULD STILL RATHER HAVE ONE OF THESE by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-21 19:47 · Score: 0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOVh-vlUius

too bad it never made it out of the 80s

man is not needed by Max_W · 2012-08-21 19:57 · Score: 2

A quadrocopter can fly without a man on top, be telecommand. In this case it will be light and safe to fly in a city.

The problem is the battery. What is needed is the miniature silent gas turbine, so that it can fly not 10 minutes, but 2 hours.

Re:man is not needed by wonkey_monkey · 2012-08-21 23:08 · Score: 1

A quadrocopter can fly without a man on top
What if the point of this product is, as it appears to be, to provide transport for a man?

--
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Re:man is not needed by Max_W · 2012-08-22 01:18 · Score: 1

It is quite possible to transport urgent mail inside a city or shoot aerial videos with a light unmanned automatic quadrocopter. The problem is the battery, or the lack of a silent micro turbine.

I do not see a point of putting a man in such a dangerous environment if it can be done by a robot.
Re:man is not needed by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 05:13 · Score: 0

You moron! The whole idea behind this invention and others like it is to develop something that will allow transporting a HUMAN from point A to point B - not to shoot videos or to transport other objects.

No audio? by fustakrakich · 2012-08-21 21:24 · Score: 1

Probably for obvious reasons. Flying machines, especially the hovering kind aren't known for being very quiet. And little to keep you from falling into the props. Mmmm, minced meat. Fire up the Weber.

--
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”

Re:No audio? by Gordonjcp · 2012-08-21 23:56 · Score: 1

And little to keep you from falling into the props.
Because of course although the designers can figure out how to make a hover bike, they haven't heard of wire mesh yet...

power fail? by rsmith · 2012-08-21 21:24 · Score: 2

The problem with all these powered lift gizmos (like the Williams X-jet and the Hiller VZ-1) is that you tend to fall out ouf the sky when your engine fails... The Hiller VZ-1 which is also a ducted fan used *two* 30 kW engines, but barely flew out of the ground effect and was limited in speed. More powerful versions had other control problems.

--
Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

Re:power fail? by _bug_ · 2012-08-22 01:45 · Score: 1

Helicopters have the same problem of falling out of the sky if the engine fails. That has not stopped them from becoming quite popular.
Re:power fail? by Amouth · 2012-08-22 01:46 · Score: 1

well the fan vs the jet, the fan version at least has the option of auto-rotating like a helicopter. not sure how well that works for ducted fans.

--
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
Re:power fail? by NoisySplatter · 2012-08-22 02:29 · Score: 2

For autorotation you need long blades, negative pitch and enough altitude to work with. I cant see a ducted fan having much autorotation capability. They would lack the surface area and momentum necesary.

--
In Soviet Russia meme tires of you!
Re:power fail? by ArsonSmith · 2012-08-22 03:42 · Score: 2

before I had heard about it i thought the same thing, but auto rotation landings are part of most military advanced pilot training where they cut the engine and have to land a helicopter.

--
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Re:power fail? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 07:55 · Score: 0

Too bad no one has invented something to slow down a free fall descent that can be compactly stored and deployed automatically or on demand.
Re:power fail? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 18:20 · Score: 0

They invented this thing called a "parachute", you use it to slow yourself when you're falling.
Then, some industrious person invented a parachute for vehicles, like airplanes.
Imagine this: motor(s) fail. You pull a cord. There's a bang and crunch sound, as, simultaneously, a shotgun blank explosively deploys a chute ... and a powerful brake halts the fan(s) (so that they don't suck the 'chute back into the blades).
No more falling out of the sky.

Re:magnets [on auto wheels?] by riT-k0MA · 2012-08-21 22:55 · Score: 1

Something like that is actually used in hybrid vehicles to regenerate the battery. it's called Regenerative Braking. Using it like you suggest would be like driving with the handbrake on. Also remember that recapturing energy like this is very inefficient, therefore you are better off generating electricity directly from the engine.

Harrier, one of the few successful VTOL crafts??? by Viol8 · 2012-08-21 23:14 · Score: 2

You seem to have forgotten about helicopters. What the hell do you think they are??

Bike? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 00:48 · Score: 0

Bike is short for bicycle. The root of the name is two wheels. In slang I can understand motorcycle being called a bike, but how does this turbine powered air boat even come close to being a "bike"? Because you straddle the saddle, like a horce/white water canoe and several other things?

Kitchenaid by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 00:59 · Score: 0

Just hop onto your Kitchenaid "hover bike" hit puree and your off!

I'm gonna pass on this one. Thanks anyway.

Landspeeder - BEST HOPE by notpaul · 2012-08-22 01:36 · Score: 1

*sigh*

I get tired of pointing these guys out ... but if you do your homework you will realize they are the real deal ... and they are not rushing anything just to get some cheap PR. Eventually, I am confident they will succeed:

http://www.urbanaero.com

--
See you space cowboy ...

Looks a little fake by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 03:19 · Score: 0

Video is mostly wide angel/fisheye so it's hard to say if it's moving in a straight line or actually connected to a rotating arm (see old behind the scenes clips from Star Wars and how they shot some of the landspeeder shots - oh the irony if this is just more of the same). Not a single distance shot showing it actually moving on it's own power.

The flip side by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 04:24 · Score: 0

I couldn't see on the video but I hope the fans are covered by some sort of grill. I can just imagine this thing flipping over and landing on top of the rider. Then, of course there's the passing pigeon, bunny or Chihuahua. Bzzzt.

Sweet!!! My own Manta is almost possible... by Immerial · 2012-08-22 05:23 · Score: 1

Now all they have to do is turn the fans sideways and they'll have a Manta from Unreal Tournament 2004 :)

Malloy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-22 05:51 · Score: 0

This is WAY cooler: http://hover-bike.com/ :-D

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Video Purports To Show Successful Hover Bike Test Flights

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