Hoverbike drone: a 1/3 scale quad copter of a human ridable hoverbike

I don't know how they can have a twin design and be able to maneuver properly for pitch, roll, and yaw.
 
So I can sell both my car, my camera drone, and save on pizza delivery tips with this. Or do I need to tip the drone if the drone delivers the pizza?
 
Screw cameras! I want a full scale one!

I always thought the next step for me from motorbikes would be flying - and this looks like just the way to start :)
 
looks pretty cool. i don't think its a good idea though to show the thing hovering past your house window delivering things to your door and whatever other creepy things people will conjure up. yeah, I'm sure we all want to see drones flying around our bedroom windows while were walking around in our underwear or less. i mean the general public is pretty anti-drone right now.

am i missing something? is there going to be some sort of shield for the propellers?

wish them luck.

david
 
david_p said:
am i missing something? is there going to be some sort of shield for the propellers?
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There's quite a lot of detail missing, especially if they try to scale up to something big enough to carry a person. What sort of power source? If electric, what size and capacity of battery? What then will flight endurance be? And so on.....
 
I think they are smoking something. Just using some rough numbers. It takes about 1HP to hover 10lbs. So 150 lb person plus frame, motors, batteries is at least 200 lbs. So that requires 20hp worth of electric motors. That's about 14,000 watts. A 100 amp hour battery weighs 60lbs. So 10 of those batteries (600 lbs) would keep the craft in the air for less than an hour (but of course, it weighs too much). Let's cut that by 90%. So 60 lbs worth of batteries would keep it in the air for about 5 minutes. But then it is still over 200 lbs.
 
Paul F said:
I think they are smoking something. Just using some rough numbers. It takes about 1HP to hover 10lbs. So 150 lb person plus frame, motors, batteries is at least 200 lbs. So that requires 20hp worth of electric motors. That's about 14,000 watts. A 100 amp hour battery weighs 60lbs. So 10 of those batteries (600 lbs) would keep the craft in the air for less than an hour (but of course, it weighs too much). Let's cut that by 90%. So 60 lbs worth of batteries would keep it in the air for about 5 minutes. But then it is still over 200 lbs.
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Your weights do not apply if we are talking about Lithium battery technology. Those weights above are for dino batteries. I think that an IC engine would be more practical for a hoverbike of the size they are talking.
 
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Paul F said:
I think they are smoking something. Just using some rough numbers. It takes about 1HP to hover 10lbs. So 150 lb person plus frame, motors, batteries is at least 200 lbs. So that requires 20hp worth of electric motors. That's about 14,000 watts. A 100 amp hour battery weighs 60lbs. So 10 of those batteries (600 lbs) would keep the craft in the air for less than an hour (but of course, it weighs too much). Let's cut that by 90%. So 60 lbs worth of batteries would keep it in the air for about 5 minutes. But then it is still over 200 lbs.
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Yeah, but you forgot that Lockheed is on it's way to develop fusion power…..a Fusion powered drone is the only way to go!
 
R Hudson said:
I think that an IC engine would be more practical for a hoverbike of the size they are talking.
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That was my thought when I raised the battery question - but an IC engine brings a whole different set of problems, not least being noise and pollution control. (An unsilenced aero engine at 2,000ft is one thing, near ground level something else.)

It's obviously possible to build a flying machine - the Wright brothers proved that a long time ago - and likewise a quadcopter in principle. I'd just like to see a bit more detail about what they are thinking for technology in the video.

If you accept Paul F's figures for power needed (14kW), and if we assume even 10 minutes duration, that means battery capacity of about 3 KWh to allow a safety margin. My guess that would be about 40kg at least (even with Lithium) and around £2-3,000? For a 10 minute flight......
 
If this were real, then this 1/3 scale craft would handle 50 lbs or so. This thing wouldn't budge if you put 50 lbs on it. Their specifications say the payload is 1.5kilos. So it isn't really a 1/3 scale craft. Maybe it is 1/3 the size they imagine their full scale unit will be. But they are nowhere close to making a manned unit. A glass of orange juice is a long way away from a human.
 
Here's what looks to be more realistic, but still not real. 310 lb payload using a rotary engine. Hovers 12'. Weighs 785 lbs. Hovers for 1.25 hours. 45 mph. $85,000. Estimated production - 2017. Only legal on private land or public lands where unlicensed vehicles are allowed (off road vehicles).

http://aerofex.com/theaerox/
 
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