It’s a bird, it’s a plane.. it’s a flying car! Actually, this looks more like a manned drone than anything else, but it’s ridiculously cool and we’re so excited to see it in action! Last year, we got a glimpse of the company’s first prototype, but today we’re allowed to admire the real thing.
The Kitty Hawk Flyer is an ultralight aircraft, designed to be easy to fly by anyone and deliver the thrills of a lifetime. The vehicle maintains an altitude of 3 meters/10 feet and can reach a decent speed of 20 mph, which should be more than enough to put a smile on our faces.
The startup, backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, has designed the flyer with all electric motors powered by lithium polymer batteries. Made of a highly durable composite material, the personal flyer has ended up being lightweight, aerodynamic, and waterproof. But it’s worth mentioning that pilots will only get to experience 20 minutes of flight time at once.
A world without traffic and wasted hours and hours to get to work or home – that’s the goal. We still haven’t reached that ‘Jetsons’ level of technology but innovators still believe we are not far behind, The Kitty Hawk might remind some of you of drones, but this impressive flyer will be able to accommodate one passenger in a central pod flanked by 10 propellers. Your move DJI!
As long as you’re flying over water or un-congested areas, no pilot license is required. There is no price tag to discuss yet, but that subject will come up pretty soon, since Kitty Hawk plans to establish fleets of Flyers around the world. Would you like to pilot one?
