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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday January 09 2018, @12:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the flying-spiders dept.

Humans Can Fly in This Drone-Like Electric Hybrid 'Octocopter'

The company that partnered with UPS to create a package-delivering drone is ready to fly its new passenger aerial vehicle.

The SureFly, a two-seater electric hybrid helicopter (or "octocopter," because of its eight propellers), has received approval from the FAA to take a test flight at CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 8.

Designed by Ohio-based commercial transportation solutions company Workhorse Group, the SureFly is designed to be safer, easier to fly and more affordable than a typical chopper. SureFly pilots can drive the aircraft in a similar manner to a drone -- via joystick instead of steering wheel -- and carry up to 400 pounds for up to 70 miles at a time. The aircraft is also compact: It's smaller than a pickup truck, plus its arms and propellers fold to simplify transportation and storage.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @09:57PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @09:57PM (#620234)

    Prototypes tend to be expensive.