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US Military Wants Flying Hoverbike for the Battlefield

posted by janrinok on Wednesday July 15 2015, @03:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the speeder-bikes-are-real dept.

CoolHand writes:

Visordown.com reports that the US Military is working with British engineering company Malloy Aeronautics to develop a flying hoverbike to transport soldiers quickly across a battlefield.

A hoverbike powered by a BMW R1200R engine could one day be soaring over the battlefields of the future.

Working alongside a US military research and development firm, the hoverbike could form a new class of tactical reconnaisance vehicle that has more than a touch of the speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi about it.

But this isn't technology from 'a galaxy far, far away' - the Hoverbike can already be seen flying (albeit tethered to ropes).

Malloy Aeronautics said: 'We combined the simplicity of a motorbike and the freedom of a helicopter to create the world's first flying motorcycle. When compared with a helicopter, the Hoverbike is cheaper, more rugged and easier to use – and represents a whole new way to fly.

Related links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/hoverbike-is-like-a-flying-motorcycle-2014-8?op=1
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/22/us-military-hoverbike/

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @03:54AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @03:54AM (#209204)

    We all want a hoverbike, hoverboard, flying car, personal spaceship.

    Looks great, but scary.

    Is the ground effect involved?

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @05:05AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @05:05AM (#209218)

    I don't think quadcopters (which this thing basically is) can autorotate (how helicopters land vs. crash on engine out). So, yeah scary.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @05:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2015, @05:41PM (#209473)

    Ground effect is probably the majority of what's keeping it up at this point. I think the general rule is something like, altitude = to wingspan or rotor diameter. After that point it decreases and the vehicle starts pushing its own weight proper.

    Now the speeder bike idea is 'cool', but is it really in any way better or more practical than ancient tech that's already been evaluated and abandoned? The WASP was a fully flyable prototype back in the 70's, and it looked like something my grandma could drive with a day's training.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXNNc_HFodI [youtube.com]

    Hoverbikes seem about as controllable as a traditional hovercraft, which is ok for open areas but not great, and probably gets worse the farther you are off the ground. Turn too hard/flip it and you're toast, along with anyone else in the area.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHGlel4CHJI [youtube.com]