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Hybrid Octocopter at CES

Accepted submission by takyon at 2018-01-07 19:08:05
Hardware

Humans Can Fly in This Drone-Like Electric Hybrid 'Octocopter' [entrepreneur.com]

The company that partnered with UPS to create a package-delivering drone [youtube.com] 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 [workhorse.com] 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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