Hoverbike Kickstarter Wants to Make Flying Motorcycles a Reality

On Tuesday, UK-based Malloy Aeronautics launched its Kickstarter campaign for the scaled model of its flying motorcycle, the Hoverbike.

Combining the “simplicity of a motorbike and the freedom of a helicopter,” the Hoverbike is essentially a quadcopter that looks sort of like one of the lightcycles from Tron or the speederbikes from Star Wars.

The team, lead by Chris Malloy, first introduced the concept back in 2011.

According to the Kickstarter page, the company is in the final stages of developing a full-sized prototype and will begin test flights in just a few months.

To raise funds to further the development of the  full-sized, driveable Hoverbike, the team has taken to Kickstarter to sell the 1/3 scale Hoverbike drone… a drone they originally built as a proof of concept.

In actuality, the drone is a fully functional UAS capable of carrying payloads weighing up to 10 pounds. So the company has decided to share it.

And it’s not like they are hocking a useless toy; the Hoverbike’s Kickstarter video shows the drone serving a glass of juice (without spilling), dousing and putting out a fire with water and a parachuting teddy bear.

Ok, one of those functions might not have any practical use but still, a lot can be accomplished with what is essentially a model. There is no doubt someone will get their hands on this drone and use it for something amazing the creators never imagined

The scaled model, which carries a starting price of around $1,200, can be programmed to conduct autonomous flights and is capable of up to 20 minutes of flight time.

The team projects they can begin shipping the drone before the end of the year.

Check out the Hoverbike in action below. You can back the project and find out more,  including specifications and the various donation packages, on the Kickstarter page.