back to article Real, hovering SPEEDER BIKE can be YOURS for cheaper than a house

If you've ever wanted to ride a hovering motorbike like the ones featured in Return of the Jedi, you'll soon be able to get one step closer to your dream – provided you have the spare coin lying around. A California company called Aerofex has come up with the Aero-X, a two-passenger vehicle that's something like a hovercraft …

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  1. stucs201

    Don't have 85k

    Though I'm hopefull that the hovering skateboard that is due by next year will be somewhat cheaper. It better be, been waiting almost 30 years for it.

    1. Brenda McViking

      Re: Don't have 85k

      What, this one?

      Huvr board

      1. Schultz
        Thumb Up

        Huvr board

        Retails online for $589, but with a top speed of 12 mph it's not really a commuter solution. So it really depends on what/where you want to hoover.

        1. Felix Krull
          Holmes

          Re: Huvr board

          Also, it's a hoax.

          1. Sir Runcible Spoon
            Unhappy

            Re: Huvr board

            "Also, it's a hoax."

            Just for that I'm gonna make sure that they never sell one to you...killjoy

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hovers a a maximum of 12 feet. Forget going around traffic, just go over it.

    1. James O'Shea

      Does the phrase 'low bridge' have any meaning for you?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        I'm sure it'll hit him eventually…

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        No bridges on my commute, at least not that I go under.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Hmm 12ft...

      ...above ground level or terrain level?

      Some thing tells me by the time you've flown over 30 odd cars, following their profiles, you may feel a level queasy....and the school kids will love the look on you face as your nose spatters into the top window of a double decker bus.

  3. Ole Juul

    I'll take what's behind door number 3

    I must say that after watching the video, I'm less impressed than I was before I saw it. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Depends on your expectations

      I was expecting a CGI mock-up of a fictional product that would never fly. Then I suspected a full size model suspended behind a tow-truck, but thirteen seconds in, the whole shadow of the vehicle is visible at once, with no shadow of a cable or tow-truck. They either made a high quality fake or they have a working prototype. Either way, the video far exceeded my expectations. Here is a different video:

      http://youtu.be/akA-B64RACU

      Neither video has any sound. I bet it is so loud that you would never hear any complaints from the neighbours.

      1. Martin 59

        Re: Depends on your expectations

        I was cynical when I watched the video too: why no shots of the whole thing in flight? Thanks for the link; I'm much more impressed now.

        1. Felix Krull

          Re: Depends on your expectations

          It's not like it's difficult to make a contraption like this, it's been done many times already.

          And the problem remains the same: the propwash will blast anything inside ten yards of the machine into the next county.

  4. gcla72
    Coat

    Nice, but...

    Since the XP-38 came out, they're just not in demand

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nice, but...

      I don't think it's in the same market segment as Lockheed though.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meh.

    Like the idea, but currently I would rather have an Africa Twin. Go more places, cheaper to buy, and I would guess *far* more economical.

    /bah_humbug

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd sooner have a microlight, gyrocopter or powered paraglider if I wanted to actually fly. 45 MPH isn't really very fast compared to a motorbike I am happy to basically stick to the ground.

    It doesn't even look that much fun.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      If we're having wishes, I'll have an Apache attack helicopter. With all of the options, there's noise complaints from the neighbours to deal with.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "there's noise complaints from the neighbours to deal with."

        Assuming your neighbours aren't Russian you can dispense with the armour piercing options, and carry more of the useful stuff against civilians and lightly armed bandits. So, stock up on flechettes, particularly if they've got any small dogs. Ask nicely and the suppliers might offer you mini-flechettes designed purely for small dogs and civies.

        1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          It is not russians which you need to be afraid of

          Quote: "Assuming your neighbours aren't Russian"

          As a person of Russian descent I appreciate the humor. However, it is a bit off from reality. It is not Russians you need to be afraid of.

          Several Eastern European countries made a pretty good living during the cold war by buying export version Russian gear (one without the expensive analogue EMP resistant control systems) and bolting a cheap PC to the back of it (something similar to what Israel used to do with old US kit). They also manufacture quite a bit of russian small arms kit under license. In any case, these countries had a flow of small arms per capita compared to which Russia or even the US look distinctly unarmed.

          My recollections from the days when I used to live in an apartment block in one of those countries was that with our family's 2 NPK Arsenal "commando issue" 9mm heavy duty hydraulic harpoons and a high power air gun were practically unarmed. The neighbors under us had a couple of AK47, the cop living above me had a Dragunov, an arsenal of hunting rifles as well as his standard issue handgun. That was _DURING_ the cold war when there was a resemblance of law and order. That number increased during the crazy 90-es and the post-fall-of-the-wall wars to a point where I did not dare contemplate how much armament did they have.

          So if you are sporting an Apache helicopter, the likelihood that neighbors pissed off by the noise will shoot it down is fairly low if they are Russian. Your chances of taking off more than once are roughly NIL if they are Georgian, Bulgairan or let's say Armenian. If they are Moldovan there will be a smoking crater where your property used to be.

          Not kidding by the way - I used to keep a link to an article about an idiot bookseller (one I used to buy books from) getting arrested for being drunken and disorderly and threatening his in-law with a shoulder launched Strela missile in an apartment block.

          1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
            Paris Hilton

            Re: It is not russians which you need to be afraid of

            a shoulder launched Strela missile in an apartment block

            MY KIND OF COUNTRY!

            But these are the goods that the CIA DOESN't want the Syrian "rebels" to have (as officially stated two days ago) lest they blow up a few of "our" Airbus Lard Transporters on final approach (can't have that, there may be discontentment among the people). You are telling me you can find these in slavic apartment blocks?

            There was even some relief that Ghaddafi's arsenal, rapidly disappearing into the neighborhood, only included the vehicle-mounted version which apparently cannot be readily converted to be man-portable.

            Russia or even the US look distinctly unarmed

            I hear gun control in Russia is rather restrictive? Well, it may not be enforced of course.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: It is not russians which you need to be afraid of

              Thank you for all the sage advice...the net effect of which would seem to be buy flechettes; smoke everyone from Eastern Europe on the first (test) flight and maybe flip a coin for Russians.

              On the other hand, if gerdesj is correct then the noise would only really be complaint-worthy if I opened fire.

              Well, I try to be a considerate-ish neighbour, plus there's the property value aspect to a house being surrounded by smoking craters.

              Would a prudent course of action be to smoke only those Eastern European neighbours who work nights (and would be the most sensitive to noise) and claim my finger slipped during the first flight? First flight and all...there's got to be more buttons in there than a game console controller and it's well known that I can't work those bastards, so it would be fairly plausible.

              1. Sir Runcible Spoon

                Re: It is not russians which you need to be afraid of

                I'm saving up $5m for that X2 helicoptor - that thing looks awesome!

              2. Long John Brass

                Re: It is not russians which you need to be afraid of

                "Well, I try to be a considerate-ish neighbour, plus there's the property value aspect to a house being surrounded by smoking craters"

                No no no ... property value goes up ... house has multiple swimming pools :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "If we're having wishes, I'll have an Apache attack helicopter. With all of the options, there's noise complaints from the neighbours to deal with."

        I live in Yeovil which is where the (Agusta) Westland Apache comes from, very close to the airfield. It's not that noisy to be honest even when they do (did) night flying.

        If you open fire with the Hellcats or nose gun - now that will be noisy. Mind you, who's going to sit in the other seat as your CPG?

        Cheers

        Jon

    2. Pookietoo
      Thumb Up

      Re: I'd sooner have a microlight, gyrocopter or powered paraglider

      I'd sooner have one of these.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "45 MPH isn't really very fast "

      With a 250HP motor, it's pathetic. I think we're looking at something between 2 and 4 mpg, which suggests terrible range and a lack of practicality verging on the ridiculous.

      1. Imsimil Berati-Lahn

        Re: "45 MPH isn't really very fast "

        The mileage will depend upon the wind direction since that maximum 45mph is air speed.

        You're absolutely right though. For that kind of money I could get an ultralight, a Hayabusa and a Landrover with plenty of change left over for various types of mind-altering chemicals if I ever got bored the previous three things.

  7. P. Lee
    Mushroom

    Also not recommended in forests.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah. Damn Ewoks.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Big Brother

        Ewoks have been declared "wood terrorists". If Vader hadn't had such a soft-on-terror core, he would have agentoranged their hide off a long time ago. They are fair game, I say!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The ugliest looking thing since........

    Sorry, even the Fiat Multi-blurgh!! wasnt THAT ugly.

    It looks like a running shoe for masochists.

    1. ukgnome

      Re: The ugliest looking thing since........

      hey! I drive a froggy and she's lovely...this on the other hand needs killing with fire.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The ugliest looking thing since........

      Sure the multipla's real fugly but damn, are they practical.

      A hover-bike with circa 50 mile range, no luggage space or brakes to speak of... hmmm... More or less the same on the fugly axis but opposite end of the practicality scale, I think.

  9. Scroticus Canis
    Unhappy

    Salt Flats only craft - Wow (not)!

    Just a toy for barren salt flats somewhere. No floats so sinks if breaks over water. Doesn't look agile enough to navigate close to obstacles - thorn tree in the face at 10 ft altitude sucks, so not a bush craft. Can't handle dunes in a sand desert. Nearly as useful as a chocolate tea pot.

    Aussie bloke made something similar back in 2011 (at $40K) with 'better' specs and that didn't get anywhere either.

    1. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: Salt Flats only craft - Wow (not)!

      According to their website, pontoons are an option. It also states that it can run for 1.25 hours - but I doubt you'll get that with pontoons, so don't go too far out to sea!

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    12ft

    I'd be more impressed if the vide showed it hovering more than 1ft :/

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    yeah...

    But can it do the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs ?

  12. Mage Silver badge

    Weekend Training?

    I thought a hovercraft needs a pilot licence.

    Hint. They don't do corners as well as a Microlight.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "hovering at an altitude of up to 12 feet (3.66m) above the ground"

    Didn't see anything like that in the Video. In fact the Video was a bit of a spoiler as the vehicle appeared unstable...

  14. Allan George Dyer
    Mushroom

    Just right for nipping around the Amazon Rainforest

    icon: expected result.

  15. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    The Fairchild Ryan hover jeep lives again

    Yea for that.

    All that is old is new again.

    Maybe they've got the bugs out after 5 decades.

    1. Chozo

      Re: The Fairchild Ryan hover jeep lives again

      The Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep was definitely ahead of its time.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SERvwWALOM

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: The Fairchild Ryan hover jeep lives again

      I was just thinking the same thing.

      I wonder what new patents they've taken out that the "young" inventors and "young" patent office clerks have not bothered to check for prior art?

  16. Christoph
    Alert

    Keep that thing well away from me!

    Since this is airborne, it will take much longer to stop or to turn than a wheeled vehicle.

    If it is going 45mph at 5 feet above the ground, then if someone is in its path it will take their head off.

    If it is used off-road then such accidents will happen.

    On-road? I'd expect it to slew into the side of a lorry or bus unless it slows right down for corners.

    And that's without considering the effect of the down-draught from the fans.

  17. Chris G

    For the price

    I would expect something better,watching it in both videos it is clear to me that a quad copter big enough to sit on would be better and more manageable if you could use the engine to run a generator to electric lift fans. Although sticking a genny on it would probably mean doing away with any passenger capability.

    Electric fans would enable it to use pitch and yaw sensors and possibly something approaching brakes instead of carefully dumping it on the ground as it appeared to do in the video.

    If they made it more verstatile and intuitive it will stand a chance, as it is they'll be lucky to sell ten before they disappear . Or maybe they could stick a turbofan in it and vector nozzles and call something like ...... ohhh Harrier?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: For the price

      Why convert to electric motors, use something along the lines of the Stingray 500.

      Single (central) motor, shaft and belt drive. Even if it was four ducted fans that would seem to produce better stability than this, just remind me how you stop it pitching from side to side with a couple of moving people above the COG with two fans in line?

      if you could rotate the four ducts as well as affect the pitch it might be possible to go and stop in a real hurry. Include small wheels on the front edge of one pair of fan housing for around town, retractable steering set on other end.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: For the price

        Have you considered the weight of the batteries to provide 250HP for an hour? That's 200kWH. You would need a medium sized truck tethered to it on the ground to provide power, and at current prices you're looking at around £70000+ for the batteries.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: For the price

          Who mentioned batteries?

          Once it's a shaft drive from one central point it makes greater sense to use a conventional engine, I was only pointing to the constant speed, variable pitch, four point prop system.

          Once the thing is wider it opens it to using ground affect wing profiles to improve the efficiency on the national hoverways and desert crossings.

          I can see it being a loosing battle to try and fit it in the width of a conventional car while in flight mode but the in-line fans seem too cumbersome and hard to control for simple agile flight.

  18. RedneckMother

    ... the change?

    " In three years' time, you'll surely have enough to take deposit on your Aero-X and buy a six-pack with the change."

    Yeah, and I'll bet it has one of those cute little stickers that says "do not operate under the influence of alcohol" or similar. I found that a black Sharpie usually fixes that.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re. hoverboard

    Give me time, I will have it working shortly.

    Disclaimer:- Do not taunt Happy Fun Board. Only designed for use in magnetically neutral environments. Danger: Contains substances known in California and the lesser 49 states to cause exploding head syndrome. Additional safety warnings posted on underside of board in Welsh, Elvish and Klingon. Caution: Under no circumstances use during solar flares, we are not responsible for blunt force trauma and/or splattering like very fine jam over an infinite number of Universes. Additional warning: Do not open covers, unless you are qualified technician. May contain unstable antiparticles which can react explosively with normal matter. This will void product warranty.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Blades of Death

    How many people will want to sit almost directly over two whirling macerators that are trying to suck you in?

    Better not have ANY loose objects frequented about your person, and stay far away from swarms of bees, birds, overhead branches, banners and flags, confetti...

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Blades of Death

      There goes the mobe again!

      BELENG BELENG BELENG FRUPT!

      1. Peter Ford

        Re: Blades of Death

        upvoted just for the sound effects...

  21. sena.akada

    Where's the speed part of that 'speeder' bike video?

  22. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    Meh

    Pointless.

    Just buy a hovercraft, they're cheaper and already do a lot more. Twelve feet max altitude really makes SFA difference, and it looks very unstable, especially when you consider what will happen when you actually try flying over an obstacle (hint - go watch the bit in "Zero Dark Thirty" where the stealth chopper gets too close to the wall and starts sucking its own downwash).

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Pointless.

      go watch the bit in "Zero Dark Thirty" where the stealth chopper gets too close to the wall and star

      Protip: These are not documentaries.

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Destroyed All Braincells Re: Pointless.

        ".....Protip: These are not documentaries." The type of fool that actually thinks this 'hoverbike' is a good idea probably has no other frame of reference than films and TV. Seriously, I know an ignoramus like you would have problems with understanding a vortex ring state, you probably think it's something from Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings series, so why would I even try and explain the problems of relying on an air-cushion when not over a completely flat surface? Oh, you did notice that the vid only shows the hoverbike struggling for stability over completely flat terrain, right? Did you ever stop to think what happens to the air cushion when your hoverbike meets even a low vertical wall, a sudden dip in the ground, or when one rotor is partially over a raised bit of ground or a slope? I'd be interested to see how the bike copes when a displaced air cushion is making it roll seeing as it does not seem to have any form stabilising control surfaces, I suspect the result is you fall off and the bike lands on top of you.

  23. smartypants

    Ideal form of transport...

    If you have:

    - a desert-like environment

    - some motorcycle goggles to stop all that dust getting in your eyes

    - deep pockets to fund the cost of powering 240 horsepower continuously just to stay off the ground

    - no interest in other people (because you're not going to be able to use this thing in town)

    ...then it's the perfect form of transport.

  24. This post has been deleted by its author

  25. Notional Semidestructor

    Pathetically slow, seriously low, and control probably has 'issues'...

    We all know the way this works.

    Something revolutionary is proposed.

    An intuitive mechanic fangles something that kinda works.

    He makes a few assumptions with help from friends and a few beers.

    ...and this is what you get.

    .

    Why so negative?

    Been there, done that, and it don't really work that way. Sadly.

    Tilting a vehicle with its entire rotor system for speed has severe limitations, particularly with efficiency.

    1) A Hover bike? Nope.

    I travelled at over 90 MPH on an F1 hovercraft of my own design in the early '80s.

    Others took their customer craft over 100 MPH.

    it weighed less, cost a whole lot less, and won chamionships. It also flew higher, on occasion.

    This sad thing would hardly catch a cold, never mind any racing hovercraft - or motorbike.

    2) Have you noticed how much money these shade tree projects need? Ah, right.

    Wish it did work well. But....

    At least it looks good.

  26. Stu 18

    Is that a machine gun to the front?

    That would certainly help with obstacles.

  27. RAMChYLD

    Well...

    I suppose that's one step closer to the hoverboard. First hoverbikes as proof-of-concept, then miniaturization,

  28. Pahhh

    I wish them luck

    It doesn't look a winner on too many fronts. Some niche application will turn up I'm sure and hopefully the design will evolve.

    Its good people are trying weird stuff like this. I wish them luck.

  29. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Unhappy

    Star Wars... Phfffftttt

    Luke Skywalker fantasies in 2017? Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds fantasies in 1960-1967. I can't remember, did Captain Scarlet have one as well?

  30. rtb61

    High speed spinning blades at head height, now what could go wrong with that, a rotary mower for people. Yep, your are going to be able to use that in any public space around other people, not a problem at all, only in America of course ;D.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As any fule kno

    The hoverboards in BTTF and the ones in Star Wars probably use a reversed Higgs effect to levitate.

    This isn't actually antigravity but a short distance repulsive gravitomagnetic field generated by the interaction between superconductors (thanks Evgene!) and complex electromagnetic fields.

    The device being worked on at the moment as of May 2nd 2014 is actually a lot simpler than the early attempts but the equivalent thrust is in the kilonewtons per kg of device.

    You can also generate a true antigravity effect using spinning superconductors bombarded with positrons, this is an ongoing research project as if it can generate a confined beam it could even be used to make new chemical elements directly by simulating the gravitational fields within a neutron star (patent pending)

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