A resurrected hover vehicle won’t fly through dense forests as effortlessly as the “Star Wars” speeder bikes from “Return of the Jedi,” but its intuitive controls could someday allow anyone to fly it without pilot training.
The aerial vehicle resembles a science fiction flying bike with two ducted rotors instead of wheels, but originates from a design abandoned in the 1960s because of stability and rollover problems. Aerofex, a California-based firm, fixed the stability issue by creating a mechanical system — controlled by two control bars at knee-level — that allows the vehicle to respond to a human pilot’s leaning movements and natural sense of balance.
“Think of it as lowering the threshold of flight, down to the domain of ATV’s (all-terrain vehicles),” said Mark De Roche, an aerospace engineer and founder of Aerofex.
Note to Santa: Don’t bother wrapping it, just put it under the tree next to the envelope with my tickets to the Romney inauguration ceremony.
Now THAT is cool.
Let’s hope O doesn’t promise one in every garage …
If he thinks it will gain him a vote from an intellectual pauper, he will spend $42 million to make that promise. 🙂
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