Aero-X
Aerofex hover vehicle is a flight craft created by Aerofex, an aerospace engineering corporation in Manhattan Beach, California, designed to carry one person or be used as an unmanned drone for a variety of uses. [1]
Information
The Aerofex hover vehicle does not fly with the same energy efficiency as a helicopter, due to its rotor blades being shorter, but it is much smaller in size and safer near humans.[1] This craft does not produce the brownout of helicopters, as it is designed to be able to operate near people without blowing any significant amount of dust.[2]
Human piloted vehicles have successfully achieved 30 miles per hour, and have ascended 15 feet in the air.[1]
Development
This hovercraft has been in development since 2008.[3] In 2012, Aerofex began releasing videos on their YouTube account proving it to be a working prototype.[4]
One of the difficulties of this technology involves stability and control, preventing the craft from frequent rollovers and crashes. To achieve this, Aerofex added two control bars which the rider can access at knee level and easily lean to one side or the other to balance the craft.[5]
Planned usages
The planned usages include agricultural field work,[1] delivering materials in rough terrain or between buildings on narrow city streets,[1] and for search and rescue vehicles. Because of its compact size, it can easily be towed along the road, or fit easily onto even passenger airliners.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e Hsu, Jeremy (2012-08-20). "New hover vehicle is straight out of 'Star Wars'". Fox News. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ a b '+ time.diff() +' ago. "Flight Log: Tandem Duct Aerial Vehicle". Flightlog.aerofex.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Hover bike lets you fly over desert". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Aerofex - YouTube
- ^ Herald Sun