A Flying Car Prototype?! We Want One!
One of the biggest targets in the tech industry is automobiles and automakers have been trying to get their foot in the door of the newest thing. That new thing now is flying. So why not build a flying car? Can you imagine?? Well there is a company that has the first look of what it’s like to pilot a "flying automobile." Even though this "vehicle" looks like something out of a science fiction story, it's quite real. A small Silicon Valley company named Kitty Hawk released their prototype for their mysterious "flying car" startup backed by Alphabet CEO Larry Page.
A New York Times profile of the Kitty Hawk describes it as "something Luke Skywalker would have built out of spare parts." Powered by 8 very loud battery-powered propellers, this one person "car" might be available for sale by the end of 2017.
Test flyer, Cimeron Morrissey, calls it "the chance of a lifetime" being the first pilots of the prototype. Only after a few hours of simulated training, she claims any amateur can drive/pilot the flyer. "I’m jumping out of my skin and have to remind myself to breathe. With a smooth movement of my thumb on the throttle — a tiny knob at the left tip of the control bar — I rise straight up into the air and leave gravity behind," she wrote in her first-hand review.
Weighing around 220lbs and reaching speeds up to 25mph, the flyer can be an amazing and unchallenging ride for anyone. According to the Kitty Hawk, the flyer is "safe, tested and legal to operate in the US", just if you ride it in "uncongested areas." Looking like a jet-ski, the prototype is designed to be flown over water and can reach heights up to 32 feet. Sounds like a blast to us!