OK, the word “motorcycle” might be a bit of a stretch, but that’s how creators of the Pal-V One Helicycle describe their flying contraption.
While sci-fi has featured flying cars and motorcycles since at least the 1930s, we’ve never seen a feasible, real-life production version of such a vehicle. However, the Helicycle seems to be getting pretty close, say people who’ve studied it.
Pal-V is based in Holland, and it flew the first prototype of this machine in 2012. The current model functions as a three-wheeled vehicle (which would be classified as a motorcycle in many jurisdictions) on the ground, and as an autogyro when in flight. The rotors fold down for road use, and can be set up for flight within minutes. On the road, the vehicle is kept upright by an auto-balancing system, similar to the Carver tilting three-wheeler, which was also developed in Holland.
In the air, the Helicycle flies below 1,200 metres, which allows it to fly in Visual Flight Rules airspace, without worrying about bumping into a commercial plane. It can take off and land with very little space (165 metres for takeoff, 65 metres for landing), and does not need to file a flight plan to fly in uncontrolled airspace.
The Helicycle is powered by a flight-certified four-cylinder gasoline engine, which is necessary for reliability in the air; some readers may remember the build-your-own helicopter kits from the backs of older Popular Mechanics magazines, and shudder when they think about what would happen if that old inline-four, ripped from a Suzuki and slotted into an airframe, decided to quit mid-flight. Those sorts of concerns shouldn’t be an issue with the Helicycle’s purpose-built motor. But even if the motor does quit, the auto-rotating blades mean the pilot should be able to land the vehicle safely.
Flight range for the Helicycle is about 350 km at low altitudes, and riding/driving range is approximately 1,200 km. Top speed is 180 km/h, whether on the ground or in the air.
You can find more details at Pal-V’s website here. The price tag is supposedly around $775,000 CAD, and only 25 machines are slotted to come to North America. But at that price tag, most readers are (we assume) out of the running anyway.
GALLERY
Check out all the pics that go with this story!
Or you could build your own from a kit for about the cost of a CVO limited http://www.americanautogyro.com/
There are better ways to spend that kind of money
For 75 dollars you can ride a barrel over Niagara Falls, with the same survival probability.
Looks awesome. Until you really think about all the limitations. Then shared ownership of a business jet combined with Uber transport on the ground starts to look pretty attractive.
Now, where have I seen that. Got it……!
Probably that only a few wealthy persons will buy one for the novelty factor and the company will go bankrupt in a flash , a bit like the Carver actually which was not as expensive but still too expensive for the market.