People have always been trying to make flying cars, but some researches in the Czech Republic have been able to make a 95kg (210lb) remotely-controlled bicycle that can hover several meters above the ground for five minutes. It is powered by two propellers on the front, two on the back and one on each side, all run on battery. As of now, the experiment was carried out in an exhibition at Prague where the prototype successfully took off and landed after soaring for a few minutes with a dummy rider on it. If all goes well, such a bike can be a big leap in transportation considering the congested roads and traffic jams we see everyday. The problem that is hampering the project is the energy carrying capacity of the batteries as the current ones only last a few minutes before needing a recharge.
An energy rich future might be able to solve this problem and make these bikes useful for normal travel and tourism etc. The technical director of Duratec Bicycles, Milan Duchek proposes the idea by saying, “Because the capacity of batteries doubles about every 10 years, we can expect that in the future the capacity would be enough for the bike to be used for sports, tourism or similar things,”; It was him and two other Czech firms, Technodat and Evektor that came up with the flying bike idea. Flying bike is not the first attempt of its kind; early 20th Century marks the manufacture of the very first “flying machines” being bicycles with wings attached to the structure called aviettes. They were unable to really fly, but relatively hopped above ground, or glided, powered by manual pedaling; in August 2009, John Carver an IT teacher from Oxfordshire constructed a flying tricycle, he called the “Flyke”. The purpose was to collect charity and this bike flew all across UK from Lands End to John o’Groats.
The only difference is that Flyke has a parachute attached to it and is opened at all times while it’s moving through air. It runs on power guided by a two stroke double propeller motor with a paraglider covering it. The bike can run for two consecutive hours before being requiring refill, with a speed of about 32km/h (20mph). It also has the capacity to carry 25.4kg of luggage on it. The Flyke is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority and is now on sale too. Other companies have also developed similar traveling bicycles but the onset of a parachute still seems difficult for city commuters.
