Flying Motorcycle
A few characters immediately flew into mind when I first viewed the attached video of the Hoverbike: Doc Brown and Marty McFly from the Back to the Future series.
I’ll never forget how obsessed I was with the hoverboard McFly used. And although this obsession has subsided, it all rushed back when I saw the Hoverbike – but now instead of a skateboard, which was a teenage-passion of mine, it’s a motorcycle, my current obsession.
The Hoverbike, built by Australian Chris Malloy, is still in the works and hasn’t actually taken flight like it would if it appeared on the Back to the Future movies, but the thing is remaining stable above ground. This is truly remarkable technology.
Powering the Hover Bike is a 1170cc, air-cooled flat twin sitting inside a carbon-fiber chassis with Kevlar reinforcement. The motor powers two huge twin-propeller blades. It’s a very interesting machine, which Malloy plans to mass produce soon (see specs below). And it’s expected to be no slump; Malloy says this flying motorcycle will eventually cruise over 90 mph.
Malloy says the first 100 Hoverbikes will be sold at about $45,000 with an expected price drop in the future. He plans to use it for rescue missions, ranching, the military and of course the Silver Screen.
Who knows…if the fourth Back to Future is ever released about a McFly sibling, he just may be using a Hoverbike over a Hoverboard.
For a bunch of facts on the Hoverbike, click here.
(Attached Hoverbike video, which shows a smoke test, is the only one available as of this writing…)
Hoverbike Specs
| Engine Type | flat twin 4-stroke, one camshaft and 4-valves per cylinder, central balancer shaft |
| Engine Displacement | 1170cc |
| Bore & Stroke | 101mm x 73mm |
| Compression Ratio | 12.0:1 |
| Nominal Output @7500rpm | 80KW |
| Cooling | Aircooled |
| Ignition | Electronic |
| Fuel System | Electronic intake pipe injection |
| Fuel tank capacity (without secondary tanks) | 30L |
| Fuel tank capacity (with secondary tanks) | 60L |
| Fuel Burn | 0.5L/min / 30L/hr |
| Fuel Type | Regular Unleaded |
| Drive-shafts | Custom Carbon fiber |
| Gearbox | Custom 1.5:1 reduction |
| Propellers | 2 x Tasmanian Oak with carbon fiber leading edge (made by Michael Ellinas from Heliptera) |
| Airframe | Carbon fiber with Kevlar reinforcement and foam core |
| Airframe width | 1.3m |
| Airframe length | 3m |
| Airframe height | 0.55m |
| Dry Weight | 105kg |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 270kg |
| Total Thrust | 295kg |
| Range | 148km on primary tank @ 80knts cruise (290km with secondary tanks installed) |
| Airspeed Vne | 150 KIAS (untested) |
| Hover | greater than 10,000ft (estimated) |
