Where are the air bikes? We’ve seen air taxis that looked like small planes. We’ve seen flying vehicles that looked like it might massacre everyone nearby when trying to park. The future of mobility is unclear. Will we get air bikes at all? Maybe we’ll all end up with tunnel-based mass transportation instead. However, there is one interesting design for a human-powered “helicopter” that made me wonder why we aren’t pursuing electricity-free options more.
Below you can find a video report by NPR about the Flying Turtle from the University of Maryland, nicknamed Gamera. It might be considered an air bike, but it’s a huge one. This engineering marvel is perhaps not perfect, but you can’t deny that it’s a clever design. NPR writes “It’s difficult to build a working four-rotor helicopter that spans 100 feet and only weighs 80 pounds. It’s even harder when your engine is a 0.7-horsepower person.”
YouTube: Human-Powered Helicopter: Straight Up Difficult | SKUNK BEAR
YouTube: Project Summary – Gamera Human-Powered Helicopter (Air Bikes)
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by John Cummings / HeloSociety.
