With only two controls and auto-stabilization, pilots can be trained in under an hour so this might just be the personal aircraft that actually has mass market breakthrough potential.
The Flyer by Kitty Hawk was unveiled Wednesday is a 250lb single-seater all-electric craft that uses 10 sets of rotors and two control sticks. Its max speed is 20 mph and flight time is currently limited to 20 minutes. Both the speed and duration of flights is predicted to improve over time.
Lead engineer Todd Reichert had this to say the company’s goal in an interview with CNN:
“Take everything hard out of flying, basically to be able to give people an experience where it’s super-easy to fly. Transformational in terms of how accessible we can make flights.”
Google co-founder Larry Page is helping to finance the Flyer, so if this proves viable there is big money behind it to get if it a kick in the butt. All it needs is a ski rack and autopilot feature so your it can meet you at the bottom of a mountain to shuttle you back to the top. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
