Video: Flying trike takes off
2012-12-31 11:16
IS IT A BIRD OR A PLANE...NO IT'S SOME GUY IN A FLYING TRIKE: We're still a long way from the flying cars seen in the Jetsons but with the Super Sky Cycle the average joe could find take to the skies to avoid traffic.
TEXAS, USA - A US inventor has come with a vehicle idea that's sure to take off - a flying motor-tricycle.
Inventor Larry Neal's revolutionary three-wheeled Super Sky Cycle is powered by a 582cc engine and a three-blade, 1.7m rotor. The trike is 4.5m long, 2.1m wide and 2.5m/2.2m high with the propeller folded.
SOLD TO THE PUBLIC
The rotors are designed to fold up when not in use, allowing the vehicle to be driven on a normal road. You will, however, need a pilot's licence to take to the sky wheel where it can cruse at around 60km/h for around five hours. It needs six metres to land and can reach 100km/h on land.
Neal, a member of Butterfly Aircraft, has been awarded a US patent to build and sell the vehicle to the public. The flying trike costs the equivalent of about R635 000, about the same as a well-specced BMW 5 Series.
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Neal says he has several orders, including a large one from the Texas border patrol.
Optional kit includes turn indicators, reserve fuel tank and motorcycle or nose-pod windscreen.
