Today goes out to those who save the pennies, because if you have (by current exchange rates) £50,286 or $85,000 (+ a $5000 deposit) you can own your own REAL hover bike!! The AERO-X hoverbike. However you will have to wait till 2017 for this beauty to come to a shop near you.
This is some truly impressive stuff I think, the current relesed spec of the machine is that its capable of carrying up to 140 kilos (310 lbs), at an altitude of 3.7 meters (12 feet) and max altitude of around 12 feet, at speeds of up to 72 kph (45 mph). The bike weights at dry weight 356 kg (785 lbs).
Not to shabby eh? It’ll be powered by a normal gas-powered three-cylinder engine, which will allow it to carry up to two people (as long as they weigh under 140 kilos (including baggage) at speeds of up to 72 kph.
Do I need a pilots licence?? Well.. Aerofex found that the bike could be classified as something like an “aerial ATV” if its max altitude stays below 12 feet, thus removing any need for a pilot license.
However there are drawbacks to this, as you cant just strap 2 giant turbines to a motor bike like seat, because there will be alot of forces acting upon the bike such as the coupling effect(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia_coupling) however the company aero-x has said they have solved this issue.
Fuel will be petrol based and will be able to keep you flying for around 85min!