Kitty Hawk's Flyer flying car can be flown over water

Flying car start-up Kitty Hawk backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, has released a video introducing its "Flyer" flying car prototype.

The Flyer is an all-electric ultralight aircraft, that is designed to operate in uncongested areas in the U.S and must be flown only over water, which is a bit disappointing, because this is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think of flying cars. However, Kitty Hawk believes that the Flyer is just the beginning of innovation process of flying cars.

The company says, that the Flyer is safe, tested and legal to operate in the U.S, under US federal regulations for ultralight aircraft. Also, owners won't require a pilot's license to operate Flyer, but a two hours of training is required, to learn how to operate the machine.

The introduction video of the Flyer shows a single-seat aircraft with two pontoons and a spider-like platform, taking off from a lake and hovering above the water, where it is meant to operate. It is propelled by eight rotors and takes off and lands vertically, just like helicopter. The craft weighs about 200 pounds (100kg), and can fly at speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 kph), and can hover at 15 feet (4.5 meters) above water.

Kity Hawk says that the final design of Flyer will be different from that of the prototype.

The Kitty Hawk Flyer will be available for sale by the end of this year in U.S, and the company has no plans to release in other markets.  The company is also offering a $100 three-year membership, under which, members have priority placement on the wait list, and a $2,000 discount on the Flyer. The membership, also gives users access to flight demonstrations and test flights throughout the year.

The Pricing of the Kitty Hawk Flyer is not known.


Source | Via