It’s not the first time we’ve scene a rocket-powered bike, nor is it the first time we’ve seen a bicycle that flies. But these innovations come with a couple tech twists.
First, three Czech companies teamed up
to make a prototype of an electric bicycle that made its first
successful remote-controlled, five-minute flight Wednesday in Prague.
A picture taken on June 12 , 2013 at
the hall of Letnany fairground in Prague shows a dummy sitting on the
flying bike, a unique construction of Czech designers and modern
technology of French company ”Dessault Systemes – 3D software tools”.
This bike flies thanks to six futuristic horizontal propellers and an
electric motor. (Photo: MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)
Weighing 209 pounds, the hefty looking
mountain bike has two battery-power propellers in the front, two in the
back and one each on the sides. Due to its weight, a dummy rode in the
saddle for the test.
Milan Duchek, technical director of
Duratec, a bicycle frames maker, says more powerful batteries will be
needed before a human takes a two-wheeled flight.
Take a look at the contraption in motion:
The next somewhat crazier and DIY experiment — outfitting a woman’s bicycle with rocket power — was done by Colin Furze, who according to his website, is a plumber in the U.K. who hosts a YouTube channel with some of his interesting engineering feats.
The latest he describes as “an old womans [sic] bike built for shopping turned into a bomb inspired safety hazzard [sic].”
Check out the homemade jet bike: