Two more flying cars are coming. As I have said before, we are entering a new era for the flying car/personal transportation type vehicles. VTOL (vertical take off and landing) if you will. Maybe we've finally reached the level of technology to make these things realistic. We covered the Kitty Hawk which looks more like a pontoon boat with propellers. And then there is the Black Fly, which I really like. I'm not sure what it is about this one that attracts me to it, but it looks fun to fly/drive.
So, here are the latest companies to join the fray of flying personal vehicles.
Of course Aston Martin is going to make an awesome looking vehicle. The Volante Vision is meant to be a private Air Taxi, I imagine it like a personal jet for wealthy business types. This is an area of tight competition right now with multiple companies attempting to do the same thing. Maybe that is just what we need to jump start this flying car thing. The Volante Vision looks more like a futuristic flying car than most of them, but for now it's just a concept vehicle like most. Before you know it Porsche and Ferrari will jump right in, after all Rolls Royce had a hand in this Aston Martin Vehicle idea.
Then there is the CityHawk, not to be confused with Bell Helicopters X-Hawk. The CityHawk flying car is almost a direct descendant of the Cormorant AirMule which is an autonomous UAV designed by an Israeli firm Tactical Robots. This vehicle has been under development for a few years now and has over 200 flights to date. The CityHawk is designed by Urban Aeronautics, also an Israeli firm that uses a similar airframe, so this one has much more of a chance of becoming real than the Aston Martin. Below is the video of test flights of the AirMule.
The CityHawk is going into full scale development according to Urban Aeronautics. The aim here is to make it some type of taxi for consumers. This one reminds me of an of a 1980's Cessna Airplane because of its chunky (non-sexy) airframe. Definitely a different take then Aston Martin. See below.
It seems that I forgot about the Lilium. Below is a still from their first test flight they did last year. Check out the video below.
The Lilium Jet successfully completed its maiden test flight series in the skies above Bavaria. The 2-seater Eagle prototype executed a range of complex maneuvers, including its signature mid-air transition from hover mode to wing-borne forward flight.
If flying cars aren't your thing, and you would rather have a little more freedom, then why not by your very own Jet Suit designed by Gravity. This suit is very cool, we have covered this and many other Jet Packs and personal transportation devices before. This one will set you back almost half a million bucks.
This thing is sound good until you run into a brick wall, but in that case you might need this.
Anyway, you've probably already seen this, but in case you've been living under a rock, check out the video below.
GoFly, a Boeing-sponsored competition wants to turn jetpacks into a working reality for everyone. They have created an international competition to enter a two-year contest, with $2 million total in prizes, for the creation of a personal flying device that can carry an individual 20 miles without refueling or recharging.
It's no surprise that ever since humans could imagine flying that we have tried to create our own mechanisms to do it.
1964 World Fair
Maybe it's the inevitable sense of freedom that flying creates or just the idea to leave the planet temporarily for a different perspective that tantalizes the imagination.
Unknown photograph
Whatever the reason, we keep trying.
Ludion Flying Rocket Chair
The goal of the GoFly Prize is to foster the development of safe, quiet, ultra-compact, near-VTOL personal flying devices capable of flying twenty miles while carrying a single person.
Bell Aerosystems "Bell Jet Belt"
What we are seeking is an “everyone” personal flying device, capable of being flown by ANYONE, ANYWHERE. It should be a device for ALL: young and old, city-dweller and country-dweller, expert and novice.
Bell Aerosystems "Bell Rocket Belt"
Bell Aerosystems "Bell Rocket Belt"
Now is the time. Recent advances in propulsion, energy, light-weight materials, and control and stability systems have combined to produce a moment of achievable innovation.
Bell Aerosystems "Bell Rocket Belt"
What can be accomplished today could not have been attained even a few years ago.
JB9 Jetpack Aviation
Technological and scientific advances have resulted in a time when our most audacious dream—the dream of pure human flight—is now achievable.
The Williams X-Jet
GoFly is about flying people, not flying taxis. Today we look to the sky and say “that plane is flying.” We challenge you to create a device where we look to the sky and say, “that person is flying.”
Bell Aerosystems "Bell Jet Belt"
The device is for a single person, but what it looks like or how it works is up to you. We welcome revolutionary design, and while all devices must be able to fly a person, you have the option to use a mannequin to simulate the user and can operate the device as a remotely piloted or autonomous UAV.
Simon Williamson
The device should function safely in both crowded cities and rural areas; it should be lightweight and maneuverable enough so that anyone can move it around, and it should be quiet not only for the user, but also for the general public.
Rick Herron, Skywalker Jetpack
We are propulsion agnostic, but like all great inventions, the device should be user-friendly–almost an extension of the user’s body, and provide the thrill of flight.
Richard Browning
Richard Browning
Richard Browning
The GoFly Prize is designed to capture our imagination.
JB9 Jetpack Aviation
JB9 Jetpack Aviation
JB9 Jetpack Aviation
JB9 Jetpack Aviation
Indeed, throughout human history, perhaps no dream has been more shared than that of soaring in the skies.
Martin Jetpack
Martin Jetpack
Martin Jetpack
Martin Jetpack
Martin Jetpack
Martin Jetpack
It has been pursued by the greatest minds from every corner of the world.
Zapata Flyboard Air
It captivated the thoughts of Leonardo Da Vinci, culminating in his ornithopter. It consumed the thoughts of Wendell Moore and his Bell Labs team, resulting in the first “jet pack.” It charmed an entire generation of children as they followed the chronicles of Superman.
Ethan Evans
Our goal is the same as Da Vinci’s and children of wonder throughout the ages: Make people fly – safely and effortlessly.
The GoFly Prize Competition will award $2,000,000 in prizes over three phases, culminating in a Final Fly Off in the Autumn of 2019.
Prizes will be awarded for each phase of the Competition as follows:
Phase I
Up to ten $20,000 prizes awarded based on a written report.
Phase II
Up to four $50,000 prizes awarded based on revised Phase I material (or for new teams new Phase I material) and demonstrated performance of progress to date.
Phase III
One $1,000,000 Grand Prize awarded for the best overall fly-off score. One $250,000 prize for the quietest compliant entry. One $250,000 prize for the smallest compliant entry. One $100,000 prize awarded for disruptive advancement of the state of the art.
Joshua Brooks
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Teams will keep all of their intellectual property, except that teams will grant limited media rights to GoFly so that GoFly can publicize and promote the Competition and the teams. The details of this media rights agreement are in the Phase I Competition Agreement. Other than these media rights, any rights a team has in its inventions, drawings, patents, designs, copyrights and other intellectual property remain with the team.
The information that Teams provide to GoFly as part of the Competition will only be shared with the Judging Panel and representatives of GoFly who are involved in administering the Competition. Anyone who has access to a team’s confidential information will have signed a confidentiality agreement and agreed not to share or use such confidential information, except as may be required by law. In addition, teams will not have access to any nonpublic information about other Teams or their technology or performance during the Competition.
Hubble Tea
INNOVATION INCUBATOR
Even the best and brightest minds can use a little help sometimes. GoFly empowers innovator teams by providing access to experienced Mentors and Masters in design, engineering, finance, law, and marketing. In fact, every month (and sometimes twice a month), Teams will have the opportunity to listen to and engage in discussions with the Masters of Aerospace and Business in global webinars. Have a couple of questions on conceptual design or configuration management? Looking for insight into cutting edge noise mitigation techniques? Trying to raise funding to support your build? Masters lectures speak to those disciplines and more. Learn from DARPA chiefs, NASA gurus, Boeing Senior Technical Fellows, and the luminaries who actually wrote the textbooks. Hear about the aerospace fundraising landscape, and take a deep dive into financing decks and pitching VCs. Learn how to protect your intellectual property from patent specialists. A list of Masters along with their bios can be found in the Advisors section.
Sharktooth
When one-on-one help is needed, all Teams will have access to our Mentor program, where Teams work directly with Mentors in their specific areas of need. Operationally, the Mentor program is organized so that Teams contact GoFly to request a Mentor within a particular discipline. Upon contact, that Team will be matched with a Mentor (or multiple mentors) in that area. During these Mentor sessions, a Team works directly with the Mentor to answer the Team’s specific questions related to their technical build (or financing, or corporate documents, etc.). This is one-on-one support for the Teams, geared to the precise needs of each Team. GoFly believes that providing this type of support is the best way to help aspiring inventors all over the world create the kind of ground-breaking devices that the Competition seeks.
Elijah McNeal
The GoFly Prize Competition is a two-year Competition launched on September 26, 2017. There will be three sequential rounds of the Competition.
Phase I Submission of a written report and preliminary drawing
Phase II Submission of an updated written report and demonstration of progress in development of the personal flying device
Phase III Final Fly Off competition
A list of important dates is set forth below:
Description Date
Competition Launch and Open of Registration September 26, 2017
Phase I Registration deadline April 4, 2018
Phase I submission deadline April 18, 2018
Phase I awards issued May 29, 2018
Phase II registration deadline December 8, 2018
Phase II submission deadline February 6, 2019
Phase II awards and Phase III fly-off invitation issued March 28, 2019
Phase III - Flight readiness review September 2019 [TBD]
Final Fly-off October 2019 [TBD]
Dates and other information are subject to change at the discretion of GoFly. GoFly will post changes on the Competition website to ensure that all registered teams are informed of any change. All submissions must be submitted electronically through the GoFly Competition website.
All photos and jetpacks in this post are copyright of their respective owners. P.O.M. owns no rights to any of the above images or inventions and has attempted to give appropriate credit where do. If for some reason you have any additional information to ad to make this post more accurate, please reach out and I will be happy to edit this post to reflect the new info.
