Star Wars Speeder Bike - it's real (Gizmodo)

carmenara

http://gizmodo.com/5936580/they-finally-made-a-flying-star-wars-speeder-bike

This is a functional 'flying bike' that's to be demonstrated to the military according to the Gizmodo article which is full of Star Wars references.

Currently the top speed is a mere 30mph but with military funding this personal airborne mobility device could have potential with today's tech.

As a mobility device it also appears to be much more practical than a jetpack or a ducted-fan pack for obvious reasons.

The only problem with the speeder bike with fans below the rider is how to dismount in an emergency - you'd probaby become mincemeat from going into the rotors. Oops.

sonoframon

That's easily solved - retractable skids much like on a helicopter that are activated by air pistons that also act as shock absorbers to cushion the craft as it crash lands from 15ft off the ground. 15ft is a survivable height to hit the ground from... with the skids and maybe a cushioned/air ride seat, the most one would feel is a hard hit, but nothing to break your back. Forward speed though, that's a lot harder to solve.

That being said though, since it is a dual-fan design, i hope the transmission is setup so if one fan motor goes, the other one can operate bot fans, albeit at a slower speed, enough to slow the craft down to a safe crash speed (an oxymoron in itself, but it's the correct term lol)... also would wanna see the lefting/towing capacity and how this would also be accomplished.

But the geek in me is having a geekgasm right now. F*** yeah human ingenuity

tacofangs

Don't drop your keys. . .

centersolace

I want it.

lonnehart

So what are the energy requirements on that thing? I'm pretty sure they're very high at the moment. Especially if they're not using skirts to direct all that air.

carmenara

Both this and the Martin Jetpack linked to above have shrouded fans, with the shroud being a functional airfoil (NACA duct) for thrust augmentation.

Looks like the hover-bike has some catching up to do as apparently the Martin Jetpack has been trialled at an altitude of 5,000ft MSL!

The bike could probably use more power but this proof of concept has the control system placed in greater priority. These prototypes probably will grow bigger over time on their own but the main challenge now is create a functional steering and stability control system I guess. Too big a performance envelope and no control & safety would end in disaster just like a lot of ambitious (but rubbish) Cold War projects.

I could see a future model being capable of high speed forward flight on stub-wings to offload the rotors allowing faster cruise and longer ranges creating a proper one-man personal courier vehicle.

Still a long way to go before a practical use can be found but along with things like visual stealth, powered exoskeletons and mechanical walkers, are the awesome stuff of this Century to be enjoyed by future generations

nyxadrill

I'll wait for the tricked out, "Easy Rider" version :cool:

lonnehart

And I'll wait for a version that can do THIS! :cool:

nrobbiec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lHgbbM9pu4

jg2112

Another thing that probably isn't going to be mass produced in 10 years and if it is it's probably going to be expensive.

centersolace

jg2112 wrote: »

Another thing that probably isn't going to be mass produced in 10 years and if it is it's probably going to be expensive.

They said the same thing about cell phones. And computers. And iPads. And iPods. And Airplanes. And helicopters. And Television. And Trains. And internal combustion engines. And Lightbulbs. And the Telegraph. And the internet. And... need I continue?

carmenara

Well let's just hope someone shows interest in the project and develops it further. As above-posted, you never know if this will become a future practical vehicle given another half-century of development.

Or maybe a couple centuries and we'd have something like this: -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHo6c7w2TWY

There's also another hover bike here that was home-built by a helo pilot powered by a BMW engine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVIylX41lzY&feature=related

He also has a website with quite detailed specs.
Hover-bike website

Homebuilt bike raised $76k USD but I'm thinking the one covered on Gizmodo did the right thing to try and get military attention on the project. Can you imagine the leapfrog progress it can get given DoD funding... lol.


Additional details on tech: -

Here is how the NACA duct in the shrouded fan design helps rotor efficiency. Notice how the airflow is sucked into the fan from outside the rotor diameter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KuGCnn67G58#!

lilchibiclari

carmenara wrote: »

The only problem with the speeder bike with fans below the rider is how to dismount in an emergency - you'd probably become mincemeat from going into the rotors. Oops.

As far as keeping people and objects from falling into the rotor blades goes, you could probably do like is done on ventilation fans and put a wire grille over the intake opening of the duct.