The World’s First Flying Bike Makes Its Debut in America

The world's first flying bikeAERWINS

The ingenuity of man that inspires Hollywood movies and science fiction books is no longer the stuff that is confined to man’s imagination. The world’s first flying bike has made its debut at the North American Auto show. The flying bike can travel at speeds of 62 miles per hour and can also stay in the air for about 40 minutes.

The Flying bike or hoverbike is made by Aerwins Technologies Inc, whose mission is to “create new theories that will change society without being bound by conventional thinking.” The company primarily makes drones and unmanned vehicles and claims it has the vision to change the structure of society from the top down. With the hoverbike as its newest creation, the company has lived up to its lofty mission statement and grand vision of change.

Everything about the hoverbike symbolizes what’s in store for man’s future, from its futuristic design features to its chosen name, XTurismo. However, with a price tag of $ 777,000, not many people will be able to afford it.

Not even the promise of a cheaper but smaller model that costs $50,000 will be enough to persuade buyers considering the economy and the limitations of the hoverbike, including the laws that would have to be put in place. So far, the hoverbike has only been on sale in Japan, where it’s not classified as an aircraft and therefore requires no special license to pilot it.

Hover bike can take off and land from anywhere

The XTurismo has two large central rotors powered by a 228hp gas-powered Kawasaki motorcycle engine. In addition, the hoverbike also has four smaller electric support rotors on its outer edges. The flying bike weighs 660 pounds and measures about 12 feet long.

When reporters questioned Mr. Shuhei Komatsu, the CEO of Aerwins, about the XTurismo, he said, “I wanted to make something from the movie real. it’s a land speeder for the Dark Side.” Mr. Komatsu was referring to the Star Wars movies, particularly the lightning-fast land speeders portrayed in the movies, which Mr. Komatsu said he loved as a kid.

While Mr. Komatsu has brought his childhood favorite movie vehicles to reality, he hopes consumers will buy his flying machines for recreational purposes. Nevertheless, he also plans to sell the hoverbike to governments that he hopes will use the XTurismo for law enforcement and infrastructure inspection.

While I suspect Mr. Komatsu’s primary goal is to supply governments and law enforcement agencies, from a sales perspective, his strategy makes sense considering only the very rich and governments have deep enough pockets to purchase his futuristic vehicles. However, it remains to be seen how much change or how effective the hoverbike will turn out to be but considering the pace technologies are evolving, we won’t have to wait for long to find out.