Will This (Helicopter?) Lead to The Affordable Flying Car?

Workhorse Gets Approved To Test Its SureFly Electric Hybrid Helicopter

There is something going on at Workhorse, and its latest press release hints at what the company is trying to do. After the announcement of its newest electric vehicle (EV) van, it is now announcing that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given it a green light to fly its electric helicopter, the SureFly Electric Hybrid Helicopter.

FAA OKs Tests Of The SureFly Electric Hybrid Helicopter

 From article, (The SureFly uses a drone-like octocopter design. The two-person, 400-pound payload aircraft has a range of roughly 70 miles. The appeal of the SureFly is that it is more affordable than a conventional helicopter, as well as easier to maintain.

As far as flying the SureFly, the system uses a joystick, much as you would use flying drone. Although early models will be manually piloted, future models will be autonomous.

Autonomous vehicles (AV) have been a hot topic for the past few years. Although some of the earlier projects have been throttled back (think Volvo’s enthusiasm in 2013 and how the company is now much more careful about the technology it hypes), Workhorse feels autonomous aircraft technology is nearly ready.

The company expects the SureFly to find use in agriculture, surveillance, aerial inspection, as well as emergency response tasks. What interests me is urban commuting, something that will need regulation on top of maturing the technology — and, of course, the coordination of this new type of traffic.

The price of a SureFly electrified helicopter is expected to be approximately $200,000, a fraction that of a regular helicopter. To give you an idea, an entry-level Eurocopter EC120 price will run around $1.4 million. The law enforcement ES350 and 350 B3 will run anywhere from $1.6 million to $1.9 million.

Although we’re still in the infancy of personal hybrid helicopters, drones, and other forms of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the price point and maintenance budget of such personal aircraft are becoming alluring. We imagine they will spawn a wave of more efficient air travel. As to how the technologies will become democratized is another subject.)