Don't sit in traffic, soar above the freeway in a personal helicopter.
It's a Jetsons-style dream that has been promised to urbanites for decades: Skip the congested streets by flying above them in a personal helicopter for a fast, painless commute. In a few massive cities, most notably São Paulo, Brazil, commuting by helicopter is a reality for the wealthy.
From article, (It's a Jetsons-style dream that has been promised to urbanites for decades: Skip the congested streets by flying above them in a personal helicopter for a fast, painless commute.
In a few massive cities, most notably São Paulo, Brazil, commuting by helicopter is a reality for the wealthy. Since last year, São Paulo has even had a on-demand helicopter service operated by Voom, a project of Airbus's Silicon Valley development outpost.
For most of us that dream is still far away as we pack into buses or trains to get to work or spend too much time stuck in traffic on the freeway. But at CES two weeks ago, a few exhibitors showed how they plan to bring the idea of the air taxi to more people. You might even call them flying cars, because the idea -- hop in and take yourself where you need to go -- is about the same.
We first saw the SureFly at the Paris Air Show in June. Made by Ohio-based Workhouse Group, the SureFly can carry two people at 70 miles per hour and at a maximum altitude of 4,000 feet. On a full tank of gas it can fly for an hour, and there's a backup battery that gives an extra 5 minutes of flight time to get you safely back down to the ground.
With eight rotors on four arms that extend out from the cockpit, the SureFly looks almost like a giant drone, albeit one that's rather boxy. The simple controls are limited to a couple of buttons and a joystick. Workhouse says it is developing the SureFly for medical and agricultural uses, first responders as well as private consumers...C)
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