Support Our Advertisers Why Kitty Hawk The reason why Larry Page’s air motorcycle is called the Kitty Hawk Flyer is simple: on the dunes of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, the Wright brothers and their Wright Flyers first took off; the Wright brothers themselves called their plane “The Whopper Flying Machine.” The Kitty Hawk wants to lean on this historic vehicle, and hopes that they can revolutionize transport as well as did the Brothers Wright. An interesting further parallel between the design teams: the Wright Brothers produced and repaired bicycles, Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert, the technical directors of Kitty Hawk, earned their first spurs in aviation with the Canadian company Aerovelo. The spin-off of the University of Toronto built the bike-helicopter Atlas a few years ago, a helicopter operated by muscular force which won the Sikorsky Prize. The helicopter flew–driven only by the muscle power of the pilot–3.30 meters high and remained in the air for 64 seconds. They also won a prize for the fastest bike. Conclusion Did I see the future of ultralight flying or even general aviation at the Seaplane Base in Oshkosh? Yes and no. Yes, because I believe that the future of drive technology will soon be mainly electric in aviation, and yes, many of the test vehicles will also be flying as ultralights in the next few years. That is because it is simply the least regulated class of aircraft and it allows designs to be tested the fastest and with the fewest bureaucratic barriers. No, because people want to fly higher than five meters and not just over water. Although the machine can technically fly over land, it lacks the redundancy needed to make overland flight safe. No, because if you want to fly to get somewhere, the lift is simply too ineffective. We will still need wings for a long time. This is especially the case while we wait for advances in the low energy density of the batteries used to power aircraft. The Kitty Hawk Flyer is as much the future of air transport as the jet ski was the future of boating. But like jet skis, it is certainly going to be a lot of fun and will find its place in the market. • Light weight engines and propellers are designed in-house at Kitty Hawk for their own production Kitty Hawk Flyer then it’s gone again. In the photos we caught, it becomes clear that it’s still a prototype: complete with cable ties, loose cables and tape. But when machines look like that, then you can still try out a lot of things. The first impression is that the Flyer is stable in the air and reacts quickly and precisely to the control input, like many other multicopters, but of course it is slightly larger. How does one learn to fly the Flyer? Todd and his crew are convinced that mastery of the machine can be gained in a few hours. Whether or not this will actually be the case, the future will show. After all, the machine is quick (up to 24 mph)–and the aspiring pilot will probably have to learn some emergency maneuvers. The Flyer is a Part 103 Ultralight Just as at the beginning of the eighties of the last century, when inventors and backyard mechanics for the then-new deregulated class invented brand new aircraft for production and sales, the high-tech nerds from the Silicon Valley also want to build flying machines under the ultralight category carved out by the American aviation authority, the Federal Aviation Administration. Part 103 of the faa regulations state that airplanes with an empty weight of less than 254 pounds (115 Kg) are permitted to be built to fly without airworthiness certificates. And even better: for ultralights, those flying them do not need pilot licenses or airports. Part 103 also limits ultralights to a fuel capacity maximum of five gallons (approximately 19 liters), a minimum speed of 24 knots (44 km/h) and a maximum speed of 55 knots (102 km/h) observed. These hurdles are also likely to be overcome. Part 103 states that the empty weight of 254 pounds does not include a weight allowance for aircraft floats. This means that the Kitty Hawkers can pull the weight of their floats from the empty weight. This is necessary because, as Todd Reichert admitted in Oshkosh, currently the machine is still clearly above the weight limit; but that could be overcome. Then it’s over. After the first landing, there is a second short flight which goes much like the first. After the final landing, the questions are dominated by price, but Kitty Hawk won’t give away anything, even a price frame they would announce or confirm. But what is certain: in the fall, the Flyer is to be offered for sale, when the maximum flight time is to be significantly increased. And if you want, for $100 you can already become a member of the Kitty Hawk Club, which among other things will provide a discount of $2000 off the retail price of the Flyer. While Robertson is still being interviewed, his team stashes the Flyer on a red pickup truck, ties it down, and Two men could load the ultralight aircraft, which has a target empty weight of 254 pounds.
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