Larry Page's "Flying Car" Prototype Is Here, Coming To You Later This Year

Short Bytes: A Larry Page-funded flying tech startup Kitty Hawk has demonstrated their first prototype named Flyer. The machine is capable of flying over water bodies using eight propellers; it seats one person. It doesn’t require a pilot’s license. Kitty Hawk Flyer will go on sale by the end of this year.

It’s not even a week since we heard about AeroMobil, a flying car now up for pre-order. Even though it up for pre-order, the buyers aren’t going to get a ride until 2020. Last year, the news came out that Alphabet’s Larry Page had funded two flying tech startups, Kitty Hawk and Zee.Aero.

Now, one of them, Kitty Hawk Corporation, has recently demonstrated their first flying tech prototype, known as Flyer. It’s hard to call it a car, but we can if you insist.

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Contrary to what most of us might assume, Kitty Hawk Flyer isn’t a full-fledged aviation solution. The electric-powered machine has eight propellers and the space to house one person.

A kind of safety net is also present which can save the rider’s legs from being chopped off during the flight. However, it’s only one of the design ideas Kitty Hawk is crafting under its roof.

Kitty Hawk claims that their flying tech is quite simple to use, and one can learn to fly it in minutes. Also, there is no need for a pilot’s license. Currently, Flyer is only designed to hover on water bodies. So, we won’t be seeing the police running after some amateur flyer breezing through the streets. In a nutshell, it can be a great picnic toy for some kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Kitty Hawk is expected to go the only sale by the end of this year. Hopefully, the buyers don’t have to wait much for the final product. As of now, the company has launched a 3-year membership program.

The $100 membership gives people a priority placement in the customer wait list and $2,000 discount on the retail price which is yet to be announced. Members will have access to the Kitty Hawk community, exclusive Kitty Hawk gear, flight simulator, behind-the-scenes videos, etc.

Kitty Hawk might not be able to fulfill our Jetsons dream, but wait until the Flyer gets in the market. There are other players in the market as well. Airbus also previewed their Pop.Up convertible flying car last month.

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