This Bonkers Hoverbike Can Hit a Top Speed of Almost 125 MPH
Ever want to soar like Luke Skywalker on a Speeder Bike? A Poland-based start-up is offering that opportunity with a new hoverbike called the Volonaut Airbike. Video released shows the one-person Airbike cruising above a scenic desert, through forests and hovering in place before taking off again. Could it be a bit too much like Star Wars in that the flight was more special effects than reality?
“The video is as real as it gets, no trickery there, not a bit of AI,” inventor Tomasz Patan told Robb Report. “I had a great camera and FPV drone operators.”
This picture shows the small scale of the Airbike.
Volonaut
Patan is also the brains behind the Jetson One, a one-person eVTOL that was announced three years ago and made its first official test flight this February. The first video of that cool-looking personal aircraft, which doesn’t require a pilot’s license, featured Patan several years ago flying over Italy’s Tuscany countryside. Since then, other one-person eVTOLs such as the Pivotal Helix have come to market.
The single-seat contraption, with the pilot facing forward like a motorcycle rider, is a lot less cool-looking than other hoverbikes such as the XTurismo or Razor Flying Motorcycle, but it could also be the first one to actually take flight.
A side view of the Airbike.
Volonaut
Details about the Volonaut Airbike are few. The press release mentions using “jet power” rather than propellers to propel the aircraft, claiming it’s designed to carry a rider to speeds of 124.2 mph. Patan declined to elaborate on the propulsion. “I want to retain some secrecy and make it a bit more magical and exciting for some time,” he said, noting further details would be released later.
“The Airbike’s proprietary stabilization system enhanced by a flight computer provides automatic hover and ease of control for its rider,” added the release. “The unique riding position with [an] unobstructed 360-degree view helps the rider to quickly become one with the flying machine and provides the sensation of complete freedom.
This gives a sense of the scale of the hoverbike.
Volonaut
Though it doesn’t give an exact weight, the company says the Airbike is seven times lighter than a typical motorcycle, “thanks to use of advanced carbon-fiber materials, 3-D printing, and minimalistic approach.”
Patan made the first successful Airbike flight in May 2023 after previous prototypes failed. The company said it’s “highly probable” that the Airbike will go to market in the near future, but did not specify a timeline or price.
Whatever happens, it’s a cool, futuristic project, just in time for Star Wars Day next Sunday. May the Fourth be with you.
