Hoverbike: the motorbike and helicopter hybrid hoping you’ll fund it on Kickstarter

Itâ€s a bird, itâ€s a plane, no… itâ€s Malloy Aeronautics†quad-rotor Hoverbike prototype with Cyborg Buster manning the controls!

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It’s been described as a combination of helicopter and motorbike, but the creators of this vehicle have grander intentions other than releasing yet another dressed-up toy drone meant to entice RC enthusiasts to fork out another thousand bucks for a basic prototype to impress their bucket hat wearing pals on the bluff.

Well, okay, perhaps we can assume just a little.

This is in fact a serious endeavour that engineer Chris Malloy hopes will lead to a full-sized version meant for recreational use, search and rescue operations, cattle herding, and package delivery not unlike Amazon Prime Air. Currently, his company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to begin development of a larger, head-chopping version soon (It has already raised more than £25 118 of its £30 000 goal).

Yikes! Although I would be remiss not to mention the ducting around the fans is designed for maximum safety.

Malloyâ€s miniaturized quad-rotor Hoverbike also features some impressive specs. It comes with a 3DR Pixhawk flight controller, can take-off, land and manoeuvre on its own, and can follow a pre-determined flight path. The vehicleâ€s carbon composite, polyurethane and aluminium frame also makes it very light, fast and portable, weighing 2.2 kg (4.85 lbs) and reaching speeds of up to 45 mph (72 km/h).

Oh, and did I mention Cyborg Buster, the humanoid mock-up whose head can be fitted with a GoPro camera? Awesome.

The real story here is that this truly is a prototype for a much larger version. Patience young padawan, patience!

This post by Kristian Markus originally appeared on Tech Gen Mag and was published with permission.