In what may be a ground -breaking invention, Google is backing a Silicon Valley start-up by the name of Kitty Hawk, which will bring personal flying machines for people by the end of this year. On Monday, a video was released of the airborne prototype, whose mission is to make the dream of personal flight a reality.
Based in Google’s hometown of Mountain View, Kitty Hawk in its website has said that they believe when everyone would have an access to a personal flight; then a new, limitless world of opportunity will open up to them.
The single-seat aircraft has a spider web-like platform and two pontoons. The video shows the aircraft taking off from a small lake and hovering above the water. It also shows that the aircraft could land on water. Propelled by eight roots, it takes off and lands vertically, just like a helicopter, as per The Times Of India.
Weighing 220 pounds, it can fly at speeds up to 25 miles per hour and can hover at 15 feet high.
The website offers ample details about the company. According to reports, millions of dollars have been poured into Kitty Hawk and another electric car start-up in the past several months.
Sebastian Thrun, President of Kitty Hawk, who is also a computer science professor at Stanford University, tweeted “Changing the future of personal transformation. Join us @kittyhawkcorp or get information about #theFlyer prototype.”
A three-year membership for $100 can be placed on a waiting list and to get a discount on the price of the aircraft. The price is yet to be disclosed though. The Flyer has been described as “a new, all-aircraft”, which is “safe, tested and legal to operate in the United States in uncongested areas” under US federal regulations for ultralight aircraft.
All you need to fly it is a pilot’s license and a two-hour training session. Thr actual flyer, which will go on sale at the end of this year, will sport a different design than the prototype shown in the video.