When ET took to the sky on a BMX, he made it look like child’s play. This world-first human-powered flying bike, however, has taken a bit of blue-sky thinking to get it off the ground.
Comprising an ungainly mix of a bike with wings, a fan, a motor and a parachute, the invention, known as a Paravelo, can reach a height of 1200 metres and speeds of up to 40km/h.
On the ground, the Paravelo is an ordinary two-wheeled bike - albeit one towing a trailer with a large fan, driven by a biofuel-powered 249cc two-stroke paramotor, and a flexible wing. But with a bit of space to act as a runway, the trailer can be docked with the bike to transform it into a flying machine capable of running for three hours on a full tank of fuel.
Its British creators, John Fordon, 37, and Yannick Read, 42, said they were inspired by cycling in their childhood when creating the Paravelo, which costs £10 000 (R156 000).
RECAPTURING PIONEERING ERA
Fordon said: “We live in Kingston upon Thames, on the outskirts of London, two minutes’ walk from the birthplace of the Sopwith Aviation Company, which built the Sopwith Camel for the Royal Air Force during the First World War.
“We were enchanted by the connection between cycling and the birth of powered flight – the Wright brothers were former bicycle mechanics – so we designed the Paravelo to recapture that pioneering era.”
The Paravelo comes with a GPS tracker to plot its movements, and flying it does not require a pilot’s licence.
IDEAL FOR COMMUTING
The inventors hope the Paravelo will become a mainstream form of transport, and claim it costs the same as a small family car to run. They say it is ideal for commuting as it can be folded away in a compact space, such as an office.
The Paravelo’s development was supported by the Environmental Transport Association. The charity’s director, Andrew Davis, said: “For generations the car has been king, but it could now play second fiddle to the flying bicycle.” - Daily Mail