# Hover bikes...could these things ever be used? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902 "2014-08-29T19:13:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/1 "2014-08-29T19:13:46Z")
So, was listening to [this](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/29/tech/innovation/can-levitating-appliances-take-off/index.html?hpt=hp_c3) video on CNN about an inventor designing and developing a hover bike. From an engineering perspective it’s, of course, very do-able. You COULD make such a vehicle that a person could ride around on. But…do you think anyone ever would (we won’t get into the costs just personal and public safety). I mean, it’s a way cool idea, and personally I’d love to try one out (in a nice, safe grass field with no one else around and some sort of governor for speed and height, and maybe lots of foam padding on, and… :p). From the article: > [@](#): > > Ger Jansen is puzzling about how to fit a windshield. His problem is not installing it in a car, but hanging the glass in thin air and keeping it hovering for a prolonged display. > > This is a fairly typical challenge for the Dutch engineer, who along with his daughter Angela runs Crealev, a leading levitation design firm. The mysterious art of floating has been largely confined to ultra-specialist industry applications and magician tricks, but the Jansens have developed a repertoire for any occasion; from lifting a model’s top hat for a fashion shoot to a giant rock in a striking art display. They have given sneakers air for Nike, and produced a range of self-suspending lamps for the home. > > These are all given flight by patented modules that induce magnetic levitation. The kit is comprised of two parts: a magnetic disc that can be integrated into the chosen object, and a base containing sensors that pin it in space. The latest and most heavy-duty module can support up to 10 kilograms to a height of nine centimeters, but bespoke services are available for unlimited height and weight. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/2 "2014-08-29T19:26:17Z")
People love flying machines. Always have. Ok, it’s probably a bad idea, but when has that ever stopped people from doing something that looked cool? I think the biggest hurdle is going to be having the things banned by law as soon as they’re common enough for anyone to notice. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/3 "2014-08-29T20:26:04Z")
I’m going to have to go with a qualified no. Far too complicated for the inexperienced person to control. It would have to be primarilty computer controlled with the rider directing it from more familiar controls. The typical driver doesn’t have to deal with drifting sideways or sliding through a turn. Sudden stops are a whole new thing when you don’t have rubber in contact with the road. Then there are environmental hazards. At low altitude the craft will be kicking up debris and dust which will be a problem for everyone around you as well as yourself. Higher altitudes get you into limbs and power lines. It’s a lovely fantasy, but strictly a fantasy for the forseeable future. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/4 "2014-08-29T20:30:54Z")
How do the brakes work? It’s feasible, similar concepts of hover cars have been designed in the past, and the Hiller Flying Platform was basically the same thing. The FAA may be a problem getting to actually use one of these things in the US in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/5 "2014-08-29T20:46:00Z")
First. if you could, someone would. I’m retired Air Force and keep a toe in the avionic media - I’ve heard of a few ‘designs’ and ‘prototypes’, but no proven working models. As soon as someone can make one, there will be a line for people to try it out. I would assume they will be ‘flown’ the way some drones are; programmed. You tell it where you want to go and it does the rest. With predetermined rates of acceleration and max altitude, etc… Braking will be done the same as with helicopters; adjust attitude and use some of the lifting force to counter-act the momentum. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/6 "2014-08-29T21:42:11Z")
I don’t know if it is still this way but over you own land and at or below 300 above ground, you can do what you want with what you want. They ( FAA ) are not interested. many moons ago, old fart rancher bought a Piper Cub in a box. Built it, taught himself to fly it and did for over 20 years. Checked his critters with it. Never went over his property line, never took a passenger, never recovered it, you could stick your finger through the fabric most anyplace. So you want to play in the air without hassle, no passengers, not over 300 feet, never over your property lines, don’t ever sell it to someone else. You are good to go. This may have changed as I have not checked in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/7 "2014-08-30T00:07:59Z")
**GusNSpot** : For God’s sake, don’t tell my b.i.l.! He’s got his heart set on a mini-dirigible, and has just barely enough land to work within the property lines. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/8 "2014-08-30T00:13:22Z")
I have always wanted to be the first on my block to own an aero-scooter, but it wouldn’t be much fun if you just programmed it and hopped on. I’d want to dart around the sky like a giant gnat and terrify old people and buzz my girlfriend’s house n stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/9 "2014-08-31T13:30:15Z")
No way, none for me, thanks. I don’t want the Monarch’s henchmen to blow me away in the case of mistaken identity. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/10 "2014-08-31T15:03:47Z")
Unlike winged and rotored vehicles, these things can’t glide. There is a death zone between the ground, and enough altitude to deploy a ballistic parachute. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/11 "2014-08-31T15:21:11Z")
As **HipGnosis** said, it’d have to be a fly-by-wire sort of thing. I don’t know how the thing would handle in cross winds. What sort of controls would it have? Throttle, collective, and cyclic incorporated into handlebars with twist grips? I guess from a legal sense, it’d be under the ultralight/experimental umbrella. Good luck getting insurance. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/12 "2014-09-02T15:25:02Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > As **HipGnosis** said, it’d have to be a fly-by-wire sort of thing. I don’t know how the thing would handle in cross winds. What sort of controls would it have? Throttle, collective, and cyclic incorporated into handlebars with twist grips? > > I guess from a legal sense, it’d be under the ultralight/experimental umbrella. Good luck getting insurance. The controls will be directional - go; faster/slower, altitude; up/down, turn; left/right. The processor(s) will determine which and how much mechanical input to apply. The classification seems to be the crux of their progress - small enough to be ultralight means impractical range. Decent range and/or safety equipment bumps them into highly more complicated rules and regulations. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/13 "2014-09-02T15:36:16Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > I have always wanted to be the first on my block to own an aero-scooter, but it wouldn’t be much fun if you just programmed it and hopped on. I’d want to dart around the sky like a giant gnat and terrify old people and buzz my girlfriend’s house n stuff. This is why they’re never going to let you have one. The thought of a bunch of doofuses flying around living out their Star Wars fantasies is rather disconcerting. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/14 "2014-09-02T16:43:09Z")
I want a hover bike, if only to use as bribery to convince my kids they should leave a cult ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/15 "2014-09-02T17:45:49Z")
Not sure how you’d power full-sized one. I don’t think battery technology is quite there yet. And I’d guess that an internal combustion engine would add a lot of extra weight and complexity. So getting the power density you need for something with no lifting surfaces except four small rotors is going to be difficult. At best, it’s going to be very range-limited, and you’re going to have to keep a damned sharp eye on the fuel gauges. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/16 "2014-09-02T20:16:54Z")
Tech improvement will evenrually make it work. Humans will never be improved enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/17 "2014-09-02T22:24:46Z")
I don’t like to think of where the flying, razor-sharp propeller shards would hit, if you rammed a tree or somethin’. (Hint: Your Groin). ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hover-bikes-could-these-things-ever-be-used/696902/18 "2014-09-03T08:21:09Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I’m going to have to go with a qualified no. Far too complicated for the inexperienced person to control. It would have to be primarilty computer controlled with the rider directing it from more familiar controls. Of course it is computer controlled. Do you think the designer (not inventer… its a helicopter with some engineering work) was stuck in the 1950’s ?