The attorneys who ride at Metier Law Firm try to stay on top of the latest in motorcycling technology. However, at the pace the tech industry is moving, we may soon have to trade our two-wheelers in for flying motorcycles. How soon you ask? Try just a few short years.
Motorcycling in the Future
We’ve previously talked about flying concept motorcycles, like BMW’s R 1200 GS Adventure hover bike, but until now, those have just been imaginative ideas. Sure, the occasional prototype hoverbike would appear on social media, but they were a long way from being available to the public. Well, according to Sebastian Thrun—CEO of Kitty Hawk—that wait may not be as long as you thought.
The Kitty Hawk hoverbike is surrounded by props similar to what you would find on a drone. And like a drone, this bike has a computer that helps keep it stable despite weather conditions. That makes flying this bike easier than previous hoverbike prototypes. Now, Thrun has announced at the Tech Crunch conference in San Francisco that the first production models of this hoverbike could be available to the public as soon as February 2018.
This hoverbike is powered by electric motors and batteries, plus it has pontoons as landing gear because the bike is geared toward watersport rather than road wandering. However, how much longer could it be before a roadworthy version of the Kitty Hawk is available? Considering the watersport version will be available in February, it might not be long.
Thrun says that he expects the technology to outpace regulations for these vehicles. He has even suggested that his company could be producing hover cars in just a few short years as well. The only question is, would you buy one?
The motorcycling attorneys at Metier Law Firm are definitely watching out for this one. Will you need a pilot’s license to fly one of these hoverbikes? Will they even be legal to fly in the U.S.? We’ll keep monitoring the situation to find out.