Video: Hungarian hoverbike takes its first manned flight

Partway up an especially gruelling climb, what cyclist hasn’t momentarily fantasised about being able to fly? Could the Flike, a personal flying bike, make those dreams a reality?

Design Boom reports on this Hungarian hoverbike project, which recently carried out its first manned flight. By altering the rotation speed of the individual rotors, the Flike can apparently perform in the air like a conventional helicopter – although you won’t get much of a sense of that from the video below.

You may also have noticed that it isn’t a pedal-powered bike. The Flike relies on lithium polymer batteries, which can deliver around 15-20 minutes of hover flight.

In June 2013, we reported on a pedal bike that could fly, but again that’s not quite the full story. While pedal-powered on the ground, the Design Your Dreams Flying Bike was electrically-powered once airborne.

It took a team from Canada to claim the 33-year-old Sikorsky prize for the first human-powered helicopter flight. Also in June 2013, the Atlas helicopter managed to remain airborne for a total of 64 seconds, reaching an altitude of 3.3 metres, thus meeting requirements laid out by the American Helicopter Society.

Don’t expect the Atlas to be appearing on the market any time soon, however. Although it only weighs 52kg, it is 58 metres wide – larger than any operational helicopter ever constructed.

It’s also less than robust. One of the designers, Cameron Robertson, observed: “At all times during the flight, the helicopter is right on the edge of falling apart. If something goes wrong, as happened twice, there’s a chance of the entire helicopter disintegrating in mid-air.”

So while your pace may slow when going uphill, comfort yourself with the thought that your bike should at least remain in one piece.