Ready to fly: This personal flying machine could be the answer to traffic woes
Steve Burns, Workhorse CEO might have a solution to the frustrating commute that many Americans suffer every morning, with horns blaring and bumper to bumper traffic – a personal flying machine called SureFly.
“This was invented with me driving my kid to high school every day, stuck on the highway – like everybody you just want to lift up and fly” said Burns during an interview on the FOX Business Network.
The machine, which costs under $200-thousand, can carry two people and fly up to 70 miles.
Burns’ design is similar to that of a helicopter, but offers a couple differences that allow it to be more practical.
“You know we figured the reason there isn’t a helicopter in every garage in America is a couple things: A, they’re fairly costly, B, complex to drive, and C, rather dangerous at points.” Burns said.
Safety was the foremost concern.
“So, we made sure this has no single points of failure – engine can fail and you’ve got a five minute battery backup to get you down. It’s got eight props, two or three could still fail with a bird strike or something and you’d still get down,” Burns said. “So, the design is such that it’s named SureFly so it would stay in the air.”
Burns hopes to have the personal flying machine available for purchase by 2019, depending on certification and regulatory issues with the FAA.