[Image above] Credit: Kitty Hawk, YouTube

Ever since the Wright Brothers successfully flew the first airplane along the shores of the Outer Banks, N.C., the aviation industry has “taken off,” so to speak. Today, people have the ability to travel to places they could never even conceive of more than a century ago.

Innovators like Clyde Cessna and William Piper have allowed some of us to experience the thrill of seeing the world below from as low as 6,500 feet.

But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to fly from point A to point B by piloting our own aircraft?

The future is already here. A different kind of flying machine is now in the process of getting off the ground (pun intended).

Flyer by Kitty Hawk Corporation, out of Mountain View, Calif. is a one-person aircraft that flies at an altitude of 10 feet and a top speed of 20 mph. Because a pilot’s license isn’t necessary, Flyer is designed to be flown over water or unpopulated areas.

Unlike an ultralight aircraft, which is powered by gas, Flyer is powered by a battery. Its wingspan covers 8 ft. x 13 ft. and 10 rotors propel its take-off and landing, according to the company website.

Google cofounder Larry Page has pumped money into Kitty Hawk for the past few years, and last year the company introduced a previous iteration of the aircraft. Engineers have updated the design to look more like an actual airplane. Well, actually more like a seaplane.

Kitty Hawk is currently testing an air taxi service in New Zealand. Cora, a larger version of Flyer, will fly at altitudes between 500 ft. and 3,000 ft. at 110 mph, with a range of around 62 miles.

Watch the video below to see how easy it looks to fly one of these machines. Watch more of the company’s videos on its YouTube channel.

YouTube video

Credit: Kitty Hawk, YouTube

And watch YouTube star Casey Neistat go through basic training in preparation to someday fly the Flyer at this link.

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Author

Faye Oney

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