OMoCo: Bicycle over the clouds

Monday, March 31, 2008

Bicycle over the clouds

I found that accidentally last weekend. A Bicycle over the clouds. It's really built in Germany, I can't believe it, because the restrictions for vehicles in Germany are very strong. But, Markus Müller and his business partner Micheal Werner, founded a small company and built up the "Flike". Flyke - a combined word between Flying and Bicycle. It's a paraglider and a propeller provides for the necessary speed to go in the air.

Once started, the pilot controls his aerial carriage with two grips. During cloudy days, if streets and places are not to be seen, helps a navigation system for orientation. An average of 45 kilometer per hour is possible in the air. One of the longest trips led from the Baltic beach near Rostock to Hannover and back - about 400 kilometers.

Only with one stopover on to the airport of Hamburg. In Hamburg there was a small problem. An aircraft which lands, but again does not start: This was not planned in the airport computer and thus they came to both pilots didn't must pay the land fee.

On the street the Flyke is no more as fast as in the air. Bicycle and engine together have about 70 Kilogram weight. And it's forbidden to start the engine on traffic roads.

This costs for Flyke is about 10,000 euros. In addition 2,000 euros still comes for the ultraeasily flight licence.
From wind force 3 it becomes in that air a little bit uncomfortable and sometime also dangerously.
For it the fair-weather airplane is the only one nowadays the payable carriage which offers mobility in the air and on the ground.