A Silicon Valley "flying car" startup, Kitty Hawk, reportedly backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, released a video Monday of its airborne prototype and announced plans for deliveries of a "personal flying machine" this year.


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The video showed the single-seat aircraft -- with two pontoons and a spider web-like platform -- taking off from a lake at an undisclosed location and hovering above the water, where it is meant to be used.


The craft, propelled by eight rotors, takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter. It is said to weigh about 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and fly at speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 kph). and can hover at 15 feet (4.5 meters) high.


Kitty Hawk president Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford University computer science professor who has been called the father of Google's self-driving car, tweeted: "Changing the future of personal transportation. Join us @kittyhawkcorp to get information about #theFlyer prototype."



The company describes the Flyer as "a new, all-electric aircraft," which is "safe, tested and legal to operate in the United States in uncongested areas" under US federal regulations for ultralight aircraft. No pilot's license is required, and two hours' training is said to be all that is needed.


 


With AFP Inputs