Could this be the next-generation flying bicycle?
Days are not far when we’ll be travelling through air on our vehicles as long as we have the most talented engineers on this planet like the group of students which belongs to the University of Maryland that has turned this concept into a reality, only for a small period though. This group of students invented the helicopter bicycle, (let’s say helicycle?) which needed a big number of mechanism and tools to bring the expected results and with just one person pedaling the bicycle, they were able to rotate the wings and fly their invention in the air.
This invention is named Gamera II by the group of students. It is pretty big in size as it boasts a carbon fiber lattice-work structure linking four big rotors (42 feet across each rotor) and measures it width at 105 feet. It weighs at just 71 pounds, and requires only a single person to control. The students of the University of Maryland demonstrated the Gamera II which took off for about 40 seconds from the ground (as an initial trial).
According to the reports, the same group of students invented the Gamera (1st model) last year, which had took off of the ground for around 11 seconds and it was also controlled by the pedals (weighed at 101 pounds). In its contrast, the Gamera II weighs 30 pounds lesser and it also has got extra hand eccentrics to support the pedal force, and if it manages to stay above the ground for one whole minute, it will be declared as a history and a winner in the “Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Competition” which features prize money of $250,000. For winning the competition, the Gamera II is also required to lift off of the ground at 3 meters during the demo period and that it should fly within a same 10-square-meter area range. With these things being considered, the Gamera II is not up to the mark as it currently lifts just 2 feet above the ground.
Watch the Gamera II demo video after a short break:
