Or roadable gyroplane by butterfly LLC (thebutterflyllc.com).

Pretty cool in that it's actually roadable.

The good part about this gadget is that he is not using the propeller to drive it on the road. So when he is parked at a stop light and granny steps off the curb she will not get chopped up. Assuming that the state DMV's will allow it to be licensed as a motorcycle, this thing actually comes closest to a usable road/sky vehicle than anything else I've seen.

Another good idea is to have a motorcycle that has a PTO at the rear wheel to drive a propeller, that you hook up to a "powered parachute" system to fly. The parachute and harness would fold up and fit into a large "saddle bag" on the bike.that actually might be light enough to work.

EZFlap wrote:The good part about this gadget is that he is not using the propeller to drive it on the road. So when he is parked at a stop light and granny steps off the curb she will not get chopped up. Assuming that the state DMV's will allow it to be licensed as a motorcycle, this thing actually comes closest to a usable road/sky vehicle than anything else I've seen.

Isn't it the Feds that determine if something is a Vehicle? I know the states have a say in inspecting vehicles "returning to service". Good to find out up front, I guess.

EZFlap wrote:Another good idea is to have a motorcycle that has a PTO at the rear wheel to drive a propeller, that you hook up to a "powered parachute" system to fly. The parachute and harness would fold up and fit into a large "saddle bag" on the bike.that actually might be light enough to work.

Now that's a head slapping, "Of course", idea. The powered chute frames look essentially the same as the gyrocopters. The weight can't be too much different. It should be a relatively easy adaptation.

Mr. Flap, build us an EZBike!

Looks like the perfect way to get out of a speeding ticket

Here it is a three seat ppg. This was developed by Nate Saint's son Steve Saint for the missionary aviation field. I got to see this last summer at the smoketown airport along with the Kodiak Quest.
Nick W.

GroundLooper wrote:
Mr. Flap, build us an EZBike!

Considering the welcome wagon I got for my existing venture, I'll have to leave the ParaCycle to someone else. It would work, it should work, and it will work if someone minds the details correctly.

You need a light carbon or titanium off-road bike frame, and probably some sort of a shaft drive to the rear wheel. Instead of a right angle drive to the wheel you would put in a dual angle drive... one to the wheel and one pointing straight back.

You'll need a cage around the propeller that comes off or folds up to keep the risers out of the prop on takeoff. You'll need structural attach points on the bike frame for the risers. You'll need some sort of cables that you clip on to convert handlebar movement to steering line pull.

My guess is that those cables have to cross somewhere above the pilot.You'll need a full "fairing" on the front of the bike that will act as the windscreen in the air too. You'll need a fairing on the back that fairs airflow into the propeller and becomes the storage for the canopy and lines.

You'll need a parafoil canopy sized and strengthened for the weight of the bike.

I think all those things are do-able with some moderate effort.

A good idea to start with, now that at least SOMEONE here thinks I'm clever is to start off by experimenting with launching an existing powered backpack paraglider using a bicycle.

Bill

I like both of them . I've seen the Skycycle up close and it's a bugs in your face machine . The Maverick is cool but I'm not to cool on the para wing. How about a regular shaped wing -say with a canard that is /was detachable that could be left at airport or towed behind ? The parawing idea is light but I still want to the the real flying specs. What is the weight of the "body-frame-engine " on the Maverick type machine. What kind of weight will it support in body.

The first time the foot launched powered para gliders (in particular the ones with the cages that break down for transport) came to my attention, the first thing I thought was "I could fit that in my S-7S". Then I could fly somewhere, and, uhhh, go flying! I've seen pics of one guy who transports his using his Goldwing... LOTS of possiblities for fun there.

I guess the Maverick won LSA certification late last month:

http://mavericklsa.com/

So practical it's just silly.