Hoverbike flies with (insane) human pilot

[rolycat]

One of my favourite YouTube nutcases, Colin Furze, has successfully flown on a hoverbike he built himself:

[Zbig]

Controlling any rotorcraft experiencing Ground Proximity Effect - low enough so its own rotor(s)' downwash bounces back off the ground and affects the flight path in the most unpredictable ways, is extremely tricky. I wouldn't be surprised if the final footage we saw, where it seems to hover/move in more or less stable manner for a few seconds, was a product of countless trials, hops and spins. Even more so if your only means of steering is adjusting the center of gravity by shifting your own weight. On the other hand, GE is the thing that enables this vehicle to lift off the ground in the first place. In other words, the risks of him accidentally spooling the thing up too much and skyrocketing to any considerable altitude is low.

[continuo]

Here's the more sporty version

[edy]

It is definitely cool but all I could think about was this guy's safety (or lack of it). He's got 2 rotors spinning only inches away with almost nothing protecting bits of his body contacting them. He should have at least put a mesh over the other side of the propellers, and worn a helmet and some glasses. .... and he had to wear a tie just to add another thing to get caught up in the rotors.... 

[mikeselectricstuff]

I suspect the fact that it only has just enough power to lift off adds some stability against flip-overs etc.   

He used to be a very good BMX bike rider, which probably helps in terms of control.

[mikeselectricstuff]

It is definitely cool but all I could think about was this guy's safety (or lack of it). He's got 2 rotors spinning only inches away with almost nothing protecting bits of his body contacting them. He should have at least put a mesh over the other side of the propellers, and worn a helmet and some glasses. .... and he had to wear a tie just to add another thing to get caught up in the rotors.... 

There are some clear plastic guards, and of course he's wearing his Safety Tie.

[Zbig]

I suspect the fact that it only has just enough power to lift off adds some stability against flip-overs etc.   

He used to be a very good BMX bike rider, which probably helps in terms of control.

Against flip-over, yes. But as long as you're under the Ground Effect, you have to literally fight to (try to) hover over more or less the same spot. Reflected downwash will keep throwing you around as if it had a mind of its own.

[janoc]

Well, you can clearly see that towards the end of the video where he shows how he learned to ride that deathtrap.

He certainly does have balls. I was waiting when the props will chop his legs off in one of the landings/crashes ...

[wraper]

Kerosene bacpack for safety 

Would anybody be able to ride this without any Flyboard experience?

Oh, no. It’s impossible to ride it before you have a minimum of 50 or 100 hours in the original Flyboard with water. Also, if you want to try it, you must have seven lives, like the cat. [Laughs]

[MadTux]

The entire weight shifting control concept is weird not trustworthy at all,especially in the roll axis. Center of gravity moves out, as soon as he rolls, which increases roll rate until he has rolled over by 180°.

Pitch axis also isn't stable, because the engines don't have any V trust vector, similar to aircraft that have  dihedral wings.

He probably has much higher chances of flight (and survival) if he buys 2 more engines with propeller and goes with the classical quad copter configuration. Depending how quick those engines react to throttle changes, he could either use throttle, variable pitch propellers or spoilers in the airflow to control that thing like a classic quad copter.

[rolycat]

The entire weight shifting control concept is weird not trustworthy at all,especially in the roll axis. Center of gravity moves out, as soon as he rolls, which increases roll rate until he has rolled over by 180°.

Pitch axis also isn't stable, because the engines don't have any V trust vector, similar to aircraft that have  dihedral wings.

He probably has much higher chances of flight (and survival) if he buys 2 more engines with propeller and goes with the classical quad copter configuration. Depending how quick those engines react to throttle changes, he could either use throttle, variable pitch propellers or spoilers in the airflow to control that thing like a classic quad copter.

The problem is that he's not an aeronautical engineer, he's a mad but brilliant plumber in a garden shed. I suspect he's well aware that a four-motor configuration would be preferable, but to quote the man himself:

One reason i didn't go for 4 motors was the expense (they don't give you unlimited amounts unfortunately) it wouldn't fit in shed 2 build chassis and also you got 4 furze blenders to control ARRRR.