 June 18, 2011 - 7:20am | For another instance of SF tech meeting the real world, check this page out: http://hover-bike.com/ It's not just a hover bike but a flying one supposedly. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 June 18, 2011 - 4:56pm | WOW!!!! To keep the game in step I would call this a copter bike and continue to call the hover bike what we've called it. Did I read that page right that thing read he's 10,000 feet? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 18, 2011 - 5:02pm | They haven't tried flying it yet, they are still on ground testing but based on the thrust to weight ratio they expect to be able to get that high. I was reading a little more and the 10,000 foot ceiling is not due to the limitations of the bike but due to the fact that you need an additional oxygen source above that altitiude  . The bike could actually go higher.Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 June 20, 2011 - 6:22pm | I guess the real questions are how gradually you can reach that speed, how do you balance and how do you move forward? They got ropes balancing that thing, but it lacks steering, which means it is steered by tilt. If steered by tilt, then how well can you controll the tilt? Hovercars that use a two-hoverfan system also have a lenth operating counter to the balance of the fans like a tightrope walker with a long pole. This bike lacks such counterweighting, like a tithgtrope walker without a pole or even arms. Motorbikes are balanced by their resistance to the ground and forward momentum. This bike has no ground resistence other than singular-directional thrust, which has a ball resistance scenario rather than a straightline resistence. Also, how do they move forward if the fans don't direct backward? Do you tilt the whole bike forward? Do the fans adjust direction within their housing? It doesn't look like they can adjust direction at all. So it seems that you have to tilt the whole bike in the direction you want to go. What keeps you from tipping over completely? You can't exactly kick your leg out when you catch an updraft. In other words, they made it look great, but how on earth is it going to fly under the pilot's total control? View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
June 20, 2011 - 6:27pm | WOW!!!! To keep the game in step I would call this a copter bike and continue to call the hover bike what we've called it. Did I read that page right that thing read he's 10,000 feet? The only difference between the Star Frontiers Hoverbike and this hoverbike is the number of fans. This is very clearly a hoverbike. However, I'd trust 3 fans over 2. A 3 fan configuration would allow you to use the back 2 fans for guidance. Also, the forced-air fans from the Star Frontiers hoverbikes would seem to me to be more efficient. Like Jet fans. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
June 21, 2011 - 6:05am | except SF hoverbikes dont have a 10,000 foot ceiling. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 21, 2011 - 11:44pm | What is the ceiling on a SF Tri-fan Bike? 10,000ft (3.048km) is a good distance for sure, but I would expect a Tri-fan Hoverbike in SF to be capable of at least 50 meters before encountering instability, and 500 meters or more on a clear day with a sure rider. (not me mind you, I'll stick to 5 meters thanks...) Oh humans!!  We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
June 22, 2011 - 7:44pm | I've been of the opinion since day one with SF that the hover bike like the hover car and truck were essentially ground effects vehicles. That could be changed to reflect new developments or it could be left alone and this copter bike added as something different. I would lean toward leaving the hover bike as its been and add the copter bike. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 23, 2011 - 7:44am | Well I have to say the hover-car or hover-truck definitely doesn't look capable of topping 2 meters... and I wouldn't want to try in those either... a more modern air-car design would make more sense for higher elevations to me... And I still would rather use a trifan for altitude over an inline-twinfan, the inline-twinfan would be much harder for me to trust over 1meter... I should ride a 0.3m ground effect on an inline-twinfan? certainly! ... I should go 2m leap-frogging the GES-traffic, while racing down the busy freeway on a trifan? maybe... might these machines be capable of more than this rider is willing to dare-devil? probably... Personally I think there are probably multiple versions with differently optimized effects, the sporty-model or the econo-classic? The fashion-sensitive-towner or the outback-frontiersman? The factory-stock or kit-bashed-hotrod? The factory-stock vehicles will cater to the mass needs of the market, and most will likely range 0.3m GES to 5m capable/GES-optimized... after-factory options might be able to adjust this up to 50m... kit-building hobbyists might be able to push it up to a variety of km optimized balances... but the base market would make a factory-stock skyrider a very expensive fan-bike indeed... ...just my thoughts, I'd agree that most (over 70%) traffic is likely 0.3 GES optimized, and over two thirds of the remainder is under 50m Capable... perhaps 1-5% of any given traffic is 'effectively unlimmited'... Oh humans!! We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
June 23, 2011 - 6:23pm | I'm sure that government regulations would require a ceiling limit to hover vehicles considering the already taxed air vehicle tracking network. They would also have to have some means of being classified by radar above a certain altitude (the ceiling of course) as a non-commercial flight aparatus that radar would identify as impinging upon air space at that height, and ignoring it below that height. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
June 24, 2011 - 1:42am | taxed air traffic? I don't see that very likely, the traffic on the streets is said to be controlled largely by the local comp-net, and maintained by a City-AI or four... but initiating established flight paths around larger settlements, the classic sky-ways of sci-fi, just makes sense, and all the logistics become easier to process... I don't see why air-cars couldn't be handed-over to the same traffic-control that is used ground-side also... it's all just urban traffic at that scale... Vehicles rated for up to 50m Capable is likely an easy ceiling over a city, 5km to 20km around the edge is likely sufficient depending on the city to maintain traffic control. Outside that and it is frontier jurisdiction... and frontier law... I mean every planetary government isn't a dictatorship, and the people are still likely going to want to exercise their frontier spirit and such even on a corp-world or benevolent tyranny, but laws are likely lax outside the main urban zones... don't kill nuth'n don't belong to ya, don't take nuth'n dont belong to ya, don't be stupid bout trust'n your stuff and life to strangers and wildlife, and don't bother no rangers 'less it's an 'mergency and some-sapi'n is gonna be die'n... well... I assume most planets are two thirds or more wilderness, and about half that more-or-less unexplored... not the unused farmland outside a major population zone, wilderness... more like... no survey maps, urban lights, or manned outposts, within 800km wilderness... travel between urban zones doesn't need roads, mono-rail and transport-shuttles handle a lot of the needs, but a 50m Capable should clear most terrain and allow civil independence without requiring highway maintenance over excessive distances and still be safe enough for the consumer to want it... frontier wilderness being what it is however, outside an urban zone hot-roders wanting to tinker with their weekend sportster, and jet their sky-car for low-orbital insertions are pretty much on their own, just stay clear of the lander entry routes, urban zones, and launch ports, and don't damage the environment with excessive impact craters, and you won't suffer any lifetime-servitude fines that your grandchildren will still be paying for... Oh humans!! We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
June 24, 2011 - 7:34am | I was actually referring to modern reality.  Sorry I didn't make that clear.View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
June 24, 2011 - 8:30pm |
Oh humans!! We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
June 28, 2011 - 5:47pm | That would be because those designers have chosen form over mechanics. Form always wins out in the public eye. When I saw the attractive form of the airbike mentioned in the article at the outset, I knew that there had to be something inefficient about it mechanically, because of the designer's choice to make it look pretty rather than focus on its efficiency. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
 July 6, 2011 - 4:16am | He's utilizing a BMW boxer engine for that contraption, same motor used in the bulk of BMW's current crop of roadbikes. What is the ceiling on a SF Tri-fan Bike? The text says 30cm but I permit up to a meter for high speed maneuvers (banking and all that, 30cm doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room) |
July 15, 2011 - 9:42am | I was referring to all the welding and wood blade carving. The time he spent on that could have been spent on considering its logistics and how it was going to remain upright. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
July 15, 2011 - 1:28pm | Well, yeah...if it looks cool, it sells better and at higher prices than the ugly version. After all, people aren't shelling out six figures for an Orange County Chopper under the premise that it performs well |
July 23, 2011 - 6:40am | well that definitely puts as low ceiling on the bikes doesn't it... still like the idea of splitting up classes of height ratings... Oh humans!! We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
July 31, 2011 - 1:44pm | From a purist standpoint, anything "motorcycle" has to be two wheeled powered by some form of engine. It stands to reason that if you want to retain that all important designation in your title, the alternative control surfaces must also come in pairs. After all, this is a motorcycle:  Despite starting life as the above, this is not a motorcycle:  Now then, a hover cycle...well it only incorporates the cycle portion of the root word so anything goes. The tri-fan set up in SF does not detract from that. The traditional definition of a hover vehicle is something that floats on a cushion of air. However, hover can also be defined as "floating" in place, such as what a helicopter can do. If it leaves the ground, it's something else...it falls into the realm of aircraft. So I suppose the debate is just how far off the ground does a hovercraft have to go before it becomes considered as aircraft? I would say that as long as it has to maneuver around obstacles (as opposed to maneuvering over them) it is considered ground (or hover) craft. It's that two dimensional plane of travel that defines the ground vehicles from the air vehicles, the aircraft have that third dimension of planar travel. What we have here obviously falls into the latter. The SF hovercraft fall into the former. {EDIT} replaced red X with working URL |
definite difference, the ceiling would likely be lower... and all traffic placed in regulated paths... very little 'wilderness' left on this world, to allow unregulated air-traffic to joyride around in on that scale... 
modern reality has stalled the possibility a bit harshly, as there is also artificially inflated pricing, and the constant tennis-game that motor-vehicle and air-control has been playing with the subject that keeps insurance nigh-impossible... even though the tech avalibility is well capable of supporting complete garage-builds to be made by anyone with the time to tinker... there are far too many functional prototypes to list them all... I have tried before... and still the most popularly mentioned are the least energy-efficient, not the clean eco-friendly renewable energy versions... it's rather sad...