The Volonaut Airbike. (Company link in comments)

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That_Apartment8858@reddit

Its just a bigger version of a leaf blower with a jet engine

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I don't think this is real. Where is the air for the lift coming from without any big, intrusive intakes? How is it balanced without any apparent use of thrust vectoring? What's powering this? Why are there no details or videos of test apparatuses?

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WaltIsDoingCrypto@reddit

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpWTHtwceE

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Rickenbacker69@reddit

I have my doubts, but it's not impossible to do this with a small jet engine - just like the jet backpack. The lack of details is a bit suspicions, though.

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mojitz@reddit

That's what makes for a good hustle. You want to promise something that's just at the bleeding edge of what might be possible. That way it's exciting enough to generate attention, but not so crazy it can be completely dismissed out of hand.

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SuperMcG@reddit (OP)

I would suggest watching the youtube link. It does not address if it is real, but an aerospace engineer says how it could work.

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Deadshot_TJ@reddit

Now they have flying videos

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snappy033@reddit

The jet backpack thing is barely one step above vaporware. It’s just a guy with jets on his back and arms. Sure he’s flying but there’s no computing or flight controls. He’s relying totally on his arms and expertise to fly. It’s the old adage “you can make a brick fly with enough thrust”. The company did the easy part with no path to solving the control part.

The hard part is thrust vectoring on this tiny bike configuration with a 200lb person shifting their weight all over. Same as the jet backpack.

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Lopsided_Quarter_931@reddit

It's not vapourware. I think they have learned that there is zero product market fit.

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Wolffe_In_The_Dark@reddit

I wouldn't call the Gravity Industries jetpack "vaporware" just because there's no flight computer. The human mind is an excellent computer as it is, and we'd been flying entirely manually for ~40 years before the first basic FCS was a thing.

The problem is that it's not a mature technology yet, and without contracts to supply R&D funding, Gravity Industries is mostly coasting right now, trying to tread water instead of refining the technology in meaningful ways.

Sometimes, counterintuitively, the only way to make something practical is to just throw funding at it until it stops sucking. The problem is, it's hard to tell if this is one of those instances or just an endless money hole.

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snappy033@reddit

I didn't say anything about a flight computer specifically. There's no controls or real computer processing going on at all (except whatever rudimentary controller operates the turbine throttles). You just vector thrust with your arms. What I'm saying is theres no logical path to developing the concept.

Old planes had flight controls, it was a logical step to add autopilot,autotrim, and FBW by actuating the flight controls. Then to add more advanced computers and start doing things control laws, stick shakers, etc.

Gravity has no logical next step to win investment or continue development. I'm all ears though if you have an idea of where they would take the concept next to make it more capable for the military or other use cases. My argument is they would have to go back to the drawing board if they wanted to evolve the design because moving jets around with your hands isn't scalable or sustainable.

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Disastrous-Hold2421@reddit

It said it's a turbine engine, but runs on gasoline? Thats ridiculous. There are no jet engines that run on gasoline. Too volatile. Jet engines use a bunch of fuel - wheres the big fuel tank it would need? And the weight of the fuel plus a person is going to make one hefty little jet bike. There is nothing visible that would be used to stabilize it, like wings. The operator sits in a weird upright position making it look top heavy and unstable. How does it stop? Reverse thrusters? Also, watching the video shows the thing perfectly stable during flight. It actually should have some significant wobble being as top heavy as it is, and the pilot should be seen constantly moving around to control it. But he sits still as if in a chair. So, just the amount of fuel this thing would demand makes me wicked suspicious. And the heat from the jet engine! My god the heat!

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Technical_Size_7903@reddit

Go to their company website and look up the contact address they provide in google maps. This should help answer your questions on the reality of this item’s existence.

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SimilarBowl6910@reddit

Volonaut is the company it costs around 880,000

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centiret@reddit

fake

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MusicGTRHT@reddit

They just need to promise FSD

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scuzzmonster1@reddit

None of the promotion vids show the bike taking off or landing for some reason. Now, I wonder what this might be?

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kindafunnymostlysad@reddit

Probably because it would look a lot less "Star Wars speeder bike" if you can see the jet blast violently kicking up everything loose around it.

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CLJ1951@reddit

If Frankie Zapata has something to do with it I might believe it.

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CLJ1951@reddit

It moves like it's on rails. Helicopters can't move line that near ground level. It's got to be fake. Also would you want to go 124 mph on that?

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KeeganY_SR-UVB76@reddit

We’re about to get those Oppressor Mk. II shitheads in real life. Get your Up-N-Atomizers ready, folks.

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Known_Diamond5636@reddit

Looks like bollocks to me

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iamalsobrad@reddit

Right? Dude doesn't even have a safety tie.

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azkeel-smart@reddit

I love how Colin's video shows the difference between video of a real machine and fake CGI.

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Rare_Trouble_4630@reddit

I want to engage in a chase on these in a jungle with murderous teddy bears.

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wiiw_otmgi@reddit

WE DO NOT NEED AN OPRESSOR MKII IN REAL LIFE

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alettriste@reddit

Well, it does not have two wheels (which would void the claim to use "bike" in the name), not it has wings (same criteria for r/WeirdWings) . Apart from that, weird indeed

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