Tom's Tech Blog: FlyNano plane is super-light, pretty cheap, a little scary

Sunday 24 April 2011

FlyNano plane is super-light, pretty cheap, a little scary

Since the dawn of time, man has dreamed of soaring through the clouds, without invasive TSA security checks and having the guy next to him fall asleep on his shoulder, drooling. FlyNano debuted three new planes at last week's Aero 2011 show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, which it hopes will deliver that very dream. Thanks to a composite carbon fiber bodies and a sub-44 pound drive trains, each weighs less than 154 pounds, hitting the FAA definition for an ultralight vehicle and forgoing the need for a pilot's license. But, while the company is pitching these electric-powered propeller vehicles as flyable straight out of the box, the things are still subject to FAA regulations, so don't expect to go joyriding near a major airport anytime soon -- and then there's the "theoretical operational distance" of 40 miles to contend with. Pricing ranges from €25,000 to €27,000 ($36,380 to $39,290) and the company claims that they'll start shipping in three months, plenty of time to get your life insurance premiums paid up.

[Thanks, Jani]

Continue reading FlyNano plane is super-light, pretty cheap, a little scary

FlyNano plane is super-light, pretty cheap, a little scary originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink