‘Personal flying machine’ maker plans deliveries this year

A Silicon Valley “flying car” startup reportedly backed by Google co-founder Larry Page released a video Monday of its Kitty Hawk prototype and announced plans for deliveries of a “personal flying machine” this year.

“Our mission is to make the dream of personal flight a reality. We believe when everyone has access to personal flight, a new, limitless world of opportunity will open up to them,” said a statement on the website of the Kitty Hawk company, based in Google’s home town of Mountain View, California.

“Today we’re announcing our first prototype of The Flyer, a personal flying machine that will become available for sale by the end of 2017.”

The video showed the aircraft — with two pontoons and a spider web-like platform — taking off from a lake at an undisclosed location and hovering above the water, where it is meant to be used.

The craft, propelled by eight rotors, takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter. It is said to weigh about 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and fly at speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 kph).

The company describes the Flyer as “a new, all-electric aircraft,” which is “safe, tested and legal to operate in the United States in uncongested areas” under US federal regulations for ultralight aircraft. No pilot’s license is required, and two hours’ training is said to be all that is needed.

The website offered few details about the company, but several reports in recent months have said Page has poured millions of dollars into Kitty Hawk and another electric car startup.

Kitty Hawk president Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford University computer science professor who has been called the father of Google’s self-driving car, tweeted: “Changing the future of personal transportation. Join us @kittyhawkcorp to get information about #theFlyer prototype.”

The company announced it was offering three-year “memberships” for $100 to be placed on a waiting list and to get a discount on the price of the new transporter. The price is to be announced later this year.

Kitty Hawk said the flyer going on sale later this year will have a different design than the prototype.

Several other companies, including European conglomerate Airbus, have been working on similar flying machines.