At first glance the hoverbikes seem extremely unsafe. Four rotors pushed to the edges of the machine spinning so fast they're a blur? What could go wrong? Dubai has answered that question by saying there will be a safety ring around the blades. The usefulness of these contraptions is still questionable, though. Maximum flight speed is 60 mph and they can only hover for a maximum of 40 minutes. The company quotes actual flight time as between 10 to 25 minutes with a recharge time of 2.5 hours — not exactly an efficient way of getting around. Of course, then again, this is the same police force that thought a Veyron would make a swell patrol car.
There's nothing stealthy about these hoverbikes, either. If criminals are deathly afraid of bees it could prove to be a good deterrent, but any car could easily outrun it as long as it has enough fuel to drive for longer than 15 minutes. So, Dubai won't be using it to chase down any of its oil-rich population in their super- and hypercars. However, if there are any crimes committed where one needs to drop in helicopter-style to save the day, Dubai is covered..@DubaiPoliceHQ starts training on flying Hoverbike. #Dubai https://t.co/qyRQXozfRM #Dubai
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) November 8, 2018
The fun isn't limited to police officers in Dubai. If you want one, Hoversurf will sell one of these hoverbikes for $150,000. Just try not to fly too close to anything with those spinning blades ...
Related video: