The development of the passenger octocopter SureFly was announced for the first time in the summer of 2017. Now, the Workhorse company announced its readiness to demonstrate the first flight of the vehicle at the regular Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which will be held in January 2018 in Las Vegas.
The personal octocopter is equipped with gas and electric motors and is made of carbon fiber. It is designed for transportation of two people or a similar by mass cargo. This vehicle is positioned as an urban flying taxi. The weight of the taxi does not exceed 500 kg, and it will be able to transport the weight up to 181 kg. The radius of the flight is no more than 70 km, the maximum speed is 113 km/h.
Its four wings have eight electric motors with eight screws. The screws, which are paired on one wing, rotate in opposite directions, which provides stability during the flight. Electric motors are started using a gas engine and run on two lithium batteries in case of a gas generator failure.
