but appears already in development by an Australian engineer©

The U.S. Military announced that a British firm (Malloy Aeronautics) a U.S. Defense contractor was working with the U.S. Army Research Lab in Maryland to test a prototype that could transform the way a War Fighter travels on difficult terrain. It will operate with a motorcycle engine and small rotors and soar up to 9,000 to 10,000 feet. The U.S. Defense company working on this “new project” is Survice Engineering of Maryland. A prototype was shown at the Paris Air Show in June 2015. The hoverbike will only include one warrior and carry about 400 to 800 pounds of ammunition and other military equipment. The U.S. team is estimating full production and procurement by 2018 or 2020.

However, Chris Malloy an Australia who works in the mechanical design of airborne and ground based hyperspectral sensors at an optical engineering company has already been working on a commercial for a number of years. Chris has been working in his garage to perfect his prototype; design. According to Australian news account, “The result is a prototype Hoverbike that seats a single pilot on a Kevlar reinforced carbon fiber with foam core frame in between two horizontal spinning propellers constructed from Tasmanian Oak with a carbon fiber leading edge. Instead of the complicated swash plate setup found in single rotor helicopters, the Hoverbike employs the same basic flying principles as a tandem-rotor Chinook helicopter. As with the Chinook, the counter-rotating rotors cancel out each other's torque reaction, eliminating the need for an anti-torque vertical tail rotor and increasing the efficiency of the vehicle. Control of the Hoverbike is done completely via the handlebars. Forward and reverse movement is controlled via the motorbike-like handlebar grips. The right grip increases the thrust, while the left grip controls the angle of the control vanes positioned under the rotors to pitch the nose of the Hoverbike down - for forward movement - or up - for moving backwards. Meanwhile, turning is achieved by turning the handlebars left and right, just like a motorbike but with an extra axis that lets them rotate up and down a little, which alters the angle of the front and rear control vanes. With dimensions of 3 m long by 1.3 m wide by 0.55 m high (9.8 x 4.3 x 1.8 ft), the Hoverbike weighs 105 kg (231 lb) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 270 kg 595 lb). Malloy claims the bike's 30 L primary fuel tank should provide a range of 148 km (92 miles) at a cruising speed of 80 kts (148 km/h or 92 mph), while the addition of secondary fuel tanks that double the fuel capacity will double the range. Chris anticipates a production run of at least 100 units a year would see the price of the vehicle at around US$40,000, with the price coming down to around that of a performance motorcycle…

The U.S. DoD is once again re- inventing the wheel. It has launched with funds a project that basically mirrors Chris Malloy’s hoverbike prototype. To the extent that its USAF press release shows the Malloy Aeronautics vehicle. The U.S.Congress and the U.S. Defense Department are all slashing budgets, giving zero raises and lowering re-enlistment bonuses for U.S. troops. However, they will still set up a contract for development of a war fighter tool when one already exist. Perhaps, someone should wake up Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to ask Marine General Joseph Dunford and USAF General Paul Selva why they are not providing funds directly to Chris Malloy or perhaps ask why they are re-inventing what already exist. We will have to wait and see if the “sleeping giant” of the Senate can wake up and take some actions to stop U.S. Defense Department procurement waste.