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Design

Yes, They Finally Built A Working Hoverbike

Hold onto your hats: Aerofex's Aero-X is like the real-world version of Luke Skywalker's Speeder Bike, and it's set for delivery come 2017.

Yesss, finally! That's what we said, too, when we heard the big news.

The world is officially one step closer to being more like Star Wars, thanks to the tireless work of Los Angeles-based engineering firm, Aerofex.

Able to hover almost 20' off the ground, and reach speeds of nearly 45mph, the Aero-X hoverbike is an as-of-yet unparallelled development in hovercraft technology—and, come 2017, you just might be able to glide like Luke and Leia, on an Aero-X of your very own.

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At an expected cost of $85,000, Aerofex's Aero-X clocks in around the same price as a mid-end agricultural tractor, and, for farmers, might one day be just as useful. Aerofex founder and CTO Mark DeRoche anticipates Aero-X will have widespread usage, from emergency relief to animal herding. He explained, “There’s really nothing between a ground vehicle and an aircraft.” Beyond impressing your friends with your own, working version of Luke's Speeder Bike, at this point, the extent of the possible uses of this hyper-crossover vehicle are endless.

According to a report on the BBC, "Aerofex says it is working on three different proposals to bring vehicles such as the Aero-X into commercial production. The company is talking to the US government, looking at the commercial market, and also working on an unmanned version of the vehicle—a drone that could be used for crop dusting, for instance."

While details and specifications are still forthcoming regarding the commercial version of the Aero-X, Aerofex is already accepting deposits for the first wave of their new hovercrafts on their website. Click here to learn more.

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