Google co-founder Larry Page's mysterious flying car is reported to be available to hit purchase by the end of this year.The billionaire's company Kitty Hawk has officially launched after months of speculations and rumors. Today, Kitty Hawk president Sebastian Thrun, co-created Google's self-driving car, posted a link to the company's official website. According to a source, Page said, "We have all had dreams of flying effortlessly. I'm excited that one day very soon I will be able to climb onto my Kitty Hawk Flyer for a quick and easy personal flight."
"The Kitty Hawk Flyer is a new, all-electric aircraft and is safe, tested and also legal to operate in the United States in uncongested areas under the Ultralight category of FAA regulations," reads the text under the promo video. "We've designed our first version specifically to fly over water. You don't need a pilot's license and you'll learn to fly it in minutes." Meanwhile, the vehicle weighs around 100 kilograms (220lbs) and can be able to hit speeds of up to 25 miles per hour (40kph)Moreover, the Flyer prototype zoomed about 15 feet above Clear Lake in California during a five-minute long demo session for the NYT, which was published with some extra footage of the ride along with its report, as seen below.
The company is offering up to a three-year membership for $100, which offer perks like Kitty Hawk-branded swag packages, early access to product updates, and, most importantly, priority on the waitlist, once the flyer goes on sale sometime before the end 2017, according to estimates. The said retail price and final design haven't been discussed yet, either.
Today's footage only showed off a prototype, however, the membership will also earn you a $2,000 discount off the possible price, which surely won't come cheap. Until the craft is fully approved by the FAA, there is no exact date as to when it will be released, but Kitty Hawk's CEO, Google X founding director Sebastian Thrun, is confident that the project won't be delayed. Thrun said, "We have been in contact with the FAA and we see the regulators as friends."
