I can see how 'flamping' might be mistaken for a phenomeme-non of dubious SFWness; I gotta admit, I wouldn't have guessed what the portmanteau neologism is short for without a hint either. Turns out it's short for "fly camping"—as in loading up your trusty flying bicycle and skipping town for quick weekend getaways in rather more sylvan environs.
Wait, what?
Last week, we caught up with the nearly-two-years-in-the-making saga of Aerovelo's Atlas quadcopter, a human-powered helicopter that garnered international recognition for achieving a controlled flight to Sikorsky prize-winning specifications, hovering at 3.3 meters for just over a minute. If Aerovelo co-founders Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert are the heirs to the aerospace pioneer's legacy—which, by the way, came with a $250K purse—John Foden and Yannick Read have more in common with Terrafugia's Carl Dietrich, who is looking to bring a flying vehicle to the general public. Where Dietrich has been working on bringing the flying car to market for several years now, Foden and Read have developed a marginally less ambitious conveyance. The XploreAir Paravelo is essentially a hybrid folding bike + paramotor, a single-passenger vehicle that achieves liftoff through a detachable, motor-driven or human-powered fan.
1. Ride
Use the bicycle on its own as you would any other bike. Fold it up to store or carry on the bus, train or metro.
2. Tow
Hitch the air frame trailer to the bike and you're ready for expedition, flight and adventure. Designed to carry the powerful motor, the air frame trailer also houses the wing, fuel and any additional supplies you'll need.
3. Fly
The bike docks with its air frame trailer to form a para-trike configuration for optimum expedition autonomy. In this set-up you can carry all the equipment you need to ride, fly and camp.Alternatively, detach the bike and air frame trailer and wear the powerful fan on your back for a foot launch. This set-up gives improved performance in the air and allows for take off in higher and changeable wind conditions. In most territories, no licence required to fly in this configuration.
Where the Atlas is a VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) aircraft, the Paravelo addresses a different set of constraints: the entire vehicle folds to fit into the trunk of a car; like other folding bikes, the pedal-powered portion is small enough to be carried on public transit. Deployed in full, it's capable of upwards of three hours of flight time at 25mph and up to 4,000 ft. elevation.
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