This 'flying bicycle' could take off in 2017

Since the Flike tricopter was first conceived, other drones capable of carrying people have been shown off at conferences such as the Consumer Electronics show. The Flike is not being marketed as a drone, however, and the Budapest-based company ByeGravity wants its product available to consumers for 100,000 euros sometime in 2017. The idea for the Flike was inspired by a blog post that said a drone could never carry a person, according to a recent story in the Financial Times. The Flike, though, is really being billed as a flying bicycle.

As drones go, the Flike is certainly unique. Rather than using the quadcopter form factor that has become so ubiquitous, the device adopts three large rotors: two in the front and one in the back. The middle, where the user sits, resembles a motorcycle seat. ByeGravity said Flike can carry someone weighing up to 100kg at 100kph for one hour. The time might be disappointing for something that is effectively being sold as a flying car, but it is a massive improvement over most other drones. That is primarily because most consumer drones only have battery power. The Flike website said the tricopter will last only up to 30 minutes while powered electronically, with an extra 30 minute boost from the "range-extender." Flike creator Balazs Kerulo told the FT that the range extender is actually an "internal combustion engine connected to a generator." This is not great for green energy enthusiasts, but some sacrifices must be made for the dream of flying transportation.

ByeGravity is currently looking for investors to help it get the product to market. The product still has a lot of testing to go through. The 60-minute flight time is just hypothesized right now based on how the company expects its new range extender to perform. It could also be seen as a goal before going to market. For now, the longest Flike flight was 15 minutes.

Another hurdle for the company is regulations. The company does not yet have regulatory approval to go beyond the perimeter of a field in close to the Slovakian border used for testing. Eventually, the product will need approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The tricopter design has an uphill battle, but perhaps it will beat the odds. Other drone makers, some China companies included, are already looking ahead to passenger drones. Flike at least offers something unique and is already looking for a way to sell.