头条
Lift Aircraft将带消费者提前体验飞行汽车服务
发表时间：2018-12-12 09:09:59 作者：飞行汽车 点击：
现在，一家来自德克萨斯州奥斯丁的公司Lift Aircraft正以一种名为Hexa的漂亮单座多旋翼设计突破隐形设计出现在市场中。这款飞行汽车已经在公司CEO的陪伴下进行了试飞。据悉，该公司计划将这些特殊的交通工具出租给全美各地的个人飞行体验者。
据了解，Hexa是一款18旋翼电动飞机，它配有一个简单、轻便的碳纤维单座座舱，4个适合在陆地或水上降落的浮板以及一个基于操纵杆和iPad Pro的简单控制系统。
不同于直升机的是，这架432磅（196公斤）重的Hexa实际上就像一架有座位的大型无人机--飞行控制器和大量传感器将能为驾驶者完成大部分的飞行任务。只要按一下按钮，它就可以起飞和降落，如果飞行员松开操纵杆，它就会在GPS锁定的位置和固定高度上悬停。如果飞行员被吓到了或者出现了一些麻烦，地勤人员则可以用手动控制的方式接管飞机并让它着陆。
而比较特别的是Hexa并没有配备一套中央电池组，相反它使用了18个小电池即每个旋翼下面都安装了1块。对此，Lift CEO Matt Chasen通过Skype解释称：“电池是动力系统中最不可靠的部件之一。马达和旋翼则是可靠的，它们很少有活动部件，但电池往往比它们存在更多的故障。所以即使这样的事件非常罕见，我们也不希望采用大型的集中式电池组。我们将电池安装在顶部和外围，这样就能远离飞行员。所以如果电池发生了热失控，情况仍旧是可控的，它不会伤害到飞行员。”
这种设计的一个好处是，每个小电池刚好位于旋翼的冷却气流中，换言之它不需要任何的冷却液体。另外，这还完美地契合了Lift全天运行的理念：每次飞行中电池的续航时间约为10-15分钟，一旦Hexa着陆，地勤人员就可以更换电池然后为下一次飞行做准备。
Lift飞行体验
在前往飞行台之前飞行员将接受一次简短的VR培训以熟悉控制方案。操纵杆，就是一个能够向任何方向推去的装置、另外利用大拇指控制高度、食指控制偏航。iPad触屏控制台的存在使得新手飞行员的操作变得更加简单，它能够实现一键起飞和降落。“不需要很多训练，”Chasen表示，“这有点像你可以去飞行的电子游戏。”
之后，飞行员就可以起飞了。由于Hexa属于动力超轻级别飞行，而这意味着它不需要飞行员经过任何认证或拥有飞行员执照。在飞行的过程中，高度则会被限制在700英尺以下，或在某些地方是1200英尺以下，另外还不能在任何人口稠密的地区上空飞行。超轻型飞机的最高时速为55节，以地面速度计算的话大概是63mph（101km/h），而一旦超过这个速度飞行汽车将受到电子限制。同时，它还会被围在一个允许飞行的区域内。
未来，Lift还将推出一套基于关卡的系统以此来解锁更快的速度或更多操纵能力以及一些潜在的AR游戏理念。
对于18岁以上、体重在250磅（113公斤）以下、身高在6英尺7英寸（2米）以下的飞行员来说，坐上这架飞机通常不存在任何问题。虽然它可以搭载更重的飞行员，但Chasen表示：“我们在重量和飞行时间之间做了一个权衡，我们不希望人们的飞行时间太短，而且它确实会随着额外的重量迅速减少。”
至于价格，据Chasen介绍跟跳伞、滑翔伞等其他类似的冒险项目差不多，大概在150美元到250美元之间。
英文版
English version
According to foreign media reports, flying taxi services like Uber Elevate may take some time to reach consumers, but if you want to be the first to drive such vehicles, you will have a chance to achieve it in 2019. Lift Aircraft is preparing to launch an 18-rotor electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which costs the equivalent of a parachute jump. Over the past decade, we have known that manned electric multi-rotor aircraft will soon be launched. Although early flight attempts seemed terrible, recent efforts such as Kitty Hawk and Volocopter began to look more like finished aircraft.
Now, Lift Aircraft, a company from Austin, Texas, is on the market with a beautiful single-seat multi-rotor design breakthrough stealth design called Hexa. The flying car has been tested with the company's CEO. It is reported that the company plans to lease these special vehicles to individual flight Experiencers across the United States.
Hexa introduction
It is understood that Hexa is an 18-rotor electric aircraft with a simple and portable carbon fiber single cockpit, four floating panels suitable for landing on land or water, and a simple control system based on joystick and iPad Pro.
Unlike helicopters, the 432-pound (196-kilogram) Hexa is actually like a large seated unmanned aerial vehicle -- flight controllers and sensors that will do most of the flying tasks for the driver. It can take off and land with the push of a button. If the pilot loosens the joystick, it hovers over the GPS locked position and fixed altitude. If the pilot is frightened or has some trouble, the ground crew can take over the aircraft manually and land it.
In particular, Hexa does not have a central battery pack. Instead, it uses 18 small batteries, one under each rotor. "Batteries are one of the most unreliable components in power systems," Lift CEO Matt Chasen explained through Skype. Motors and rotors are reliable, they have few moving parts, but batteries tend to have more failures than they do. So even if such incidents are rare, we don't want to use large centralized batteries. We installed the batteries on the top and outside so that we could stay away from the pilots. So if the battery runs out of control, it's still controllable, and it won't hurt the pilot.
One advantage of this design is that each small battery is located in the cooling airflow of the rotor, in other words, it does not require any cooling liquid. In addition, it perfectly fits Lift's concept of full-time operation: batteries last about 10-15 minutes in each flight, and once Hexa lands, ground crews can replace batteries and prepare for the next flight.
Lift Flight Experience
Pilots will undergo a brief VR training to familiarize themselves with the control scheme before heading to the flight platform. The joystick is a device that can push in any direction, control height with thumb, and control yaw with food. The existence of an iPad touch screen console makes it easier for novice pilots to operate, enabling one-click takeoff and landing. "It doesn't need a lot of training," Chasen said. "It's kind of like a video game where you can fly"
Then the pilot can take off. Since Hexa is a powered ultra-light flight, this means that it does not require any certification or pilots'license. During the flight, the altitude will be limited to less than 700 feet or, in some places, less than 1200 feet, and it will not be possible to fly over any densely populated area. Ultra-light aircraft has a maximum speed of 55 knots per hour, which is about 63 mph (101km/h) at ground speed, and if it exceeds that speed, flying cars will be subject to electronic restrictions. At the same time, it will be enclosed in a permissible flight area.
In the future, Lift will also introduce a level-based system to unlock faster or more control capabilities and some potential AR game concepts.
For pilots over 18 years old, weighing 250 pounds (113 kilograms) or under 6 feet 7 inches (2 meters), there is usually no problem getting on the plane. Although it can carry heavier pilots, Chasen said: "We have made a trade-off between weight and flight time. We don't want people to fly too short, and it does decrease rapidly with extra weight"
As for the price, according to Chasen, it's about the same as skydiving, paragliding and other similar adventures, ranging from $150 to $250.
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