Alauda’s’Airspeeder’ electric flying racing car uses a virtual force field to bring us closer to the future
The future of car racing is here, with the world’s first electric flying racing car. The car successfully hit the skies in a secret location in South Australia over the weekend.
“We are proud to introduce a sport that redefines what humans and machines can achieve together”
Matthew Pearson, Founder, Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics
Big name pilots and sci-fi tech
Airspeeder plans to attract ‘elite pilots’ from aviation, motorsport and eSports backgrounds to remotely pilot the vehicles across AI enabled ‘sky tracks.’
The team already includes technical experts, engineers and designers from big-names including F1, Mclaren, Brabham, Boeing, Mclaren, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce.
Airspeeder’s Founder said the technology “delivers on the promise of a future first shown in science fiction”.
Electric flying car Grand Prix could be on the cards as soon as 2021
The successful trial flights means the crew-less electric flying car Grand Prixs will take place as soon as this year.
The company says moving racing to this space will improve “key safety, performance and dynamics technologies”.
Up to four teams with two remote pilots per team will compete in three individual events. Audiences will be able to watch these races online via a live stream.
The racers will “take a seat in a simulator environment that mimics the dynamics and ergonomics of the Mk3 cockpit environment.”
The races will even include stimulated pit stops, using a ‘slide and lock’ system to remove and replace batteries on the ground.
$1.5 trillion technology
Morgan Stanley predicts the technology will be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040.
The company also says they expect the tech to go much further than racing, with emerging applications in ‘air logistics’ and ‘remote medical care’.
The technology also has the potential to “liberate cities from congestion though clean-air passenger applications like air taxis”, says Airspeeder.
“These historic first flights are just the start and we are all excited to begin a momentous new chapter in motorsport’s rich legacy.”
Airspeeder press releasE
Alauda Airspeeder design, performance & safety
The Alauda Airspeeder Mk3 draws its design inspiration from the classic forms of racing cars from the 1950s and 60s.
The company’s head of design Felix Pierron says the car “melds F1 car dynamics with the profile of a fighter jet and function of helicopter.”
At maximum power the craft delivers 320kW, weighing in at only 130kg. The vehicle can lift a weight of more than 80kg.
Natasha is an Associate Producer at ticker NEWS with a Bachelor of arts from Monash University. She has previously worked at Sky News Australia and Monash University as an Online Content Producer.
Formula One world champions Red Bull took their season launch to the United States with a spray of pyrotechnics in front of a rapt Manhattan crowd as fans braved the bitter cold outside.
Where once NASCAR and IndyCar had a stranglehold on American gearheads, the splash hit Netflix docu-drama “Drive to Survive” has indoctrinated legions of new fans in the United States.
Neither icy cold nor eye-watering winds whipping along the Hudson River could deter the dozens of people who showed up outside the Classic Car Club on Friday, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite drivers heading for the launch.
“I’ve been following it for a while and around 2017, 2016 it wasn’t that big in the United States,” said Tyler Quinn, 21, a college student in Manhattan, who last year saved up to see the Formula One race in Canada and feared the growing fan base could make future trips prohibitively expensive.
“It’s exploded exponentially. You know, when I talk to people in school … they all know about F1, they all recognise certain things, they all ask me questions. It’s growing fast and I really am glad about that.”
Las Vegas will join Austin and Miami as the third race in the United States in the 2023 calendar as F1 looks to make further inroads into the lucrative market.
Speaking at the members-only Classic Car Club, where a garage of luxury cars is available for patrons to enjoy, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner told Reuters that “Drive to Survive” had been a “game changer”.
Campbell Johnstone hopes his admission will help reduce stigma around sexuality
Former New Zealand rugby player Campbell Johnstone has become the first All Black to come out as gay.
He hopes his public announcement will help “take away the pressure and stigma” for those struggling with their sexuality.
Johnstone says he told his friends and family “a long time ago” but kept his true self hidden from the public during his playing career.
He says he lived a “double life” because his sexuality did not fit with the image of an All Black player.
His vision of a player was someone who was “manly, strong … possibly had a wife, kids” – even blaming his sexuality when he performed poorly during a game.
The former prop played three Tests in 2005 – with his last match against the British and Irish Lions.
Between 2002 and 2012, he made 38 appearances for the Crusaders, 72 for Canterbury and 105 for the French side Biarritz.
In the interview, Johnstone says it’s “a little bit sad that we are actually having to do this”, adding he can’t believe how far and wide the news has spread. #trending #featured