fb

Meet Hexa, a ‘human drone’ anyone can learn to fly in minutes

Made from carbon fiber and lighter than a Ducati motorcycle, Hexa is an eVTOL designed to make commuting fun: and anyone can fly it with little to no training.

Published on May 20, 2023 at 6:19PM (UTC+4)

Last updated on Jun 2, 2023 at 3:26PM (UTC+4)

Edited by Kate Bain
Hexa feature image

This is Hexa, a drone-shaped eVTOL made by Lift Aircraft in Austin, Texas.

The acronym eVTOL stands for electric Vertical Take-Off Landing, meaning the aircraft can take off and land virtually anywhere, without needing a helipad or a runway.

Supercar Blondie’s Sergi Galiano had a go and he absolutely loved it.

You can find out more about Hexa here.

READ MORE: Man who bought Elvis Presley’s private jet tries to power it up for first time in 40 years

Now, Sergi is many things but he’s no pilot.

Even so, he got the hang of it pretty quickly and this is because Hexa is super easy to use.

As Lift Chief Pilot Jace McCown points out, all you need in order to fly it is the joystick located on the right-hand side of the cockpit.

There’s a take-off button, a landing button, and then another button marked H, which stands for ‘Helipad’ – sort of like a take-me-home button.

Right below those buttons is a little dial that you can use to climb and descend, and behind the joystick is another dial to rotate the aircraft when you’re airborne.

For safety reasons, Hexa can be programmed to self-balance and self-adjust with something called geofencing.

In simple terms, it means you can turn it on and familiarize with the aircraft without the risk of going too far or too high.

Obviously, for extra safety, the Hexa is also fitted with an emergency parachute.

Lift went the extra mile to make this as lightweight as possible by using carbon fiber and 3D-printed titanium components for the aircraft.

The propellers, for example, weigh less than a kitchen knife.

At 432 lbs (195 kg), the Hexa is actually lighter than a Ducati motorcycle.

Hexa is so light even Sergi can lift it by hand without throwing his back out.

The aircraft is powered by eighteen lightweight batteries, it takes about five minutes to put them on.

The vehicle doesn’t have wheels, instead it has buoyant legs because, among other things, Hexa can also land on water.

Climb aboard and you’ll find an iPad Pro right in front of you with all the information you need.

And it gets better because, for the production version, Lift is planning to add Augmented Reality (AR) to the iPad to help you fly and navigate.

Hexa by Lift will be available from late 2023 but you might want to hurry up if want one because there’s a waiting list of 15,000 people.

You might be interested in

Related Articles

We explored some alternatives to the Apple Vision Pro and found something interesting
Cristiano Ronaldo's updated car collection after Ferrari Daytona purchase is wild
How a modified Toyota Land Cruiser reached a record-breaking speed of 370 km/h
Once thriving US town is now a ghost town with a single resident
Footage shows Neuralink patient controlling Mario Kart using mind
Breitling launches Aerospace B70 Orbiter timepiece that makes you feel like a pilot
Never seen before footage shows Varosha, the world's most luxurious abandoned city
Genesis sub-brand Magma launches luxury SUV with cinema seats