Flying Bikes: Firms Create Airborne Prototype

Dodging buses and cars in the morning rush hour could be a thing of the past for the hard-done-by cyclist - thanks to a new invention by a group of bike boffins.

Three companies in the Czech Republic have teamed up to make a prototype of an electric bicycle that is capable of flying.

The amazing machine is controlled remotely while in development but its designers hope to have it capable of carrying people soon.

They also hope battery technology will advance enough to improve the five-minute flights it is capable of performing and make the invention marketable.

"Because the capacity of batteries doubles about every 10 years, we can expect that in the future the capacity would be enough for the bike to used for sports, tourism or similar things," said Milan Duchek, the technical director of Duratec Bicycles.

Looking like a heavy mountain bike, it has two propellers in the front, other two in the back and one on each side.

Its six engines are powered by batteries.

The 'pilot', Jan Spatny, said the weight of the craft made it tricky to control.

"It's not as easy (to control) as a toy or RC (Remote Control) model. It's quite a complicated thing, you have to take into account that it weighs 95kg."