It doesn’t fly like a plane, use rotors like a drone, and definitely doesn’t ride like a motorcycle, yet the sub-90-pound Volonaut Airbike, said to be capable of flying at 124 mph, has the potential to rewrite the definition of “adventure riding.”

Created by Polish entrepreneur Tomasz Patan, the Airbike prototype is a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) craft that uses jet propulsion instead of spinning propellers, which Volonaut says increases its maneuverability and allows it to travel through confined spaces with ease.

The manufacturer is keeping the technology under wraps, revealing very few details so far.  Besides specifying the type of propulsion, Volonaut states the Airbike uses “a proprietary stabilization system enhanced by a flight computer.” This is said to allow the Airbike to hover automatically, simplifying rider input.

The aircraft’s minimalist frame is built from carbon fiber and paired with 3D-printed components. According to Volonaut, this makes it seven times lighter than a typical motorcycle—a vague claim, but one that points to it potentially weighing under 100 pounds.

While it may sound fantastical, the hoverbike is neither impossible nor a new pursuit. Some concepts, like the LEGO-inspired BMW Hover Ride Design Concept based on the R1200GS, are pure fantasy. Another — the huge, propeller-lifted XTurismo from Tokyo-based drone startup A.L.I. Technologies — has made it into limited production. The hybrid-powered machine is priced near $800,000 and isn’t yet legal for consumer use in any country.

And then there’s the still-in-development Speeder from JetPack Aviation, which, like the Airbike, uses multiple small jet turbines to fly at around 60 mph for roughly 30 minutes. That craft is currently being tested for military applications.

Personal backpack-style jetpacks are also also in the mix and have been available for purchase for quite some time, with the technology becoming so normalized that according to The Wall Street Journal, a group of paramedics in the UK have tested them for use during rescues in mountainous terrain where it would otherwise take responders much longer to arrive by traditional means. 

The super lightweight, single-seat Airbike, however, is an entirely new animal in the sense that it’s a cross between a minimalistic wearable jetpack and the heavier, more motorcycle-like XTurismo or Speeder.  

The biggest feather in the cap for Patan’s design is the fact he’s also the co-creator of the drone-style Jetson One, a small, single-seat, but more car-like electric eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) personal aircraft that has already sold out in pre-sales.

So how could the Airbike get around regulations, especially here in red tape-wrapped America? The Jetson One aircraft is designated recreational and would fall under the ultralight category in the U.S., meaning it wouldn’t require a pilot’s license to operate. The same could apply to the Airbike.

For those of us who live full-time in the adventure motorcycling world where “off the beaten path” is a lifestyle, the Airbike does quicken the heart. And it feels more likely than other fantastical alternatives rides such as Kawasaki Heavy Industry-attributed horse-like robotic off-road machine, Corleo, which remains — at least for the time being — a CGI dream.

Videos released by Volonaut showing the Airbike racing through a forest Star Wars Speeder bike-style and also maneuvering across a desert scape have drawn their fair share of skepticism, and in defense, inventor Patan told Robb Report: “The video is as real as it gets, no trickery there, not a bit of AI.” Instead, Patan attributes the video’s hyperrealistic feel to his use of exceptional camera and FPV drone operators.

According to the company’s official materials, the Airbike’s inputs are meant to feel intuitive, though it’s unclear how much training would be needed to fly it confidently. The rider sits fully exposed, with no cockpit or enclosure, enjoying 360-degree visibility and an experience that’s closer to wearing a machine than piloting one. For riders used to exploring remote wilderness by ADV bike, this machine would offer a dramatic extension of that freedom.

But the future the Airbike hints at is filled with questions. The propulsion tech, while visually convincing in test footage, remains undisclosed. Patan’s reasoning: “I want to retain some secrecy and make it a bit more magical and exciting for some time,”. There’s no word yet on range, flight time, fuel type, or regulatory hurdles — questions that could make or break its role as an actual mode of travel, rather than a toy for the rich (let’s be realistic, today’s jetpack backpacks can go for $300k). Safety protocols, emergency procedures, and training standards are also big unknowns.

And then there’s the matter of airspace. Flying below controlled airspace might keep the Airbike off aviation radars — both literal and regulatory — but it also places it in a legal gray area. Urban use seems implausible for now, but remote and recreational flights similar to a ride in an ultralight? Perhaps.

Although Volonaut has yet to announce an official timeline or price for the Airbike, it did say it’s “highly probable” the craft will go to market in the near future. In the meantime we’re left to wonder whether this effort marks the start of a new kind of adventure riding or just a fascinating footnote in the long pursuit of personal flight. But either way, the idea of riding “off road” just got a little more literal.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.