For decades, if not centuries, people have been dreaming about flying free like a bird — and now there’s a $2 million contest to bring that dream closer to reality, made possible with a boost from Boeing.
Over the next two years, the GoFly Prize program aims to provide incentives for teams to develop one-person flying devices that are capable of making vertical or near-vertical takeoffs and taking 20-mile aerial trips — without refueling or recharging.
“Two years from now, we will be able to look to the sky and say, ‘Look at that person flying,’” GoFly CEO Gwen Lighter told GeekWire. Lighter, an entrepreneur based in Connecticut, has been working with NASA and other organizations for years to get GoFly off the ground.
The program was unveiled today at the SAE 2017 AeroTech Congress and Expositionin Fort Worth, Texas, kicking off a months-long registration period.
