It's nearly 2015 and it doesn't look like we'll be getting the hoverboards promised in Back to the Future II. However, a hoverbike, made by Aerofex and dubbed the Aero X, will be available to own beginning in 2017.

The decidedly cool looking device is the conclusion of 15 years of research and development in the field of low-altitude flight. Devices have been manufactured in the past to try to achieve the dream of relatively affordable hovering, but have been plagued with problems.In an interview with Discovery News , founder Mark De Roche, an aerospace engineer and founder of Aerofex, explains that these devices in the past have suffered from the "coupling effect" and that Aerofex has worked hard to overcome this problem.Coupling, explains Discovery, is a problem where rotor driven vehicles will turn when pitched forward due to the forces present in the spinning rotors. Pilots of helicopters, for example, need to learn to compensate for this effect by adjusting many different controls simultaneously.The Aero-X, however, responds to "movements just as a motorcycle would," and the company promises that anyone can be zipping across an open expanse with just a weekend's worth of training.The hoverbike runs on gasoline and Aerofex claims that "maintenance is simple and inexpensive," building it with few moving parts and powering it with a simple rotary engine.Anyone interested in owning one of these sweet looking rigs can pre-order on the Aerofex site for just $5000 USD, which will go toward the machine's $85,000 final price tag.

Seth Macy is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter @sethmacy , MyIGN at sethgmacy , or instagram