For as long as humans have observed birds, they have tried to conquer the sky as efficiently as the feathered creatures. The world of aeronautics has witnessed numerous contributions, some of which ended in tragedies, while others ceased to grow due to lack of funds. But all of these steps (and misteps) have lead to the discovery of a lifetime: the flying car.
After a long history of experimenting with the idea of flying cars, dating way back to 1917, the latest introduction was announced on October 29 th, 2014 at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna. The much anticipated car was introduced by the Slovakian start-up AeroMobil .
AeroMobil 3.0 comes to light after almost 25 years of development by Stephan Klein, AeroMobil’s chief designer, as well as founder and head of the Department of Transport Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Slovakia. Later in 2010, he teamed up with AeroMobil’s CEO Juraj Vaculik to work on commercializing Klein’s flying car.
“We believe personal transportation is about to change forever,” said Vaculik at a press conference. Although the final price is expected to be somewhere between that of a supercar and a small plane at an estimate USD 300,000, both Vaculik and Klein believe that the AeroMobile 3.0 would be useful in developing countries with poor or no road infrastructure.
Even in more developed countries, traffic still poses a great drawback, or a “prison” as Vaculik puts it . It is believed that the new vehicle will serve middle distance travelers aiming to commute locally or across borders. The AeroMobile can sustain up to four hours of flight on one tank of petrol, or as long as 700-850km at top land speed of 160km/h. Yet once in flight mode, it consumes less energy than road cars and can reach a top speed of 200km/h.
With the hopes of commercializing the AeroMobil, Klein aimed at designing the Flying Roadster in the most practical manner. This concept manifests in a few of the aspects such as parking and refueling, which is carried out similarly to normal cars.
Among the primary features of the AeroMobil is its light weight and durability which are achieved by using advanced composite materials. The vehicle has enough space for two passengers, and is backed up with an autopilot system, as well as an advanced parachute development system. With an approximate length of a luxury saloon car, the AeroMobil is 6m long, with an 8.2m wingspan.
One thing that users need to bear in mind is that this is neither a BatMobile nor a James Bond toy, and it does not achieve vertical takeoff. The AeroMobil requires at least a 50m strip of land for landing and 200m for takeoff. Even if it can mechanically take off vertically, it will consume at least half of the mobile’s fuel. This means that if you’re already stuck in traffic, there’s very little chance you’re escaping it, so you’d better plan ahead.
Also worth mentioning? AeroMobil users must be certified aviators. So if you’re hoping to be one of the first owners of the amazing flying car once a price tag is set, we recommend some aviation training. Stat.
Check out the cool video below: