You mean like this?
Or this?
Posted on 07/21/2011 8:46:54 AM PDT by BwanaNdege
Scaled Unveils Hybrid "Flying Car" Over the weekend, Scaled Composites unveiled to the press Burt Rutan's version of a "roadable aircraft," the last design he completed for the company he founded before he retired earlier this year. The two-seat hybrid-electric BiPod hasn't flown, but it has completed some "test hops" on the runway at Mojave, powered by its driving wheels.
The aircraft is designed to have four propellers, two on the wings and two on the horizontal stabilizer, which haven't yet been installed. The wings come off and can be stowed between the pods. The left pod has driving controls and the right one has flight controls. The BiPod is designed to be powered by two gasoline engines similar to those in the Chevrolet Volt, which would power electric generators to drive four 15-kilowatt motors for the four props (only two motors would be needed to drive the wheels in ground mode). Lithium batteries in the nose, which are recharged in flight, provide reserve power. On the ground, the vehicle could cover an estimated 800 miles on 18 gallons of gas (44 mpg) or travel up to 35 miles purely on electric power. In the air, the BiPod is designed to travel up to 530 miles at 200 mph.
(Excerpt) Read more at avweb.com ...
You mean like this?
Or this?
"Young feller, iffin yur a-taking my daughter out tonight, keep your hands on the wheel. None of that funny business with her!"
See "Trunk Monkey-Chaperone edition" video here:
“AirScooter II, Moller M400, Springtail EFV, PAL-V... These are all real commuter light aircraft that real people could really commute with. For real. Really... “
Did I miss the /sarc tag??
“Question: When is the AirScooter going to be available?
Answer: The AirScooter II is not in production. The company is evaluating improvements and new designs and seeking funding to produce a PAV.”
http://www.airscooter.com/pages/faqs.htm
4.1.When will the M400 be available?
Limited numbers are expected to be available within the next three years. These will be used for marketing demonstrators, special sales, and military applications. A FAA certified model is more than four years away. We already have over 100 reservations for the FAA certified models. The timing of the models available to the public will depend on the speed of the government in certifying the vehicle as airworthy. Moller has little or no control in this process.
http://www.moller.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=93#1.1
“Design Consulting”
“Fabrication”
“Technology Licensing”
(the Springtail EFV is listed on their “Previous Products”)
http://www.trekaero.com/
“After 6 years of concept work, PAL-V Europe BV has now entered the next phase. It is starting to build the first commercial prototype, ready to start production and carry out the market launch of the PAL-V ONE by 2012. “
http://ideasandgadgets.blogspot.com/2008/07/pal-v-super-cool-flying-car.html
No mention of delivery date or price that I could find on the company website.
Of these four, the PAL-V looks like it has the best chance of making it to production and sale. I not too sure how the gyrocopter will work with that very narrow track. Ground resonance could be a bear!
Most of them are held up due to government, not technology. So no, no sarc tag required. Each one has had flying tech demonstrators for years.
IIRC, Moller only flew on a tether under a crane. Moller is a very capable scam artist. I’ve seen a progression of “The Future is Here, NOW!” magazine articles about Moller for what seems like 30 or 40 years. He just puts a swoopier fiberglass body on it every decade and gets a new crop of followers.Work the physics of airfoil thrust and fuel weight to power conversion - it ain’t gonna do what he claims.
As far as “held up due to government”, that may apply to “certification”, but you can do almost whatever you want under “Experimental” category. Lots of people have made money selling plans & kits of their strange and wonderful aircraft. Check out the Experimental Aircraft Association.
I remember reading about that clown in Popular Mechanics and other such magazines in high school. I'm in my 60's now.
Long, long......long,long,long development process old Moller has got there :^)
Thank you for that confirmation. I, too, am in my 60’s and seemed to remember the same. The old memory ain’t what it used to be, though... :-)
As to the “Long, long......long,long,long development process”, there was what appeared to be an excellent air-cooled, supercharged and turbocharged, radial Diesel aircraft engine in development in Germany, the Zoche.
“In development in Germany” forever, and ever. They would show up at Oshkosh every year with the prototype, people would BEG to buy a copy. This went on for well over a decade. finally someone figured the problem. Zoche had taken R&D funds from the local government. Once then engine was on the market they would have to repay all that R&D money. Cost of Production plus reasonable ROI plus repayment of R&D money would significantly EXCEED a competitive retail price. If it never goes to market, no repayment of R&D required. At least that is what I read.
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“Availability
As with any leading edge technology, precise schedules are difficult to predict. We expect to ship the first production engines one year after Engine Type Certification.”
http://www.zoche.de/FAQ.HTM#2
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Ah well, it WAS a nice engine...
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