Posted on 01/26/2022 12:53:33 PM PST by Twotone
A hybrid car-airplane known as “AirCar” has been issued a certificate of airworthiness by the Slovakian civil aviation authority, potentially paving the way for the future of flying vehicles.
The dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle, which looks like a sports car, was created by a team of eight highly-skilled specialists at the Slovakian company Klein Vision, which was founded by Professor Stefan Klein.
Klein has devoted the last 20 years to making the flying car a reality.
It was awarded the certificate by the Slovak Transport Authority after successfully completing 70 hours of “rigorous flight testing compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards,” Klein Vision said in a statement (pdf).
Flight tests included over 200 takeoffs and landings and a full range of various flight and performance maneuvers that Klein Vision says demonstrated “astonishing static and dynamic stability in the aircraft mode.”
The takeoff and landing procedures were achieved even without the pilot having to touch the flight controls, the company said.
It took the team of specialists over 100,000 man hours to convert design drawings of the air vehicle into mathematical models and to then create the final two-seater 1,000-kilogram (2,200-pound) vehicle that is powered by a 1.6-liter BMW engine.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
Very cool. Ok, now I AM impressed!
Yep
I think we'd have to call them drive-by strafings.
Actually, that would be kind of cool. I could finally get that P51 Mustang I've always wanted.
After watching the video, I see it folds up to the size of a car, but to take off and land, you still need to go to an airport or a large, flat empty field. So, we are still a long way from sci-fi and the world of the Jetsons.
Maybe ok if the Wx is CAVU, but what if it’s marginal or perhaps WOXOF? Instrument-certified version for just $150k more?
Nope.
“People can barely handle driving in 2 dimensions.”
Pilots are trained for 3.
Yeah, but fewer car-jackings. “I can’t fly this. It’s a stick.”
Where do you put the groceries and the kids you just picked up from soccer practice and ballet lessons?
“It only takes up 6 parking spaces...”
Nope
Who buys groceries anymore? These people have meals delivered.
“Won’t fit in my garage.”
Fits in mine.
We are still waiting on an anti-gravity unit to boost it into the air from a standstill in a parking place or your own driveway. At least, that is what the Delorean in “BTTF” used rather than wings. Once in the air, it is then a matter of attitude control, tipping forward, left, right, back, up, down or hover.
Surfing the air, hanging ten.
” You’d basically have to keep it an airport, and take off and land at an airport, kind of like (drum roll) an airplane.”
Park it in your garage or driveway and drive it to the airport.
Well, it’s fine as another toy for the rich, but I don’t see any significant practical value on a large scale. As for me, I’m happy with my new $20 toy - a toy hamster that repeats whatever you say to it (max 7-8 seconds). It’s a great tension breaker.
You don’t need a control tower.
More appropriately, pilots are trained in six degrees of freedom, three translational and three rotational.
I said that before I saw the video with the fold-up wings. But it’s still not practical for 99% of everyday uses.
I’m holding out for the jet engine, swept-wing version.
>>Actually, that would be kind of cool. I could finally get that P51 Mustang I’ve always wanted.<<
Make mine a P-51D, please.
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