Flying cars are taking off, at least in the news, but there is also a real flying car that has already logged 70 hours of flight. The dream since the early days of the automobile was to avoid road hazards and traffic by rising above it all and soaring through the air. Imagine the time saved by cutting out all of the turns and intersections that slow road travel and flying in a direct line to the destination.
The Autoplane was among the earliest attempts at making a flying car and a 1917 prototype managed to get off the ground briefly before thumping down again. More success followed but the world was not ready for flying cars outside of science fiction stories. There have been some working solutions in the last several years, although some look like dune buggies and others are more closely related to small planes than cars. In short, the flying car has thus far seemed more likely to become a reality in the distant future.
However, the wait for a flying car might be shorter than expected, based on the recent success of one of the most notable flying cars in the world. The AirCar has quietly racked up 70 hours of EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) flight testing and over 200 takeoffs and landings. Its wings can fold into the body creating a look that's closer to a real car than other solutions and, with its airplane tailpiece looking somewhat like a large spoiler, the transformation results in an automobile that's more sporty than most vehicles on the road. The AirCar is manufactured by Klein Vision and the company's founder and CEO Stefan Klein has been designing and building flying car prototypes since 1989. In a press release and YouTube video, and reported on by the BBC, the company celebrated a new milestone, receiving a Certificate of Airworthiness by the Slovak Transport Authority, the Slovakia government's regulatory body for aviation.
AirCar Vs. Other Flying Cars
The AirCar is an electric vehicle that not only looks more like a car than most others, but it also flies more like an airplane than competing solutions. Several newer flying car designs are based on drone technology with several vertical propellers working in unison to raise the craft up without the need for a runway. While this is a more flexible solution for the future, it leads to regulatory delays since passenger flight has previously involved winged aircraft or helicopters.
The AirCar works just like an airplane when its wings are extended, driving along the runway with the boost of a rear-mounted prop to provide thrust while in the air. With a 35-minute long inter-city flight on June 28, 2021, and certification at the start of 2022, the AirCar is now moving on to a pre-production model that will fly faster (186 miles per hour) and higher (3280 feet), helping to make the dream of flying cars a reality.
Source: AirCar/PR Newswire, Klein Vision/YouTube, BBC