RE: Flying car survives first intercity flight

RE: Flying car survives first intercity flight

Wednesday 30th June 2021

Flying car survives first intercity flight

Supposedly, the AirCar transforms back and forth at the touch of a button


 

We tried really hard to avoid the 'is it a bird, is it a plane' opening line, but looking at the AirCar Prototype 1, you can't help but be left wondering if it's supposed to be a plane with a steering wheel, or a car with wings. Either way, a road car that magically sprouts wings and turns its rear spoiler into a tailfin is what the movies always promised us.

So exciting news, then, as Klein Vision's AirCar is celebrating a key development milestone by successfully (goes without saying) completing its first intercity flight from Nitra to Bratislava, both in Slovakia, for a 35-minute journey.

Supposedly, upon landing, just one click of a button returns the machine to a 'sports car', saving you the distress of the non-EU passport control queue and missing baggage at reclaim. You can see in the video how the wings fold backwards into the tail that, in turn, shrinks its way back into the body of the car. It does mostly look like some kind of boxy McLaren with half a plane stuck on the back, but really, what else are they supposed to do? Your sketches on a postcard please.

The AirCar Prototype 1 is equipped with a 160hp BMW engine, running on regular road petrol, and has a fixed-propeller and a ballistic parachute. A second, pre-production prototype is next in the development stage, which will be equipped with a 300hp engine and an expected cruise speed of 186mph (162kt) and a flying range of 621 miles.

It's already undergone 40 hours of test flights - under supervision from the Civil Aviation Authority, they're keen to point out - including 45deg turns and manoeuvrability testing, and has flown at 8,200ft at speeds of up to 118mph (or 103kt for sky fans).

So those are the stats. But do you think the reality of flying cars will ever actually... take off?









Author
Discussion

J B L

Original Poster:

4,215 posts

229 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Not sure it'll ever "take off" but at least this must be the most realistic effort I've ever seen.


sidesauce

2,914 posts

232 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Damn, it actually happened!?

Mysstree

528 posts

60 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Is photo 2 a pre production of an Imperial Shuttle as used by Lord Vader?

Every day a journey

2,310 posts

52 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
God I hope the production models have a more reliable power plant

Leftfootwonder

1,243 posts

72 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Very cool. It even has a targa roof. hehe

Dave Hedgehog

14,869 posts

218 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
they will be dropping like flies if they let half the idiots on the roads near one lol

Dr Interceptor

8,141 posts

210 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
That is absolutely sensational.... I want one!

PhantomPH

4,043 posts

239 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Allow me to modify the title of this article to something more accurate: "Small Plane has Foldable Wings".

knebworth01

179 posts

134 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
I rather have a Jetpack

RenesisEvo

3,756 posts

233 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Remember that radio advert comparing pre-flight checks to just jumping in the car? This will be a major stumbling block - I can't see how you can drive up to a landing strip, pop out the wings and hit the skies. There are so many more consequences to things going wrong when airborne that a very stringent safety protocol is required, not limited to checking all the systems before take off. How many people get in their cars and drive at 70mph without even laying eyes on two of the four tyres - how many people have you seen with their door mirrors still folded? I fear there will be too many legislative and common-sense hurdles to ever make this truly viable for the average motorist, who is clearly going to need a pilots licence too. Also I can't help wonder how it'll ever get through a rear end crash test.

That said, it's pretty cool to see something that has seemed so abstract and distant as a reality for so many decades come to life. I hope I am proved wrong.

RudeDog

1,664 posts

188 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
What's its 'Ring time?

McRors

379 posts

70 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
I preferred Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

MustangGT

13,040 posts

294 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Will it ever get an NCAP rating?

NMNeil

5,860 posts

64 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
they will be dropping like flies if they let half the idiots on the roads near one lol
Can you imagine the literal fallout from a high speed collision?

RegMolehusband

4,052 posts

271 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
It's a compromise and will make either a very poor car or a very poor aeroplane. Hopefully it won't be the latter. Though, surely, a new flying machine such as this should be battery operated nowadays.

But credit is due for having a go!


Ultrafunkula

1,010 posts

119 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Surely the whole idea of flying cars is just a flight of fancy?

fantheman80

1,917 posts

63 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
Fair play to them. This will only be suitable and appeal to private pilots to save them renting a car the other end, but cant see Avis or Hertz quaking..!!

SpudLink

6,965 posts

206 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
I can see a small market for it in parts of the USA or Australia. Places were people live in remote communities, and it can be hundreds of miles to the things urban dwellers take for granted.
If you have the space on your land, it could be a viable way to travel to an airfield a couple of hundred miles away. Then a short drive to your actual destination before making the return journey.
If you don’t have your own airfield, you could keep the car at home at your own expense, rather than paying hangar fees. A short drive from home to the airfield, then off you fly.

Edit: sure, the sensible solution would be to hire a taxi at each end of the journey. But who wants to live in a world where the sensible solution is the only option?

skint_driver

126 posts

266 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
I think I'd prefer the carver gyrocopter approach of PAL-V.
https://www.pal-v.com/en/the-pal-v-story

Remember the carver one - the tilting tricyle car? This is basically the same thing but with a big fan on the roof.

anonymous-user

68 months

Wednesday 30th June 2021
quotequote all
What an f'ing stupid thing!

A terrible plane and a terrible car, all in one.

Why if you can fly, do you need to drive? Surely, once you can fly, you fly to where you are going and hence most credible personal flying machines look like scaled up drones:



They trade L/D efficiency for high maneouverability and vertical capability. They realise no one is going to be crossing continents in one (far too slow) they realise they are basically helicopters, not fixed wing aircraft