FLYING CAR? IT’LL NEVER TAKE OFF
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IT may not be quite like the Jetsons but for a few hundred thousand dollars you, too, can soon fly around in a car.
A Slovakian company called AeroMobil unveiled on Thursday its version of a flying car, a light-frame plane whose wings can fold back, like an insect, and is boosted by a hybrid engine and rear propeller.
It will be available to preorder as soon as this year, but is not for everyone – besides the big price tag, you’d need a pilot’s licence to be able to use it in the air.
“I think it’s going to be a very niche product,” said Philip Mawby, professor of electronic engineering at the University of Warwick.
Several companies are working on flying cars, either like AeroMobil’s twoseater that needs a runway, or others that function more like helicopters, lifting off vertically. But not many companies are seriously looking at marketing these vehicles anytime soon, Mr Mawby said. “The technology is there ... the question is bringing it to the market at an affordable cost, and making it a useful product.”
Among the big questions is how to control the air traffic if there are hundreds of vehicles in the air.
The AeroMobil has a driving range of 100km and a top speed of 160kmh. When flying, its maximum cruising range is 750km and it takes three minutes for the car to turn into a plane. HWM70-1203D