BMW-powered car completes first-ever inter-city flight
On 28 June AirCar, a dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle, moved closer to production this week, fulfilling a key development milestone in a 35-minute flight from the international airport in Nitra, Slovakia to the international airport in Bratislava, Slovakia.
FLYING CARS
Klein Vision’s AirCar completed its 142nd successful landing in Bratislava at 06h:05. After landing, at a click of a button the aircraft transformed into the sports car in under three minutes and was driven by its inventor, Professor Stefan Klein and co-founder, Anton Zajac to downtown Bratislava, cutting the typical travel time by a factor of two. “AirCar is no longer just a proof of concept; flying at 8,200 feet at a speed of 100 knots, it has turned science fiction into a reality” said Zajac.
The AirCar Prototype 1 is equipped with a 160HP BMW engine with fixed-propeller and a ballistic parachute and has flown at 8200 feet and reached a maximum cruising speed of 190km/h. Under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority, the AirCar has completed over 40 hours of test flights, including steep 45 degree turns and stability and manoverability testing. AirCar Prototype 2, the pre-production model, will be equipped with a 300HP engine and receive the EASA CS-23 aircraft certification with an M1 road permit. With its variable pitch propeller, the Prototype 2 is expected to have a cruise speed of 300km/h and range of 1000km.
Founder Stefan Klein
Stefan Klein is a Founder and CEO of KleinVision. He devoted the past twenty years converting his flying-car dream into reality. Having graduated from Slovak University of Technology in 1983, Klein studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (AFAD) and at the École des Beaux Arts et Design, Saint Étienne in 1993. Klein became the Head of Department for Transport and Design at AFAD. He is responsible for innovative research projects in cooperation with top automotive brands including Audi, Volkswagen and BMW. In 2005 he was appointed the visiting professor at Mackintosh School of Art in Glasgow.
Own development
Klein’s passion for flying led him to co-found with his brother and close friends the AirExplore charter airline company. He has personally clocked up over 1,200 hours of flying a powered aircraft, over 3,000 hours of flying a glider and hundreds of hours as a test pilot. His ability to combine design and innovation with commercial acumen has resulted in several successful projects such as the walking excavator for Menzi Muck Switzerland, Locomotive 772, Golf car for Melex Poland and a variety of electric scooters.
The start of the Klein flying cars is dated from the 1989 when he finished his diploma thesis AeroMobil - ‘Personal Vision of Transport System’. His first type was named AeroMobil I. It consists of four lift surfaces with the canard type design, a wingspan is 2,5 meters and a length of five meters. Concept being off any transformation cycle and can fully realise car and aircraft mode. The complex aerodynamics had been solved in the series of wind tunnel tests leading the overall concept to be fully operative. However, the practical driving test in the existing infrastructure has not led to optimal results due to the model overall width.
AeroMobil II
In the 1996 Klein unveiled the new concept with the codename AM2. This was the first prototype where the car / aircraft modes are achieved via transformation. The key step in the transformation process is the wing rotation around the main wing bolt. The new concept featured new innovations related to take-off and transformation. Both prototypes AM 1 and AM 2 are currently part of the exhibition in the Aviation Museum in Košice.