By Alexander Gu
A prototype flying car has completed a 35 minute flight between Slovakian airports.
Klein Vision’s AirCar, a “dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle” flew between the cities of Nitra and Bratislava at an altitude of 8,200 feet and at a speed of 190 kph.
Klein Vision, the company that created the prototype, states that this was its 142nd successful landing and “a key development milestone.” As is stated in Klein Vision’s news release, “at a click of a button the aircraft transformed into a sports car in under three minutes and was driven by its inventor, Professor Stefan Klein and co-founder, Anton Zajac to downtown Bratislava.”
"AirCar is no longer just a proof of concept," Zajac said in the press release. "It has turned science fiction into a reality."
The AirCar is equipped with a 160 horsepower BMW engine and runs using ordinary petrol fuel. It is a dual-passenger vehicle with a weight limit of 200kg.
Dr Stephen Wright, senior research fellow in avionics and aircraft, at the University of the West of England, stated that he did not think the vehicle would be particularly loud or uneconomical in terms of fuel costs, compared with other aircraft.
The company is working on a second model, the AirCar Prototype 2, which is equipped with a 300 horsepower engine. It is said to be able to fly a maximum of 1,000 km and at a cruising speed of 300 kph.
A number of companies have expressed interest in the flying car market, despite reliability, practicality, and safety issues. If flying cars were to be mainstream, they would need to be able to operate safely in packed airspace. Additionally, the AirCar prototype requires a runway, which makes it impractical for household use as of now.
Klein Vision has expressed future plans to make three and four-seater models of the AirCar, along with amphibious and twin-engine versions.
Jack Guy, Cnn Business. "Flying car completes 35-minute test flight between cities." CNN. 30 Jun. 2021. Web. 12 Jul. 2021. <https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/30/business/flying-car-flight-slovakia-scli-intl/index.html>
BBC News. "Flying car completes test flight between airports." BBC News. 29 Jun. 2021. Web. 12 Jul. 2021. <https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57651843>