Flying Car Completes Test Flight

A prototype flying car completed a 35 minute test flight between Nitra and Bratislava international airports in Slovakia. AirCar, the hybrid car and aircraft, has a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol fuel.

Creator of the vehicle, Professor Stefan Klein, describes the experience of driving the AirCar as “normal” and “very pleasant”. He says it is capable of flying around 1,000km (600 miles), at a height of 2,500m (8,200ft). In the air, the vehicle reached a cruising speed of 170km/h, and has so far clocked up 40 hours of air time.

It can carry two people, with a total weight limit of 200kg (31 stone). The narrow wings fold down along the sides of the car, and to transform into aircraft takes just two minutes and 15 seconds. But it does need a runway to take off and land.

‘Huge market’

Flying cars are a longstanding vision of the future, with high anticipation of the landmark moment to come. The concept is considered a potential solution to easing the strain on existing transport infrastructures.

In 2019, consultant company Morgan Stanley predicted the sector’s worth as $1.5trillion (£1tn) by 2040. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motors Europe recently called it “part of our future”.

Klein Vision, the company behind AirCar, say the prototype took approximately two years to develop, costing “less than 2m euros” (£1.7m) in investment.

The potential for AirCar is massive, if the firm can attract a small percentage of global airline or taxi sales. In the United States there are around 40,000 aircraft orders, converting just 5% of those to flying cars would prove highly successful.

Compared to other aircraft, the AirCar is likely not loud or uneconomical in terms of fuel costs. But questions still arise on safety and durability.

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