Gerbangindonesia.com – Flying car Gets airworthiness certification. A flying car capable of speeds above 160 km / h (100 mph) and altitudes above 2,500 m (8,000 ft) has received a certificate of airworthiness from the Slovak Transport Authority.
The hybrid auto-plane, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular gasoline pump fuel.It takes two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from a car into a plane.The certification followed 70 hours of flight tests and more than 200 take-offs and landings, the company said.
“AirCar certification opens the door for mass production of very efficient flying cars,” its creator, Prof Stefan Klein, said.
“It is official and the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever.”
‘Cautiously optimistic’
In June, the flying car completed a 35-minute flight between Nitra International Airports and Bratislava, Slovakia.The company told BBC News it had planned “to fly to London from Paris in near future” . Dr Steve Wright, senior researcher in avionics and aviation systems at the University of the West of England, said the news was “a good step forward” for the company and it did. “cautiously optimistic that I am going to see a few AirCars one day – but I think there is still a way to go”.
Other companies are also developing vehicles that can fly and be driven on the road.The three-wheeled PAL-V Liberty, which flies like a gyrocopter, is road legal in Europe and is working towards certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
But Dr. Wright is wary of the mass appeal of flying cars.
“Are flying cars the future? Yes… and no,” he said.
“The personal-transport revolution is definitely coming but not really looking like this.
“From a transport point of view, it has a niche – although, a very interesting niche.”
Air-taxi services
The AirCar takes off and lands like a conventional aircraft and requires a pilot’s license to fly.
But several companies are working on unmanned air taxi services with autonomous flight and vertical take-off and landing.
The developers hope they will provide a convenient and flexible means of transportation, and some are attracting significant investments.
Also on Monday, Boeing announced that it was investing an additional $ 450 million (£ 334 million) in Wisk, the California-based autonomous air taxi company it jointly owns with Kitty Hawk, a company launched by Google co-founder Larry. Page.
