The AirCar flying car, soon in a sky near you?
The days when the flying car was part of science fiction are over. L’AirCar of the company Klein Vision, which had completed its first 35-minute intercity flight on June 28, has just received the official airworthiness certificate issued by the Bratislava Transport Authority.
To obtain this certification, theAirCar, a half-car, half-plane hybrid vehicle, has successfully completed 70 hours of flight testing, compatible with the standards of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). In addition to performing the full range of flight and performance maneuvers in these tests, the AirCar achieved over 200 takeoffs and landings without the pilot needing to touch the flight controls. Computers inside the car manage the system automatically and can lock the fenders in the correct position.
BMW engine
The two-seater prototype, which spreads its wings in just three minutes at the push of a button, weighs 1,000 kg and promises a range of 1,000 km. It’s powered by a 1.6-liter BMW engine that develops 160 horsepower and runs on gasoline “sold at any gas station,” said Anton Zalac, co-founder of Klein Vision. He adds that the AirCar can reach a maximum altitude of 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) with a cruising speed of 170 km/h. Jet airliners generally fly between 9,200 and 12,200 meters (30,000 and 40,000 feet) in altitude while those with turboprops are rather between 5,100 and 7,100 meters (17,000 and 25,000 feet) .
A colossal job
Eight highly qualified specialists invested more than 100,000 hours of work to make the vision of a flying car a reality. The AirCar features many technologies, including a parachute deployment system, retractable wings and folding tailplanes. These would improve longitudinal stability and make take-off easier, just like in a conventional aircraft, but when the AirCar switches to car mode, the retracted tailplane allows for a more compact size. The vehicle’s aerodynamic fuselage, constructed primarily from an advanced composite material, would provide ample space for passengers and optimize lift characteristics during flight.
The AirCar takes off in 2017
The transport authority has closely followed all phases of the AirCar’s development since its launch in 2017 by the company Klein Vision, co-founded by Stefan Klein and his entrepreneur friend Anton Zajac. The prototype was presented to the general public on November 5, 2019 at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China.
With this certification, Klein Vision takes a new step towards the commercialization of its flying machine but the company will however have to obtain an aircraft type certification, issued by the EASA, to take off its commercial exploitation of the AirCar.
