AirCar Prototype 1, the dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle, has completed its first-ever test flight between the international airports in Nitra and Bratislava in Slovakia. The inventor of the flying car, Stefan Klein, personally drove the car during the flight test which lasted for 35 minutes.
According to Klein, the flying car could fly 600 miles (1,000km) at a height of 8,200ft (2,500m). The test flight is said to be a significant key development milestone.
He also demonstrated that with just a click of a button, the flying car could transform into a sports car after two minutes and 15 seconds.
Flying Car Test Flight
Professor Klein drove the flying car during its test flight on June 28 and its 142nd successful landing. With its narrow wings fold down along its sides, he drove the flying car straight off the runway and into town, where invited reporters are waiting.
According to Klein, the experience of flying the flying car on Monday morning was "normal" and "very pleasant." BBC News reported that the dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle reached a cruising speed of 170km/h.
The aircraft can carry two people with a combined weight limit of 200kg. However, the vehicle cannot take off and land vertically like the drone-taxi prototypes as it requires a runway.
After the successful test flight of AirCar, Klein declared that the flight started a new era of dual transportation and returned the freedom originally attributed to cars back to its human operator.
"AirCar is no longer just a proof of concept; flying at 8,200ft at a speed of 100 kt (115 miles per hour), it has turned science fiction into a reality," Klein said as quoted by MSN.
He was praised by a Boeing company senior technical fellow, Dr. Branko Sarh, for developing a user-friendly flying car. There have been a lot of expectations for the novel vehicle, and it was even heralded in popular culture as a visionary landmark of the future.
Consultant company Morgan Stanley said that the market of flying cars is predicted to reach $1.5 trillion worth by 2040. Klein's flying car was also dubbed a concept "part of our future" by Hyundai Motors Europe.
Flying cars are seen as a potential solution to the existing traffic problems around the world.
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What is AirCar?
Klein Vision's flying car is an outcome of excellent engineering and professional knowledge, said Dr. Sarkh. The flying prototype boasts a 160 horsepower BMW engine which has propellers and a ballistic parachute.
So far, this dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle has already accomplished 40 hours of test flights, flown at 8,200 feet. According to Klein Vision's news release, the flying car has a maximum cruising speed of 103 kt (190km/h).
Moreover, the news release said that it took the company two years to create the AirCar Prototype 1 and cost less than $2 million (1.7 euros) in investment.
Klein Vision plans to make the AirCar Prototype 2, which will be equipped with 300 horsepower engine, with a maximum cruising speed of 162kt (300km/h) and a range of 621 miles (1,000km).
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