‘AirCar’ issued with official certificate of airworthiness
Flying car received certificate from Slovak Transport Authority after completing 70 hours of rigorous flight testing
A dual-mode car-aircraft named ‘AirCar’ has received its airworthiness certification and according to creator Professor Stefan Klein, it is “the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever".
To get the airworthiness certification, Klein’s flying vehicle had to go through 70 hours of flight testing and complete more than 200 take-offs and landings – which were completed without the pilot needing to touch the flight controls.
The AirCar is both an aircraft and a ground vehicle powered by a 1.6-litre BMW engine with assistance from an electric 15KW motor, and runs on regular petrol-pump fuel. Klein’s invention is capable of reaching speeds more than 100mph (160km/h) and altitudes above 8,000ft (2,500m).
It takes two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from a car into an aircraft and it is “one of the first steps towards mass production of very efficient flying cars,” according to Klein.
It took a team of eight specialists more than 100,000 man hours to turn the 1,000kg two-seater aircraft into reality.
Klein is currently working on the next-generation AirCar, which he hopes will be able to reach speeds of more than 186mph (300km/h) and have a range of 621 miles (1,000km), thanks to its variable-pitch propeller.
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