Dutch car-maker,
Pal-V has unveiled the first ever flying car to be deemed legal to drive on the road and fly in the sky. The car is being shown at next months Geneva show, costing €499,000 ($A780,000). The wait time is around nine months with the first cars being delivered in 2019.
Two unique features setting it apart from all other concepts is the wind-powered rotor, making the Pal-V Liberty float in the air and the three-wheel design and soft tilting motion in curves making it a smooth, enjoyable and easy vehicle to manoeuvre on road and in the air.
The commercially viable vehicle adheres to both the strict air and road standards, a feat no one else has yet to do.
On the road, the car has a max speed of 160km/h reaching 100km/h within nine seconds.The fuel economy is 7.61/100km and it has an engine power of 100hp.
When flying, the car has a maximum speed of 180km/h, 200hp engine power and a maximum operating altitude of 3500m.
Despite its resemblance to a helicopter, the flying car requires a small airstrip for take-off. While you can't go from driving to flying instantly, the pre-flight checklist is said to only take between 10-15 minutes.
The car is equipped with a Semi-Automatic Conversion System (SACS) that takes only 3-5 minutes to switch from flying mode to driving and vice versa. The mast folds and unfolds automatically, the cockpit configuration switches over and when taking off, the pilot merely needs to pull the tail and unfold the rotor blades and propeller. To drive, simply push the tail back in and fold the rotary blades and propeller. To drive the car, you will need both a pilots license and drivers license.
19 Feb