Nirita-Bratislava by car? Yes, but in a flying automobile!
An Air Car prototype completed a 35-minute flight between the international airports of Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia.
The hybrid air-car, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular gasoline fuel.
Its creator, Professor Stefan Klein, said it can fly about 1,000 km at an altitude of 8,200 feet and has accumulated 40 hours of flight time so far.
It takes 2 minutes and 15 seconds to transform from a car into an airplane.
The design of this flying car turns out to be very pleasing with its narrow wings that fold along the sides of the car.
It was actually its creator, Prof Klein, who drove the car directly from the track to the city and where he was greeted by journalists invited to the event.
Klein described the experience, as "normal" and "very pleasant."
The features of the AirCar
In flight, the vehicle reached a speed of 170km/h and could carry two people, with a combined weight limit of 200kg (31 stones).
But unlike the drone-taxi prototypes, it cannot take off and land vertically and requires a runway.
Despite the current experimental stage, there are high expectations for the nascent flying car market, which has long been heralded in popular culture as a visionary landmark of the future.
In 2019, consulting firm Morgan Stanley predicted that the industry could be worth $1.5 trillion (£1tn) by 2040.
At the International Automotive Summit held last Tuesday, Hyundai Motors Europe CEO Michael Cole called flying cars a reality that is already "part of our future."
We are talking about a huge market:
The company that worked on AirCar, Klein Vision, says the prototype took about two years to develop and cost "less than 2 million euros" (1.7 million pounds) in investment.
Anton Zajac, a consultant and investor at Klein Vision, said that if the company could attract even a small percentage of global airline or cab sales, it would be a huge success-in fact, there are about 40,000 aircraft orders in the United States alone.
Future competitors
A growing number of companies, in fact, are exploring the potential of flying vehicles despite obstacles, including safety and reliability. Flying vehicles would need to operate in crowded airspace, close to small drones and traditional aircraft, and they also need a regulatory framework, which could take years.
Uber (UBER) and Hyundai (HYMTF) unveiled plans for an electric flying cab at last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Michael Cole, the CEO of Hyundai's European unit, announced that the South Korean automaker is working "very actively" on the program.
In February, Volkswagen (VLKAF) announced that it is looking into flying vehicles in China. Meanwhile, Porsche, Daimler (DDAIF) and Toyota (TM) have all backed startups in what is known as the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) industry.
In August 2020, the Japanese company Sky Drive Inc. conducted the first public demonstration in Japan of a flying vehicle. The car took off from the Toyota Test Field and circled for about four minutes.
All we can do is wait to find out all that the world of innovation has in store for us!!!
Anna Moschetta
Communication Trainee | Digital Innovation Days