Flying cars could approach production after a successful 35-minute flight of AirCar Prototype 1, a Slovak dual-mode car aircraft currently powered by a BMW engine.
AirCar, inspired by Professor Stephen Crane, co-founder of Klein Vision: 'This week (June 28, 2021), we embarked on a flight from Nitra Airport to Bratislava Airport, marking an important stage in its development when we achieved 142.nd The landing was successful.'
After landing, the fixed propeller aircraft turned into a sports car within three minutes with the click of a button, and was then driven to Bratislava by Professor Klein and the company’s co-founder Anton Zajak. According to Kleinvision, the entire journey has been cut in half.
The transition is made possible by more than 20 programmable servomotors, and Zajac believes that further optimization will reduce aircraft-to-car conversion to 1 minute and 2 seconds. The 5.2m Air Car is the same length as the Mercedes S-Class, but 2cm shorter.
To fly a two-seater AirCar into the air, you need a 300m runway before taking off at about 120km / h.
“This prototype has only a 1.6L engine and 160HP, so it’s actually a very weak engine,” says Zajac. “You can still take off, land and drive like a sports car. We flew up to 8,200 feet and achieved a speed of about 100mph with 45% power.”
Under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Bureau, AirCar has completed more than 40 hours of test flight, including a 45 degree sharp turn, stability and maneuverability tests. Zajac added that the AirCar treats it like a Cessna or a small aircraft of similar size and does not require pilots to undergo additional flight training.
However, the AirCar wings are shorter than the Cessna wings due to the semi-monocoque (metal tube and carbon fiber) airframe design, producing 30-40% lift throughout the vehicle.
“This allowed us to use shorter wings, which made the conversion from car to airplane mode much more efficient,” says Zajac. “The resulting car size is the size that can be used in a garage or commercial parking lot.”
Looking to the future, Zajac said the prototype AirCar Prototype 2 will be built with a monocoque fuselage. Klein Vision added that it will be powered by a 300HP engine and will be EASACS-23 aircraft certified with an M1 road permit. Prototype 2 with a variable-pitch propeller is expected to have a cruising speed of 300km / h (162kt) and a cruising range of 1000km (621mi).
AirCar Prototype 2 will be demonstrated on a flight between Paris and London.
Source: fuentitech.com