Flying car completes test flight between airports
A prototype flying car has completed a 35-minute flight between international airports in Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia.
The hybrid car-aircraft, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol-pump fuel.
Its creator, Prof Stefan Klein, said it could fly about 1,000km (600 miles), at a height of 8,200ft (2,500m), and had clocked up 40 hours in the air so far.
It takes two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from car into aircraft.
‘Very pleasant’
The narrow wings fold down along the sides of the car.
Prof Klein drove it straight off the runway and into town upon arrival, watched by invited reporters.
He described the experience, early on Monday morning, as “normal” and “very pleasant”.
In the air, the vehicle reached a cruising speed of 170km/h.
It can carry two people, with a combined weight limit of 200kg (31 stone).
But unlike drone-taxi prototypes, it cannot take off and land vertically and requires a runway.
In 2019, consultant company Morgan Stanley predicted the sector could be worth $1.5trillion (£1tn) by 2040.
And at an industry event on Tuesday, Hyundai Motors Europe chief executive Michael Cole called the concept “part of our future”.
It is considered a potential solution to the strain on existing transport infrastructures.
Agencies