Once it was science fiction, predicted to be everywhere by the 1950s, 1960s and so on. Now, the idea of a flying car may be coming closer to reality with the Slovak Transport Authority giving the first official airworthiness certificate for a “dual-mode car-aircraft” as its inventor calls it.
The AirCar, built by Klein-Vision in Bratislava, Slovakia, has been under development for several years, and made its first inter-city flight last year while undergoing tests compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards. It’s had more than 200 take-offs and landings, which can happen even without pilot intervention.
On land, the wings automatically retract and store, and the tail pulls in to function more or less like a sports-car spoiler. The company is working on an improved engine that it hopes to have ready for certification and sale within 12 months.
And then we can start wondering about what all those science fiction predicters never worried about: What will happen when we start having fender benders, road rage and traffic jams in the air?
Fantastic video. It reminds me so much of a car ride down a runway, my dad driving, as I photographed the wheels of the biplane he’d designed & built leaving the ground for the first time. Thrilling.