AeroMobil, the flying car company has been sweating it out for about five years now, and is currently on its third working prototype. While speaking at the SXSW, AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik stated that the flying car is more than just a prototype, and the company’s hoping to launch the first model for the “wealthy supercar buyer” by 2017. The flying car would cost a couple of hundred thousand euros, he added. It won’t be an easy task to secure approvals from FAA and additional government regulations (for different countries), plus get finances to keep the company going. Another major task would be to make flying cars mainstream in the mind of common public.
Vaculik spoke of how he dreamed of a flying cars years ago, and how it can help modern commuters jump (or fly off) these three prisons – the traffic prison, the airport prison, and then the prison of bad infrastructure. Self-driving cars are a partial solution to all these issues, and the real solution, he believes, are flying cars.
The first AeroMobil vehicle is a two-seater and runs on gas available at regular gas stations. For take off, it needs about 650 feet, and just 164 feet to land. The maximum speed it can attain is 124 miles per hour. The model is strong enough to take off and land from grass strips, and not just conventional runways. So Vaculik visualizes large grass strips in freeways and gas stations, which just expands the number of places you could take your flying car. Over the general concern of how safe the flying cars shall be, with respect to the defined traffic and air regulations, Vaculik stated that the driver also has to be a certified pilot in order to maneuver this car.
The first commercial vehicle, that’s being planned for a 2017 launch, shall also have a parachute. It’s not clear at the moment whether AeroMobil would be able to achieve this goal, but from the video below looks like the prototype is working well. Safety component still needs a little work, states Vaculik. He added that the company is experimenting with several kinds of engines and shall be crash testing soon.
What do you think about the flying car? Let us know in comments below.
AeroMobil, the flying car company has been sweating it out for about five years now, and is currently on its third working prototype. While speaking at the SXSW, AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik stated that the flying car is more than just a prototype, and the company’s hoping to launch the first model for the “wealthy supercar buyer” by 2017. The flying car would cost a couple of hundred thousand euros, he added. It won’t be an easy task to secure approvals from FAA and additional government regulations (for different countries), plus get finances to keep the company going. Another major task would be to make flying cars mainstream in the mind of common public.
Vaculik spoke of how he dreamed of a flying cars years ago, and how it can help modern commuters jump (or fly off) these three prisons – the traffic prison, the airport prison, and then the prison of bad infrastructure. Self-driving cars are a partial solution to all these issues, and the real solution, he believes, are flying cars.
The first AeroMobil vehicle is a two-seater and runs on gas available at regular gas stations. For take off, it needs about 650 feet, and just 164 feet to land. The maximum speed it can attain is 124 miles per hour. The model is strong enough to take off and land from grass strips, and not just conventional runways. So Vaculik visualizes large grass strips in freeways and gas stations, which just expands the number of places you could take your flying car. Over the general concern of how safe the flying cars shall be, with respect to the defined traffic and air regulations, Vaculik stated that the driver also has to be a certified pilot in order to maneuver this car.
The first commercial vehicle, that’s being planned for a 2017 launch, shall also have a parachute. It’s not clear at the moment whether AeroMobil would be able to achieve this goal, but from the video below looks like the prototype is working well. Safety component still needs a little work, states Vaculik. He added that the company is experimenting with several kinds of engines and shall be crash testing soon.
What do you think about the flying car? Let us know in comments below.