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A car capable of transforming into a plane and taking to the skies has been awarded an official certification of airworthiness.
That means, the ‘AirCar’ has passed all of its safety checks and is fully certified to fly in its home country of Slovakia.
Officials say the flying car logged 70 hours of rigorous flight testing compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards.
That means over 200 takeoffs and landings.
‘AirCar certification opens the door for mass production of very efficient flying cars,’ said Professor Stefan Klein, the inventor, leader of the development team and the test pilot.
‘It is official and the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever.’
Anton Zajac, the project cofounder, added: ’50 years ago, the car was the epitome of freedom. AirCar expands those frontiers, by taking us into the next dimension; where road meets sky.’
The AirCar uses a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol. It is capable of flying at 8,200ft at a speed of up to 170kph.
It took a team of 8 specialists over 100,000 manhours to create the vehicle, which transforms from car to plane in just under three minutes.
It has narrow wings that fold down and tuck inside the car for when it comes time to drive on the roads.
The car, which has been in development for the last five years, is capable of carrying two people with a combined weight of 200kg.
‘The Transportation Authority carefully monitored all stages of the unique AirCar development from its start in 2017,’ said Rene Molnar, the director of the Civil Aviation Division at the Transport Authority of Slovakia.
‘The transportation safety is our highest priority. AirCar combines top innovations with safety measures in line with EASA standards.
‘It defines a new category of a sports car and a reliable aircraft. Its certification was both a challenging and fascinating task,’ he said.
Will we see the AirCar making it to driveways and flight paths across the UK? Not for some time, we’re afraid.
The invention would still need to pass safety certification in this country and anyone that wanted to get behind the wheel would need both a driving licence and a pilot’s licence.
Not to mention very deep pockets, the prototype alone cost £1.7 million so a final production model likely won’t come cheap.
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