The AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil is a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

roadable aircraft A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes ...

, designed by Štefan Klein and first flown in 2013. The aircraft was going be produced by Slovak company AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil s.r.o. company co-founder and CEO

Juraj Vaculík Juraj Vaculík is a Slovak business executive who co-founded AeroMobil and acted as CEO until its closure in 2023. Juraj had an active role in the Velvet Revolution and currently works within the international media and advertising industries. He ...

indicated in March 2015 that the vehicle is intended for "wealthy supercar buyers and flight enthusiasts". Aeromobil unveiled the production version of the vehicle in April 2017 and announced that it would be available for preorder before the end of 2017. As of February 20, 2023, AeroMobil failed to acquire new financing and closed down. Total investments amounted to about €25 million.

Design and development

The prototype was conceived as a vehicle that can be converted from an automobile to an aircraft. The ''version 2.5'' proof-of-concept took 20 years to develop, and first flew in 2013. The prototype was constructed by the AeroMobil Team based in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and led by co-founders Štefan Klein and Juraj Vaculík, advised by inventor

Dean Kamen Dean Lawrence Kamen (; born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway PT, Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Sc ...

. As of 2013, there have been four developmental versions of the Aeromobil, 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0, with earlier versions lacking folding wings, while later versions have folding wings and fins around the wheels. Version 2.5 was first exhibited in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

at the SAE AeroTech Congress and Exhibition. Version 3.0 was introduced at the Pioneers Festival 2014 in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and flew in October 2014. The designers intend to include a

ballistic parachute A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...

. In 2014 the company said there is no date for a finished product, but in 2015, after the crash of the prototype, they hoped for deliveries by 2018. On 6 April 2016, the company raised €3 million ($3.2 million US) to help fund the production and demonstration of a new vehicle. This round of funding comes from individual investor Patrick Hessel, a founder of c2i. The company, c2i, is a maker of aerospace and automotive parts constructed from composite material. On 20 April 2017, AeroMobil s.r.o. unveiled the production model of the vehicle at

Top Marques Monaco Top Marques Monaco is an event that takes place annually at the Grimaldi Forum in the principality of Monaco. It features exhibitions by numerous purveyors of luxury aircraft, automobile, boat, watches, jewellery etc. A quarter of the event's ti ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, and announced that it would begin to take preorders for a "limited first edition" of it before the end of 2017. The first edition was to consist of no more than 500 vehicles, and the first 25 ordered were planned as a "Founders Edition" with "series-specific product content along with an expanded benefits package" with "details to be announced separately."

Variants

AeroMobil-Pioneers-Festival-Vienna-2014-15480314278

;AeroMobil 1.0 (1990–94): Initial concept vehicle ;AeroMobil 2.0 (1995-2010):Concept development ;AeroMobil 2.5 (2010-2013): The pre-prototype of the Aeromobil concept ;AeroMobil 3.0 (2014-2017): Further development of the concept. First publicly shown in October 2014 and crashed on 8 May 2015. Powered by a

Rotax 912S The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, lat ...

engine, it was constructed with a steel frame covered in

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

. ;Aeromobil 4.0 (2017-): Hybrid power based on a

Subaru is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first largest aut ...

boxer engine A flat engine is a Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct ...

. 300 hp gasoline or 110 hp electric.

Accidents

On 8 May 2015 the AeroMobil 3.0 prototype crashed at

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

Airport near Janíkovce, during a test flight. It entered a

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

and the

was deployed. The aircraft crashed on descending and suffered major damage. The pilot, Stefan Klein, received only minor injuries and was able to walk away from the aircraft. In June, 2015, the company indicated that a new prototype was being developed.

Specifications (AeroMobil 3.0)

References

External links