The Klein Vision AirCar is a two-seat
flying car
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 Yaron.Jery Sb, made in
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. It was
type certified
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...
as an aircraft in January 2022.
Design and development
Slovak designer Professor Štefan Klein began working on flying cars in the late 1980s. Having developed the
AeroMobil
The AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil is a prototype roadable aircraft, 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 Va ...
, he left the company to develop a new idea as the AirCar, and set up Klein Vision with colleague Anton Zajac.
[Anmol Ahuja]
"From dream to reality: Klein Vision’s 'flying car' to glide over traffic woes"
''stir world'', 5 Nov 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
The main fuselage of the AirCar doubles as a two-seat road car with four large road wheels. Styled like a sports coupe, it contributes 30-40 percent of the total lift when in the air. For flight it is fitted with foldout wings and extending tailbooms carrying a high tail. A pusher propeller is permanently installed between the fuselage and tail, and a safety parachute is installed. Construction is primarily a semi-monocoque of carbon fibre composite over a steel subframe. Over 20 programmable servo motors are used to perform the transition between road and air configurations.
[Jason Ford]
"AirCar navigates course to viable flying cars"
''The Engineer'', 1st July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.[William Davis]
"Klein Vision AirCar: Flying car prototype completes successful flight in Slovakia"
''Drive'' News, 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021. When on the road, the retracted tail surface creates a downforce similar to conventional rear aerofoils.
Power is provided by a 1.6 litre BMW road car engine, running on automotive petrol or gasoline and delivering .
The prototype AirCar is of comparable length to a
Mercedes S-Class saloon, at , and around narrower.
Overall weight is .
A second, pre-production prototype is expected to have a monocoque fuselage with a more powerful engine.
The design was
type certified
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...
as an aircraft in January 2022 in Slovakia.
It also needs approval as a road vehicle before it can be used as such.
Performance
The prototype takes off at around , after a run of .
Cruising speed in the air is said to be Range is estimated as , at an altitude of . The current version of the car can reach altitudes of . It is said to take two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from car into aircraft.
Operational history
The prototype first flew on 22 or 27 October 2020.
In June 2021 the prototype AirCar carried out a 35-minute flight between
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 ...
and
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. ...
airports.
On April 23, 2024 - KleinVision's AirCar took to the skies with electronic music pioneer,
Jean-Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...
.
See also
References
* Jack Guy
"Klein Vision AirCar completes 35-minute test flight in Slovakia" CBS, 30 June 2021.
External links
Klein Vision company website
Roadable aircraft
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