A
beautifully designed fully functional prototype of a flying car: the Aeromobil
3.0 was recently revealed in Vienna at the Pioneers festival that celebrates
entrepreneurship, technology and innovation.
History of
the project
AeroMobil
3.0 prototype was designed and manufactured by engineers led by chief designer
and CTO Stefan Klein and CEO Juraj Vaculik, co-founders of the company, in just
10 months after the release of the previous and much more basic pre-prototype
of the flying car, the AeroMobil 2.5.
AeroMobil,
the flying car, is the core product of the Slovakia based company AeroMobil. It
has been in development since 1989, when Stefan Klein, the founder and head of
the Department of Transport Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Slovakia
began working on a concept of a flying car.
In 2010,
Klein joined forces with Juraj Vaculik and established the company with the
objective of commercializing the project. AeroMobil reached a key milestone in
2013, when they successfully demonstrated the functionality of the
pre-prototype AeroMobil 2.5.
The
AeroMobil 3.0
The current
flying car prototype AeroMobil 3.0 incorporates significant improvements and
upgrades to the AeroMobil 2.5.
The
AeroMobil 3.0 prototype is very close to the final product. Built from the same
materials as the final product, such as advanced composite materials for the
body shell, wings, and wheels, it also boasts all the main features that will
be incorporated into the final product, such as avionics equipment, autopilot
and an advanced parachute deployment system.
AeroMobil
was designed in a way to fit into existing road infrastructure – its size is
comparable to a limousine or a large luxury sedan. It has low maintenance costs
and can be parked in regular parking slots in cities. It uses standard gasoline
instead of kerosene, and it can therefore be fueled at a regular gas stations.
AeroMobil
also implements a number of other advanced technologies, such as a variable
angle of attack of the wings, which significantly boosts the efficiency of
take-off and shortens the take-off requirements, and sturdy suspension, which
enables take-off and landing at relatively rough terrain.
The flying
roadster 3.0 prototype has a top groundspeed of 124mph and a flight travel
range of 430 miles or up to four hours – enough to reach Aberdeen from
London. In the air, it can fly for four
hours, or up to 430 miles, and when its in flight-gliding mode, it uses less
fuel than most cars, the company claims.
To fly the
car, you do need a pilot’s license, but Aeromobil claims that it is very stable
and easy to control.
Pricing for
the Aeromobil hasn’t been announced yet but the company said that it will be in
the range of supercar pricing. So we’re expecting around 200 000 Euros.
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