It’s when dreams like this, turn to reality, that we realize
how fast technology evolves, and it is truly worthy of appreciation. For
decades, humans have dreamt of having a vehicle that could not only drive on
the roads but fly as well, perhaps the 21st century has led to this
turn of events. Since every individual can’t be a billionaire and afford a
private jet, automotive designer Stefan Klein has come up with a design of a
flying car. After working on this car for over 2 decades Stefan has finally
achieved what many failed to do over the past centuries.
Prototype information..
The prototype of the AeroMobil has the following features
that you should know about:
- · Body- A Steel framework, carbon-fiber body and six-pound carbon wheels keep the vehicle light weight.
- · 100 horsepower, 4 cylinder Rotax 912 engine runs on conventional fuel and can be refueled at any gas station
- · Wings- Tuck neatly into the body when vehicle is on the street, after folding width increases from 1.5 meters to 8.2m. ( with wings folded up it fits in a normal-sized parking space )
- · Made for two people it can have a maximum speed of 124mph as a plane and 99mph as a car.
- · Testing: A few tests that were carried out previously have been proven to be successful, only a few more tests are left to be carried out. The creators drove the 4th prototype in October ’14 named AeroMobil 3.0 in Slovakia. More than 800 feet off the ground and completing about 12 miles in a circle the test was successful.
Apart from this features included in the design are autopilot,
safety parachute, complex engine, piloting controls and many other things.
Disadvantages
The possible shortcomings that one can think of in such a
scenario are:
- · Whether or not it can be considered a safe mode of transport?
- · The skill set required to operate such a vehicle and on what basis can one qualify to drive/fly this vehicle?
- · How economical are these vehicles in terms of a long term perspective?
- · How to prevent mid air crashes with other air-borne vehicles?
This invention has the ability to change the face of future transportation;
however a lot of laws and existing norms need to be considered before making
any decisions.