You just might see a flying car in someone's driveway by the end of next year. Because from now on, it will be possible to pre-order the world's first flying car, developed by the Dutch company PAL-V.
The first models that can be pre-ordered are the Liberty Pioneer and the Liberty Sport. Pre-production will start later this year.
Raamdonksveer-based PAL-V has been tinkering with a flying car that is also available to consumers worldwide for over 15 years. Airborne tests have been carried out since 2012.
Safe
PAL-V's flying car is made of carbon, stands on three wheels, weighs 664 kg, is 4 metres long, has variable suspension and a 'cockpit' that can tilt. Besides the pilot, it can carry one passenger and some hand luggage. When the vehicle is in drive mode, the propeller folds smoothly into the back of the vehicle and the blades fold around the back of the aircraft. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to put the vehicle into flight mode.
The idea was born out of the "frustration" that you can currently only fly "from a point where you don't want to be to a point where you don't want to be" (an airport far from home or destination), PAL-V director Robert Dingemanse previously told RTL Late Night. "Now you just go from your garage to a point where you can take off." There are now some 65 spots in the Netherlands from where the PAL-V can take off.
In the air, the PAL-V will be a gyrocopter. "A gyrocopter is a lot safer and easier to control than a helicopter. The rotor is powered by the wind so even if the engine fails, you can ground it like a parachute."
High centre of gravity
Design firm Spark Design, among others, worked with PAL-V to develop the car. In doing so, the company was able to lean on elements of its previously designed three-wheeled car Carver. "We combined the gyropcopter principle with the tilting principle we used in the Carver. With this, we immediately had a solution for the high centre of gravity (a consequence of collapsible wings). Using many sketches, countless CAD drawings, convincing visualisations to get funding and piles of calculations, together with PAL-V we developed technically complex parts such as the basic concept, rotor control system, rotor mast and righting mechanism. To get a feel for dimensions and sightlines, we made a 'mock-up' of PVC pipes, wood and textiles; now the eye-catcher of our studio."
Rotax engines
The PAL-V Liberty features two existing and fully certified engines from Rotax: one of 100 hp for the road and one of 200 hp for the gyrocopter. It is a so-called dual engine propulsion drive train. This involves coupling two engines to the propeller that creates propulsion. The engines deliver a top speed of 180 km/h in the air and 160 km/h on the ground. There are two main reasons PAL-V chose the Rotax engines: first, because the engine can run on Euro95, making it possible to just fill up at a petrol station, and second, because of their light weight.
Those interested in the flying car must be prepared to pull out their wallets, though. The launch edition (there will be 90 copies of the 'Liberty Pioneer Edition') will cost half a million and will be delivered by the end of 2018.
> Watch the YouTube video of the PAL-V here
Source: Spark Innovation & Design
By: Kelly Bakker
