PAL-V presents the first flying car | A gyrocopter per say, not a helicopter
The first flying car was presented at the 88th Geneva Motor Show. It’s the brainchild of Dutch company PAL-V. The company has already received orders from customers in countries on all continents that are eagerly waiting to use it. This car-turned-helicopter can fly at an altitude of up to 11,000 feet. It’s conversion process takes about 10 minutes. This luxury car costs 499,000 euros and there will initially be 90 units in production. It will undergo a “Liberty Athletes Edition” with a price at 299,000 euros.
“The flying car is exactly what the name says, you can drive, you can fly, you can fly obeying the regulations, it is certified to fly and drive,” stresses to APE MPE flight training manager George Tielen. “Our headquarters are in an area that is an hour from Amsterdam. We started about ten years ago, we built a prototype three years ago, it was certified and now we have built the commercial version of the car.”
Specifications of the car
He also announced specifications for the car. “It flies at a speed of 180km/h and then you have a range of 500km, and it can be driven at speeds of up to 160km/h and you can travel 1300km on one tank of fuel. It’s a gyrocopter, not a helicopter. A lot of times people think it’s a helicopter, but it’s a gyrocopter which is very stable and so it’s a very stable aircraft, very easy to learn,” the Flight Training Officer pointed out.
Finally, he distinguished between the two versions, explaining that “there are 90 limited edition cars that have a price of 500,000 euros and those that will follow after that will cost 300,000 euros. We have already sold 100 and our customers are from all over the world”.
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Author: PC-GR
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