A flying car has been given an official certificate of airworthiness from the Transport Authority of Slovakia.
In a statement, Klein Vision – developers of the AirCar – said its vehicle completed 70 hours of rigorous flight tests compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency standards.
The AirCar can run on roads and take to the skies, and has completed over 200 take-offs and landings so far.
It took an eight man team thousands of hours to create the prototype, powered by a 1.6L BMW engine.
The car also has narrow wings that fold down against the vehicle, and comes built with a parachute deployment system.
Inventor, leader of the development team and test pilot, Professor Stefan Klein said, “AirCar’s certification opens the door for mass production of very efficient flying cars. It is official and the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever.”
The prototype first took to the skies in 2020 and completed its first test flight in June 2021, flying 35 minutes between two international airports in Slovakia, Nitra and Bratislava.
Klein Vision said the car can turn into a plane in just under three minutes.
The vehicle can reach a speed of 170km/hr in the air, and can carry two people with a combined weight limit of 200kg.
The AirCar also needs a runway for it to land and take-off – just like an aeroplane.
The AirCar is not the only vehicle taking to the skies – there are dozens of similar vehicles being worked on right now.
Aircraft giant Boeing also wants in – the company recently invested US$450 million in air taxi company Wisk Aero, which is working to bring flying cars to the masses.
In 2019, consultancy firm Morgan Stanley Research predicted the autonomous urban aircraft (ie: flying cars) market might be worth US$1.5 trillion by 2040
And last year, Hyundai said flying taxis were “part of our future” during an automotive summit in London.
*Featured image from Klein Vision
By Samantha Chan \ 10:00am, 27 January 2022