Flying car completes test flight between airports… ‘Science fiction becomes reality’

Flying car completes test flight between airports

A prototype flying car has completed a 35-minute flight between international airports in Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia.

The hybrid car-aircraft, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol-pump fuel.

Its creator, Prof Stefan Klein, said it could fly about 1,000km (600 miles), at a height of 8,200ft (2,500m), and had clocked up 40 hours in the air so far.

It takes two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from car into aircraft.

‘Very pleasant’

The narrow wings fold down along the sides of the car.

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Prof Klein drove it straight off the runway and into town upon arrival, watched by invited reporters.

He described the experience, early on Monday morning, as “normal” and “very pleasant”.

In the air, the vehicle reached a cruising speed of 170km/h.

It can carry two people, with a combined weight limit of 200kg (31 stone).

But unlike drone-taxi prototypes, it cannot take off and land vertically and requires a runway.

 

 

‘Science fiction becomes reality’: Flying car completes inter-city test flight

A prototype flying car has moved a step closer to production after completing a 35-minute flight between two Slovakian cities.

AirCar is a hybrid vehicle that can transform from sports car to aircraft in under three minutes.

On Monday, it flew from an international airport in the city of Nitra to another in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital. The vehicle’s inventor, Professor Stefan Klein, drove the vehicle off the runway and into town after it touched down.

He said the flight has sparked “a new era of dual transportation vehicles”.

The company behind AirCar, Klein Vision, said the invention is equipped with a 160hp BMW engine and has a maximum cruising speed of 190km/h (118mph).

 

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