AirCar's Flying Car makes Science fiction a reality with first-ever inter-city flight

AirCar's Flying car has completed its first inter-city flight. The dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle completed a 35-minute flight from the international airport in Nitra to the international airport in Bratislava on June 28th, 2021, notes the announcement

Boeing Co. Senior Technical Fellow, Dr. Branko Sarh, said, "Professor Stefan Klein is the world leader in the development of user-friendly Flying Cars. The automated transition from road vehicle into an air vehicle and vice versa, deploying/retracting wings and tail is not only the result of pioneering enthusiasm, innovative spirit and courage; it is an outcome of excellent engineering and professional knowledge."

After exiting the AirCar cockpit in Bratislava, Professor Klein said, "This flight starts a new era of dual transportation vehicles. It opens a new category of transportation and returns the freedom originally attributed to cars back to the individual."

The co-founder of Klein Vision, Anton Zajac, said, "AirCar is no longer just a proof of concept; flying at 8,200ft at a speed of 100kt, it has turned science fiction into a reality."

In three minutes, a single button click can be transformed the aircraft into a sports car.  AirCar Prototype 1 leverages a 160HP BMW engine with a fixed-propeller and a ballistic parachute. The prototype achieved a height of 8200 ft and reached a maximum cruising speed of 190km/h. 

AirCar Prototype 2 expected to have a cruise speed of 300km/h (162kt) and a range of 1000km (621mi).

The AirCar Prototype 1 has completed over 40 hours of test flights, including steep 45 degree turns and stability and maneuverability testing, notes the announcement.