aeromobil
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AeroMobil's flying car prototype crashes mid-test
AeroMobil may have its work cut out for it if it's going to deliver a practical flying car within two years. Unfortunately, inventor Stefan Klein crashed a prototype in Slovakia this weekend after it entered an unrecoverable tailspin during a test flight. While the pilot thankfully managed to activate his vehicle's parachute in time and avoid any serious injuries, the machine wasn't so lucky -- as you can see above, it wasn't about to drive away. The company is optimistic about the accident in a statement, arguing that it's a "natural part" of testing that will help refine the design. It'll no doubt be a learning experience, but something tells us that the official roadmap doesn't include wrecking an aircraft. This is going to be a setback, even if it's relatively minor. [Image credit: MH, SME.sk]
AeroMobil flying car set to take off in 2017, autonomous version to follow
AeroMobil has been around for five years, pursuing the dream of building a functional and (somewhat) practical flying car. Its third-gen prototype was revealed last October, and today at SXSW, AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik revealed a bit more about the company's past and future and the challenges that remain to go from prototypes to fully fledged consumer vehicles - which the company plans to accomplish in 2017.
The flying car gets another shot at reality this October
Outside of goofy newscasters referencing The Jetsons and Back to the Future 2, flying cars don't get much airtime these days. The concept is far from dead, but similarly distant from viable reality: simply put, it's too expensive of an idea to exist as a consumer product with modern technology. Slovakian company AeroMobil disagrees, and its third prototype is ready to be shown to the world this October 29th at the Pioneers Festival in Austria. The device is still in prototype form, but the folks at AeroMobil previously demonstrated their ability to achieve flight with a car (a video of AeroMobil 2.5 is below). It's far from elegant -- the wings fold into the backseat behind the driver, and the car itself (at least the prototype) isn't much of a looker -- but it does work. The prototype holds two people, and allegedly flies up to 430 miles (540 if you're driving); it also reportedly runs on standard gasoline (the Rotax engine inside takes 91 octane -- the fancy stuff). No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it looks like AeroMobil is another major step closer to its bizarre, bizarre dream becoming reality. Seriously, watch the video below and you'll understand.
