AeroMobil aims to launch flying car in 2017, autonomous version to follow

[Shawn Knight]

The flying car that we’ve all been waiting on is just around the corner. During a recent speaking engagement at SXSW, AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik said he aims to launch his prototype flying automobile by 2017.

Having grown up under an oppressive political regime in Czechoslovakia that underwent a revolution, Vaculik said we now need a revolution in personal transportation. Self-driving cars are a step in the right direction but they’re only a partial solution, he said. The true answer is a flying car.

His current prototype, AeroMobil 3.0, is capable of taking off and landing on grass runways. Such setups could be installed near freeways and gas stations, he envisions, but making that a reality could be a difficult task.

For starters, the company would need to get local governments to agree to building flying car runways and navigate what’d no doubt be a bevy of regulations. Vaculik didn’t seem too concerned about the matter, however, noting that his vehicle will slot nicely into pre-existing categories for cars and planes. As The Verge notes, this would mean that you’d need a pilot’s license to be able to fly the thing.

The two-seater model he plans to launch in 2017 will be marketed to wealthy supercar buyers. While not giving a firm price, Vaculik did say the AeroMobil would cost more than a couple hundred thousand euros. After that, the company wants to put out a fully autonomous model with room for four.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/60059-aeromobil-aims-launch-flying-car-2017-autonomous-version.html

 

[stewi0001]

Want... but of course only the fancy pants people will be able to afford it...

It also looks like it would be a pain to park in a parking garage (I'm thinking everyday kind of stuff now.) I'm guessing it's length is about the same as a pickup truck.

Could you imagine a mini van version? XD

 

[oldikes]

Could you imagine a mini van version? XD

STOP NO

 

[Arris]

Automated version sounds good, letting some of the maniacs on our roads into the air with manual control seems like a really bad idea...

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

This could be a tough sell in the US, just look at all the rules and hoops you have to jump through just to operate a drone but here in South Africa, we also have rules and laws but nobody pays any attention to them anyway, they're just there to make money for the legislature.

 

[Tazo The Vault]

It will be more than a few years before even the automated versions are fair game, at least in the US. We're still figuring out self-driving <I>cars</I>, legislation for regular airspace traffic en masse won't be done for over a decade, I think.

 

[m4a4]

As long as they don't dumb down the tests to get a pilots license (like they've done with drivers licenses)...
Too many id!0ts on the road. Don't need em in the air...

Edit: Really? Can't say "I d I o t" in the comments anymore?

 

[tipstir]

I drive some then press a button and fly up and then fire the jets and take off. I don't want to go to some airport to take off.

 

[p51d007]

Want... but of course only the fancy pants people will be able to afford it...
XD

Well, it would make it easier to "look down" on the little people wouldn't it?

 

[davislane1]

Want... but of course only the fancy pants people will be able to afford it...

Not exactly a bad thing when you consider that fancy pants are the only people likely to have pilots licenses these days.

 

[Uncle Al]

There have been a number of Car/Plane's designed over the years, some actually went to protype stage but none lasted. Granted, this is by far one of the slickest and most practical ones to date but strickly speaking, there are simply not enough people (1) willing to shell out that kind of money (2) willing to get both a drivers license and a pilots license (3) living in areas where this is truly practical.

Personally, I hope they make it and survive but I agree with a previous writer .... no mini-van version, PLEASE!!!

 

[cmbjive]

Why?

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

That's a car? If you cant' park it in a parking place it's not going to be very effective as a car. Looks like a plane wearing a car costume.

I'll wait for Mr. Fusion, thank you very much.

 

[sdms96825]

Very neat design. But it is difficult for me to believe that such a small propeller mounted on the back of the vehicle can produce enough speed to get it airborne.

 

[cmbjive]

That's a car? If you cant' park it in a parking place it's not going to be very effective as a car. Looks like a plane wearing a car costume.

I'll wait for Mr. Fusion, thank you very much.

"Roads? Where we're going we don't need any roads!"

 

[Guest]

Calling that thing a "car" is quite the stretch. And it will never fly. (No pun intended.) You're not going to get tax payers to remake their cities to contain hundreds of "landing strips" just so .1% of society can goof off. (And good luck getting the insurance industry to cover this thing.)

 

[davislane1]

Calling that thing a "car" is quite the stretch. And it will never fly. (No pun intended.) You're not going to get tax payers to remake their cities to contain hundreds of "landing strips" just so .1% of society can goof off. (And good luck getting the insurance industry to cover this thing.)

Tax payers needn't do anything. You think 0.1% of society can't afford to buy real estate in the applicable locations and get a contractor to lay down a strip or two? Then rent the space out for people with the appropriate vehicles?

The only reason flying car parks aren't a multimillion-dollar business is an absence of viable flying cars to create demand.

 

[DKRON]

I wonder if Australia will let anyone fly them without getting proper training like they do road users, just saying

 

[captaincranky]

I'm still waiting to find out if, or when, the majority of you will figure out there's is no such thing as a flying car.

What you have is, at best, could be described as, "an aircraft with retractable wings"

If something is going to leave the ground, it has to adhere to the laws of aerodynamics, and the makes it an airplane, not a car. Such things as wing loading, stall speed, VNE, and a massive amount of other issues come into consideration.

As near as I can tell, this is likely another crooked start up scheme, designed to out BS Elon Musk's flying car doggerel.

Here's a typical 6 passenger "minivan of the skies", the Cessna 310: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_310 It has a 35' (non retractable) wingspan, and cost about `$150,000. as of 1978....(And yes boys and girls, that's well before billions were the new millions).

 

[Forebode]

Aggravation

Think Tesla had a hard time. This company will be going Bankrupt quick. Unless you're in a country that doesn't have laws and no risk of terrorism, this wont be usable. Doesn't say anything about emissions or mpg. Car mode is a 2 seater van with no cargo room. How may people would get this and try to take off in traffic to evade traffic/police? This will takes drunk driving to a new level. Will it be like other aircraft, where you have to do a full systems check before you lift off?

 

[captaincranky]

The more things change:

The more they remain the same:

This has been flying since 1946, and it's for sale kids! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2116306/Skys-limit-Worlds-flying-car-market-800-000.html

 

[ERIC DEZ]

I imagine similar skepticism surrounded Henry Ford and The Wright Brothers. No infrastructure was in place to handle either of their inventions, yet in the USA there are now approx. 15,000 airports, 55,650,943 miles of paved road and 168,000 fuel stations.

 

[captaincranky]

I imagine similar skepticism surrounded Henry Ford and The Wright Brothers. No infrastructure was in place to handle either of their inventions, yet in the USA there are now approx. 15,000 airports, 55,650,943 miles of paved road and 168,000 fuel stations.

The flying car is hardly a new idea. It's a failed retread before it gets off the ground, so to speak.

You would have to have actually studied the materials for a pilots license, to realize how silly it is to believe there's going to be, "not only a chicken in every pot, but an aircraft in every driveway"..

Six months ago, it was Elon Musk running his beggar's mouth about "how easy it would be to have a flying car.

These imbeciles that are doing all the talking aren't inventors, they're beggars, charlatans, and snake oil salesmen.

Please see the photo in my post above. There's a flying car, built in 1946!

 

[ERIC DEZ]

I imagine similar skepticism surrounded Henry Ford and The Wright Brothers. No infrastructure was in place to handle either of their inventions, yet in the USA there are now approx. 15,000 airports, 55,650,943 miles of paved road and 168,000 fuel stations.

The flying car is hardly a new idea. It's a failed retread before it gets off the ground, so to speak.

You would have to have actually studied the materials for a pilots license, to realize how silly it is to believe there's going to be, "not only a chicken in every pot, but an aircraft in every driveway"..

Six months ago, it was Elon Musk running his beggar's mouth about "how easy it would be to have a flying car.

These imbeciles that are doing all the talking aren't inventors, they're beggars, charlatans, and snake oil salesmen.

Please see the photo in my post above. There's a flying car, built in 1946!

Maybe? Maybe not?

 

[captaincranky]

Maybe? Maybe not?

Well, I suggest you get a flight simulator, and a driving simulator, and see what the relative learning curves are.

Another thing with aircraft, and a "flying car" is an aircraft first and foremost", is you simply can't ignore maintenance intervals.

2000 hours on an automobile, and you have to change the oil. 2000 hours on an aircraft engine, and you have to have torn down to the crankshaft by an FAA certified mechanic, and the job signed off on by an FAA inspector.