(PresidentialWire.com)- The Slovakian civil aviation authority has issued a certificate of airworthiness to a hybrid car/airplane known as “AirCar.”
The dual-mode AirCar was created by a team of eight specialists from the Slovakian company Klein Vision, founded by professor Stefan Klein who has devoted the last two decades to making flying cars a reality.
The Slovak Transport Authority awarded the certificate after AirCar successfully completed 70 hours of flight testing consisting of over 200 takeoffs and landings, as well as a full range of flight and performance maneuvers.
According to a statement from Klein Vision, AirCar showed “astonishing static and dynamic stability in the aircraft mode.”
A team of specialists spent over 100,000 manhours converting design drawings to mathematical models and then to the final product – a two-seater 1,000-kilogram vehicle powered by a 1.6-liter BMW engine.
Klein, who has headed up research projects with Audi, Volkswagen, and BMW, said the AirCar certification opens the door to the “mass production of very efficient flying cars.”
Klein Vision co-founder Anton Zajac said AirCar’s maximum operating altitude is 18,000 feet and it runs, not on aviation fuel, but standard gasoline from any gas station.
The most amazing part about AirCar is, once it lands, it can retract its wings and stow them out of sight, transforming the plane back into a car.
You can watch AirCar in action, including its transformation HERE.
You have to admit, that’s pretty cool, especially watching it transform itself from plane to car. It looks like something Batman would drive.
According to CNN, the company hopes to have AirCar commercially available in a year. But before you rush to place your order, keep in mind a pilot’s license is required to fly it.
Klein Vision also completed tests on a lightweight Airmotive aviation engine called “ADEPT.” It also finalized drawings and technical calculations for a monocoque model with a variable pitch propeller that can reach speeds of over 186 miles per hour and has a range of 620 miles.
