Dutch Flying Car Gets Approval to Hit the Road
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Your childhood dream of flying off into the sunset in your car is about to come true thanks to PAL-V's, an innovative Dutch company, recent news.
The PAL-V Liberty flying car has been officially deemed road-safe to drive on the roads in Europe.
The flying car will be a commercial vehicle and has been thoroughly tested since its conception in 2012. It recently passed its European roads admissions test, and the company shared the news through a press release on Wednesday.
SEE ALSO: WORLD'S FIRST FLYING CAR RACING SERIES WILL FEATURE 'VIRTUAL FORCE FIELDS'
"We have been cooperating with the road authorities for many years to reach this milestone. The excitement you feel in the team is huge. It was very challenging to make a 'folded aircraft' pass all road admission tests." Mike Stekelenburg, CTO of PAL-V, said in the press release.
"For me, the trick in successfully making a flying car is to ensure that the design complies with both air and road regulations. I feel the energy and motivation in our team to push hard for the last few milestones and get the Liberty certified for flying too," he added.
The PAL-V Liberty drives on the road just like other cars, and can also unfurl a rotor that's usually neatly stashed on its roof when the driver/pilot wants to fly.
Per Psych News Daily, the flying car needs a runway between 590 and 1082 feet (180 and 330 meters) to take off, and 98 feet (30 meters) for landing.
Its maximum speed both when flying and driving is 112 mph (180 kph), and it only needs a maximum of 10 minutes to convert from a car into a plane. Watch it fly for a few seconds here. Neat!
Once in the air, PAL-V Liberty can stay up for 4.3 hours and has a range between 250 and 310 miles (400 to 500 km). On the ground, its range is of 817 miles (1315 km), and it runs on gasoline.
"When I fired-up the PAL-V for the first time I really got goosebumps! All the effort that we put into it came together at that crucial moment. Hearing the vehicle come to life was just magnificent and driving it was great. It is very smooth and responsive to the steering and with a weight of just 660 kg it accelerates really well. The overall experience is like a sportscar. It feels sensational," explained the PAL-V Liberty's test driver, Hans Joore.
There are already orders from 30 clients, and the flying car is selling for $587,000. The car won't be officially available until 2022, as it can currently only operate as a single vehicle, which means the company can't put the car into full production quite yet.
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