If you’re eager to invest in the flying car of the future — which is always just about ready to launch — you have plenty of options, and a new one was added this week. PAL-V Europe on Tuesday announced its start-up in the Netherlands, showing a concept of a three-wheel fly/drive vehicle that it says is as comfortable and stable as a luxury car with the agility of a motorbike, thanks to its patented “tilting” system (check out the movie of a tilting ride at its Web site). In the air, it switches to gyrocopter mode. The rotor and propeller fold up on the ground. The PAL-V will be fuel-efficient, quiet, and fly or drive at about 125 mph, the company says. A sport-pilot certificate will be required to fly it. PAL-V says it has been researching the design for six years and is ready to start building the prototype now, and investors are welcome. First deliveries are projected for 2009. Here in the U.S., Larry Neal of Texas has been flying a similar design for a few years now. His “Super Sky Cycle” flies as a gyrocopter and drives in three-wheel motorcycle mode with a folded rotor.
