Flying Roadster To Be Unveiled

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The latest version of the flying car from AeroMobil, “3.0,” referred to as the Flying Roadster, will be displayed to the public for the first time at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 29. Developed in Slovakia, the sleek two-place prototype evolved from the AeroMobil 2.5, which has flown. Powered by a Rotax 912 engine swinging a pusher prop, AeroMobil has published some predicted performance numbers: Max speed of 124 MPH, stall speed 40 MPH, range 430 miles and fuel consumption of 15 liters per hour. The wings swing to a stowed position at the touch of a switch and AeroMobil says the resulting car will fit in a standard parking space, have a top speed of 100 MPH and range of 540 miles. The airframe is a steel framework with carbon coating and is expected to have an empty weight of 992 pounds.

The Pioneers Festival is held at the Imperial Palace in Vienna and has an international reputation for bringing future technology and science together with entrepreneurs. The AeroMobil has striking lines with an astonishingly futuristic look when compared to previous attempts at flying cars. Stefan Klein, co-founder and CTO of AeroMobil, said in a release, “We want to make personal transportation exciting, more efficient and sustainable. With ever more cars on the roads and ever more crowded airports, travelling is no longer what it used to be.” A video on AeroMobil’s website shows the twin-tailwheel 2.5 making a brief flight. Due to the geometry of the wheels, rotation on takeoff is nearly impossible, so the airplane lifts off in level attitude, using 35 degrees of flaps. Nevertheless, touchdown on landing is slightly nose high, with the pilot being able to hold the nosewheels off the ground for some time during rollout.

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