AP Updated: Apr 20, 2017, 09.37 PM IST
MONACO: It may not be quite like the Jetsons, but for a few
hundred thousand dollars you too can soon fly around in a car.
A Slovakian company called AeroMobil unveiled on
Thursday its version of a flying car, a light frame plane whose wings can fold
back, like an insect, and is boosted by a hybrid engine and rear propeller.
It will be available to pre order as soon as this
year but is not for everyone: besides the big price tag, you'd need a pilot's license
to be able to use it in the air.
"I think it's going to be a very niche
product," said Philip Mawby, professor of electronic engineering and head
of research at the University of Warwick.
Several companies are working on flying cars,
either like Aeromobil's two-seater that needs a runway, or others that function
more like helicopters, lifting off vertically. But not many companies are
seriously looking at marketing these vehicles anytime soon, Mawby said.
`The technology is there... The question is
bringing it to the market at an affordable cost, and making it a useful
product.''
Among the big questions is how to control the
air traffic if there are hundreds of such vehicles zipping through the air.
There is no control except for traditional aircraft, notes Mawby.
So while vehicles like the AeroMobil could be
used for recreational purposes by people who have a large piece of land, flying
cars are unlikely to become a mass market reality anytime soon, he says.
The AeroMobil has a driving range of about 100
kms (62 miles) and a top speed of 160 kph (99 mph). When flying, its maximum
cruising range is 750 kms (466 miles), and it takes about three minutes for the
car to transform into a plane.
The previous AeroMobil 3.0 prototype made news
in 2014 when it was presented in Vienna, but no test-flight took place then. It
crashed during a test flight in Slovakia in 2015 with its inventor Stefan Klein
on board. He escaped largely unharmed.
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Updated: Apr 20, 2017, 09.37 PM IST
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