A car that can spread its wings and become an airplane covered a distance of 50 miles between Nitra and Bratislava airports in Slovakia in 35 minutes, a third of the time it takes by road, and then circulated like a conventional vehicle through the center of the Slovak capital.
The car-airplane hybrid “AirCar”, designed by Slovak Stefan Klein, was the first vehicle of its kind to land at Bratislava International Airport after completing the distance at an average of 105 mph.
“This flight initiates a new era of dual transport vehicles. It opens a new category of transport and returns to the individual the freedom associated with cars,” said Klein, according to a statement from his company.
“The machine worked perfectly,” said the Slovak after flying the two-seater between Nitra and Bratislava.
“After landing, with the click of a button, the plane was transformed into a sports car in less than 3 minutes,” said the inventor.
In the images of the flight it is observed how the prototype flies accompanied by two light aircraft and after landing it folds its wings and tail to be able to circulate on the road.
The AirCar Prototype 1 is equipped with a 160 horsepower BMW engine with a fixed propeller and a parachute.
Cezeri is the name of the car, in honor of a 12th century Muslim inventor known for inventing the toilet.
During the 40 hours of flight, this aircraft has reached a height of about 623 feet and a speed of 118 mph.
Four years ago, Klein presented the Aeromobil 4.0 prototype, which differs from the AirCar not only in its design, but also in how it transforms from an airplane into a normal vehicle, something that with the new model lasts less than three minutes.
Afterwards, the vehicle travels by road from the airport to the center of Bratislava.
The designer has not given clues as to when the AirCar will be marketed, which has yet to exceed 50 flight hours.
A second prototype will then follow with slight design tweaks and with greater power, allowing for greater speed.
Klein hopes to achieve the certificate of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with this improved model.