Prototype of flying car makes crashlanding

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A prototype of a Slovakian flying car, which in 2017 should come on the market, is Friday crashed during a test flight. The device, the Aeromobil, was governed by the inventor, Stefan Klein. He remained unharmed at the crashlanding. The cause is still unclear.

Small sat above the airport of the Slovak city of Nitra behind the controls when it went wrong. According to Aeromobil, the eponymous company behind the car, came Small at a height of 300 metres in an ‘unexpected situation’. Eyewitnesses claim that the product is in a tailspin. Small activated the ballistic parachute, a parachute with a small explosion is launched, quickly opens. The safety system is managed to prevent that the inventor were hurt, all he had to do even before checking to the hospital. His unit looks like the photos of the crash so well.

The flying car Aeromobil after the crash. Photo: Nitra.sme.sk

Small has been working since 1989 to a flying car. The last version, the Aeromobil 3.0, was in October last year revealed. The car, where two people fit, is constructed from a steel frame with a lightweight body structure of composite materials and is six metres long. The Rotax 912 engine, which is more commonly used in light airplanes, can next to a propeller the wheels to drive. This is the engine suitable for normal motor gasoline. The wings, with a wingspan of 8.3 meters can be folded up for on the road. With a full tank may be the thing driving 875km travel; flying is the range 700km. The top speed in the air is 200 kilometers per hour.

At the festival South by Southwest, in march, said Aeromobil ceo Juraj Vaculik his car in 2017 on the market wanted. Or the accident delay will cause, is unknown. Aeromobil remains in his press release optimistic: the company takes the word ‘crash’ is not in the mouth, and praises the safety system. “The data from this test flight will be thoroughly analysed”, the company informs. “The possibility that unexpected things happen is a natural part of a test program.”

If the car is on the market, would he, according to Vaculik at least a few hundred thousand euros should cost. Directors must, of course, have a pilot’s license when she has the air to go in. Aeromobil is expected that a sportbrevet will be sufficient; more than forty hours of flying experience is highly recommended.