Voyager designer build hybrid flying car

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Scaled Composites has a prototype shown of a flying car with hybrid drive. The BiPod, a vehicle with two hulls, was designed by the now retired Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan.

The Model 367 BiPod has two oval-shaped hulls, which in three places with the help of a vleugelstuk and two horizontal stabilisatievlakken front and rear are connected with each other. The left-hand side is used to the vehicle as a car to drive and has a steering wheel, while the rechtercockpit intended for the airplane mode, and is equipped with a joystick and roerpedalen. The throttle is the only shared element.

According to Aviation Week is in the auto mode in each of the two hulls, the rear wheel powered by a 15kW electric motor. The energy for this is provided by a 450cc-combustion engine in each hull, which drives a generator which, in turn, the li-ion batteries in the rompneuzen charging.

In the flight mode, provides the distributed electrical system to power a total of four 15kW motors with a propeller. Two of these sit on the horizontal stabilisatievlak, while the other two on the removable wing components are attached. During the flight the batteries are charged. These provide not only sufficient capacity for additional power during the start, but also provide a margin of safety for two landingspogingen in case of engine failure.

The whole of glass – and carbon fiber-built flying car has a wingspan of 9.5 m, while if the parts are removed, the width of 2.4 m. If the car has the BiPod on a tank a driving range of approximately 1600 km, whereas, when using only the batteries fade to 56km. If the plane has the BiPod a range of slightly more than 1200km at a speed of 160km/h, while at a cruising speed of around 320 km/h the range back to 850km. It is not known how large the tank is.

The Model 367 BiPod was originally designed as a testbed for a cheap, hybrid vehicle, but the ambitions were in the course of the development be increased to a flying car with hybrid drive. The BiPod is according to Scaled Composites designed by Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites, which since 2007 is part of Northrop Grumman, and was his last project for the company.

The prototype made its first jump on march 30 of this year, a day before Rutan retired. The prototype was not yet equipped with propellors, but it was only by the wheels voorgestuwd. Scaled Composites wants other parties interested in the concept, since the design and production of small planes under Northrop Grumman is not a core function of the company, other than in the early years of Burt Rutan.

Rutan has the Voyager, the first aircraft non-stop around the world flew, the comboserie SpaceshipOne/White KnightOne and different iterations, then, that Virgin space commercial wants to exploit.