If you always fancied yourself a lifelike The Jetsons, we have got some news for you. Last Tuesday, world’s first “fly and drive” car made its debut in Miami, Florida, but unless you have a trunk full of straight cash to show, it’s not a vehicle you can buy anytime soon.
Unlike other recently revealed aerial vehicles that are more like drones than cars, the PAL-V is the real deal and is capable of both driving along the road and flying through the sky.
In 2009 PAL-V tested the tilting system with Prototype X1 on the road. After the successful test, PAL-V started to build Prototype X2, also known as the PAL-V ONE. PAL-V made its first flight with the PAL-V ONE in 2012. At that time, the company was seeking funds to develop the type for production.
In February 2017, PAL-V started its marketing campaign with the public launch of the PAL-V Liberty and announced that they have started selling the first commercial flying car. The production model was first publicly shown at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland on 6th March, 2018. CEO Robert Dingemanse expects all certification requirements to be completed in 2021.
“After years of hard work, beating the technical and qualification challenges, our team succeeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards, determined by regulatory bodies around the world,” said company CEO Robert Dingemanse.
Pal-V liberty’s 27-gallon fuel tank enables it to fly up to 310 miles at an altitude of up to 11,500 feet while also providing enough gas to travel 750 miles along the ground. The vehicle’s flying ability comes courtesy of helicopter-style rotor blades which fold away when not in use and can be redeployed anywhere within as little as 10 minutes. Prospective drivers, however, will need a full pilot’s license in order to fly the machine.
The Dutch company has already received 70 pre-orders for Pal-V, with the first delivery anticipated in 2021. We await the release of these flying cars – maybe one day we will spot one of them flying across Pakistan!
Unsurprisingly, the biggest caveat is the price – the PAL-V costs a whopping $599,000. The high-priced Pioneer Personal Air Landing Vehicle, or PAL-V comes with a retractable overhead and rear propellers and reaches at an altitude as high as 12,500 feet. It powered by normal petrol and can do 200 miles per hour in the air and 100 miles per hour on the ground.
The PAL-V is made of carbon fiber, titanium, and aluminum and weighs 1,500 pounds, and requires a 540 feet runway for take-off and just 100 feet for landing. The three-wheeler transforms into a gyrocopter within 10 minutes and goes 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds.
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It has been anticipated that a slightly cheaper version will be made next – the Pal-V Liberty Sport – has a price tag of $335,000. This again, is a substantially steep quotation. However, Robert Dingemanse, the CEO of the Dutch manufacturing company, pointed out interestingly, “While other flying car manufacturers’ concepts require modified regulations and in many cases not yet existing technologies, PAL-V deliberately chose to engineer, design and build a flying car with proven technologies and fully compliant with existing regulations.”
The Dutch company has already received 70 pre-orders for Pal-V, with the first delivery anticipated in 2021. We await the release of these flying cars – maybe one day we will spot one of them flying across Pakistan!