LOS ANGELES: A “flying car,” which has gone on display at a Los Angeles museum, will revolutionize personal travel according to its creators.
The AeroMobil, which can currently be seen at the LA Petersen Auto Museum, combines the size and comfort of a supercar with wings and a propeller that unfold in three minutes.
The two-seater vehicle is street legal with a standard driver's license, but a pilot’s license is needed to ensure what could be one of the safest flights in the sky.
And the AeroMobil designers believe their vehicle will see the science-fiction dream of the flying car on the verge of becoming a reality.
“So we’ve been test flying this vehicle, the iterations of vehicles, for about seven years because this is already the fourth iteration of a prototype,” AeroMobil CEO Patrick Hessel told Arab News. “We needed to really develop the shape and find the right shape and technology to do this because there’s no flying car out there in the market,” he added.
He continued: “It has the full crash protection of a car and also it actually has a parachute for the complete vehicle.
“Which makes it the safest plane because not only do you have a parachute but also in case you crash well you’re protected like in the car which is not the case of any airplane.”
The AeroMobil costs between $1.7 million and $3 million, depending on the specifications, but the company has plans to make an in-development, fully-electric four-seater vehicle available to hire at the push of a button.
“We are looking at a ride hailing service where you order the flying car straight to your house with an app: the AeroMobil booking app,” Hessel said.
“Just like booking an Uber, it comes to your house, you get inside and then get delivered at the doorstep at the other end, it’s true, single-seat, door-to-door convenience.”
