PAL-V: The First Flying Car... I'm Not Sure

Company PAL-V has kept its promise and became the first company in the world that has produced a flying car (as they think). Over the last 6 years the company has carried out hundreds of tests and was adjusting the prototype under the certain juridical conditions.

The main issue was to create a vehicle, which would fly, but fall under the standards of ground transportation, not under aviation standards. And they did it, you no need to have a pilot's license for driving PAL-V.

PAL-V (personal air and land vehicle) is three-wheeled hybrid car and a helicopter (however, the developers chose the slogan: A CAR THAT FLIES, A PLANE THAT DRIVES). Inside the car is fitted with a Rotax engine, created on the basis of dual transmission: one engine is used for road traffic, and the other one for flying.

In car mode the main part of the screw is hiding inside the housing, and the blades fold up on the roof. Car engine capacity of 100 horsepower can accelerate to 160 km/h (acceleration to 100 km/h in 9 seconds). The cabin is rejected when cornering. But, three-wheeled design reduces the maneuverability of the car.

To put your vehicle in the mode of the helicopter will take 5-10 minutes. You must stop the engine and start the automatic transformation. (“Tansform and roll out!”).

The main rotor blades revealed over the roof, at the rear of the car appear tail with the stabilizers and propeller, which provides thrust. When you next start the engine pull will be supplied already in the boost screw, to bypass automotive shaft.

But, in fact, PAL-V can’t be called the helicopter. Because it has not the main technical feature of any helicopter - vertical take-off.

The correct name of this machine – the autogyro. In order to fly you need to accelerate to 50 km/h (the required length of the runway of 165 meters). Maximum air speed- 180 km/h and a maximum lifting height- 3500 meters. In helicopter mode the PAL-V consumes between 20-30 gallons of gasoline per hour!

The typical autogyro

It is worth noting that a full tank of fuel allows you to cover a distance of 1315 km by road and 500 km by air.

First, the company plans to sell the first version of the PAL-V Liberty at a price of about $ 600.000. However, the Sport model should appear in about a year, it will cost $ 400.000. (90 cars are available for pre-sale).

I could not to find photos of the salon (maybe this is a marketing ploy, i don't know). According to documentation the interior is designed for two people, the seats are arranged in tandem (passenger is behind the driver's).

control panel- they claim that will be enough 30 minutes of training on the simulator to feel confident

Despite the fact that PAL-V weighs about 700 kg, it can lift in air weight up to 230 kg (2 passengers+Luggage)… but I would rather get a couple of cans of gasoline.

You can find detailed technical capabilities on the manufacturer's website: https://www.pal-v.com/en/

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Honestly, I can't call PAL-V Liberty car of the future, or even just the first flying car. Rather, it is just a good, workable hybrid, with a limited level of comfort while driving. Besides, its functionality is closer to a motorcycle than to the car.

So it’s a flying motorcycle, or motorcycle-helicopter, or motorcycle-plane (because it doesn't have vertical takeoff). It does not contain any unique technology. But is the result of effective application of old technologies with modern materials.

In any case, this is a serious step towards the establishment of air transport infrastructure for the ordinary citizens. Maybe in a few years we will have an upgraded model, like this one:

The 6th Day Helicopter

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sources: PAL-V website, Autogyro, naked-science news images from PAL-V website and Google search.

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