The engineers behind Aeromobil, a Slovakian flying car company, believe that most current methods of personal transportation are in crisis and that the future may lie in the skies.
"A flying car is the ideal solution for middle-distance travel of up to 700 kilometres," Stefan Klein, chief technical officer for Aeromobil, told online magazine Dezeen. "According to our calculations, there is no better or more efficient solution for door-to-door travel."
Along with Juraj Vaculik, Aeromobil's CEO, Klein contends that shifting road traffic to the air may be necessary to make personal transportation sustainable.
The company has been working on a flying car prototype for the past 14 years, and says it plans to release its first production version of the Aeromobil 3.0 in early 2016.
Aeromobil version 2.5, their most recent design, first took to the air late last year. It features retractable wings that allow it to fit into most parking spaces; a rear-mounted 100-horsepower Rotax 912 engine capable of running on automotive fuel; and a steering wheel that works on the ground or in flight. Top speed on the ground is about 160 km/h, while in the air the 450-kg car will reach speeds of greater than 200 km/h. At optimal speed, though, it'll cover 875 km on the road and 700 km flying on a tank of fuel.
Related: Are you for or against flying cars? Join the debate on Hubub.
Klein says one of the biggest obstacles now, ahead of a demonstration of the two-passenger "roadable aircraft" in Vienna later this year, is the governing laws and regulations around vehicles of this type.
Once these hurdles can be cleared, autopilot and automonomous flying technology of the sort Aeromobil is pioneering in version 3.0 may make the Aeromobil a realistic and efficient method of personal transportation, in the not-too-distant future.
Other companies pursuing the release of production models of flying cars include Terrafugia, Xplorair, Moller International, and Urban Aeronautics.
