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FLYING CARS MIGHT not be science fiction for long.
Stefan Klein and Juraj Vaculik, cofounders of a company Slovakian startup called AeroMobil, have created a beautiful prototype that has already been on several successful test flights.
Business Insider touched base with the pair to hear more about their amazing vehicle.
Klein first started dreaming up designs more than 20 years ago. Here’s one of his sketches from the early 1990s.
Fast forward almost 25 years, and here’s the team with the AeroMobil 3.0.
“To marry the car and the airplane is an interesting engineering and design challenge,” Klein told Business Insider.
“Approaching this challenge just by adding wings to the car or modifying the airplane to fit the road was not an option for us.”
The AeroMobil 3.0 is designed for both functionality and aesthetics.
Although people call AeroMobil 3.0 a “multi-modal vehicle” or a “flying car,” the cofounders prefer to think of their creation as being in a whole new category.
In the same way that a motorcycle isn’t simply a two-wheeled car or a bicycle with an engine, cofounder Juraj Vaculik explains, the AeroMobil 3.0 is a completely new beast.
When in flight mode, the vehicle has retractable wings and a back propeller.
In flight, it can reach 124 miles per hour and fly for 430 miles with a full tank of gas.
With its wings folded back, the AeroMobil is designed to drive on regular roads.
Owners could park it in normal parking spots and fill up its petrol at normal petrol stations. It gets 29 miles per gallon.
He says the team wants to bring its “flying roadster” to market in the next two or three years.
The vehicle seats two people.
And is equipped with all the dashboards needed for flight.
The first model of the AeroMobil to hit the market will be very high-end, produced in a limited edition.
But the team wants its second product to be priced alongside other luxury cars.
"And let me confess, for the author/designer there are two moments of fascination: first, to see the object from the outside, to perceive its design, lines, shape, the 'physical attractiveness,'" Klein says.
"And the second, to see the surroundings from inside of the car/plane, to become a part of the created object – that is probably the strongest moment."
That's right: The AeroMobil 3 has gone on several successful test flights.
It needs about 200 meters for take-offs and landings.
The AeroMobil team sees the vehicle eventually making traffic more efficient by allowing people to use the air for journeys up to 500 miles.
"Our intention is to change the world of personal travel," Klein says.
"We want to bring back the excitement which we once had when we drove cars or flew airplanes."
Here's the company's full ad.
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Inside job
@Misanthrope: definition someone with more knowledge than they should have had..
Nice that he wore a hi-vis. Good to see that health and safety is being taken seriously.
Who withdraws €55,000 in cash for any legitimate reason nowadays? Seriously??!!
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Are you trying to say the business was using the 55000 euro for illegitimate reasons
@Casper: what business? There is no mention of any business in the article above.
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Just because it’s not mentioned doesn’t mean it’s not a business
@Casper: well unfortunately I just read the facts outlined in the article. It must be much more interesting reading the news when you don’t allow the facts to get in the way. Maybe extra terrestrials appeared and abducted them and stole the money. I mean using your logic- just because it doesn’t say it…..
@Casper: Excellent retort there.
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Happy Xmas Ciaran
@Ciarán McPhillips: Agree, I smell a large hairy rat, who carries that amount of cash for either personal or business use nowadays ?
It just does not add up or make sense, why did bells not ring in the Bank either ?
@Casper: Well, if you happen to have that kind of cash on you boarding an aircraft, god help you.
@Ciarán McPhillips: hahahahahahaha just so good. I was saying boooourns.
@Ciarán McPhillips: The robbery happened outside Rialto credit union.
Who other than Cash in Transit Security withdraws €55,000 in cash from a Bank? 20-30 years ago understandable as possibly payroll. But today very very rare. One would have to ask questions as to what it was for.
@Mick Jordan:
Isn’t that the work of the Garda, like I am pretty sure this is all the stuff they will be looking into
@Mick Jordan: Paying a large sum of cash is not at all unusual. Many business sale deals are two thirds through the books, one third cash. Used to be fairly common. Same for selling commercial property. About 30% under the counter is common.
The questions would need to be asked of the person receiving it on such a transaction, rather than the person paying it over, assuming the person paying it over got it legitimately. If they took it from a bank, it’s very likely declared and legitimate income. Revenue know about deposits.
@Casper: my question is why did the Garda wait from the 7th to 21st before asking for witnesses
might be what I’ve heard called the ‘manage’ in cork. A couple of people collect money from colleagues all year, bank it, then give it back at Christmas time.
@Aidan Molyneux: that’s my question too. I’ve been in the area many times,but was I there exactly 2 weeks ago at lunch? Why the delay in looking for witnesses?
The more I read this the more peculiar it becomes
No description other an average height
No mention of any age profile
No mantion of any sort of accent
He approached on foot
Left on a bicycle
Having (presumably) followed them by car?
Tia less fishy in Leo Burdocks
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Keep reading you might come up with more
Why did the guards wait two weeks to make an appeal for dash camera video? How could anyone remember two weeks ago
@David Dickson:
Well if they look at the dash camera on that day the camera will jog their memories
@Casper: cams override constantly no storage
@David Dickson: Plus dash cams overwrite themselves.
I don’t think you can walk into a bank and just withdraw large amounts of cash on demand anymore, as far as I know it has to be ordered in advance.
If I was hedging my bets I’d be looking at an inside job.
Not very difficult to tip someone off to a large withdrawal, sure you even know the person’s name and address in advance.
An oddity amongst oddities
It was Santa ,
It’s the season for a bit of silliness and this inside job is pure silliness
@Casper: taking €55,000 out of a bank in cash is pretty silly too, I would say.
@Dave Murray:
Not if they have 55 members of family that they wanted to give a Xmas pressie of €1000 each
An amazing coincidence. Santa was early.
Sounds like a inside job.
Pedal Cycle; why use one word when you can use two
It sounds like a bloke year’s ago in a bank in Talbot st.someone lodged it .?
Probably an “inside family” job!
have your say