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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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Plastics are numbered 1-7. It would be more definitive if recycling companies listed the plastic numbers they except. This is never listed on their websites
Don’t know what so hard to understand about filling the green bin. It’s pretty easy. PAPER, PLASTIC, METAL. NO NAPPIES, BATTERIES, OR GARDEN WASTE. How difficult is that to understand.
@Thomas Maher: It’s not all plastics. How difficult is it to read the whole article?
Dirty nappies and politicians .both changed regularly and for the same reason.
Curious about two questions: So I fill my green bin according to the list, but my neighbour throws a couple of batteries into his green bin. Both bins are then tossed into the refuse collection truck. Does this mean that everything else inside the refuse collection truck is contaminated? Also if the used yoghurt container is not washed prior to disposal is it also treated as contaminated?
Ok – I confess my ignorance: What about thin plastic bags or Pringles tubes?
Now think really hard , and ask yourself what are they made from?. If you arrive at the answer paper, plastic or metal. They can go in the…..
@Thomas Maher:
Except that’s not really true though – only certain types of plastics can be recycled. It appears you’re even more ignorant than me.
@Avina Laaf: Pringles tube is, I think, *not* recyclable. That’s what Google says.
(Not an expert, but I think it’s because of the bonded metal and paper layers.)
Thanks Stephen :)
Given that worldwide they probably churn out billions of them annually, Pringles should really work on making a tube that’s recyclable.
@Avina Laaf: Now your talking. Bring back milk in glass bottles and the option to buy things which are not sealed in enough packaging to survive a small nuclear blast. Bananas and oranges wrapped in plastic for example. Last time I checked nature had already wrapped these up.
If in doubt about something, throw it in the ordinary waste bin. I looked on the McKane oven chips bag for recycle symbol, it doesn’t have one, so I throw it in the black bag. Even though most of the other freezer stuff have the recycle symbol.
They should print this list on the side of the bins. Or send out stickers to existing customers to stick on the bin. That might help
How the f**k do I wash my old newspapers?
Last week I observed my binman pick up my food waste bin and empty it into my ordinary rubbish bin before then putting it in the truck. Why do we bother separating our rubbish at all if the binman can’t even be bothered!
Recycling, most people do their best. But lack of understanding what can and can’t be recycled. I know it causes confusion in our house hold. We do had debates on which is and isn’t. Better marketing of tiems you can Recycle.
Just rub them with a baby wipe
Oh my happy nappy, up on the wheely bin, Shall you join your fallen brothers, when gravity kicks in? Or perhaps you’ll be like blanky and lay under refuse sack, Nappy and blanky in worlds unknown destined to never come back, I miss thee happy Nappy and the words of which you’d speak, O Nappy, my Nappy where are you, of you I am in seek.
Wow! Someone is happy chappy this morning. Got your pipe emptied last night yeah!?
I can sort of understand the nappies in the green bin. Not that I condone it but the weight of nappies is something else. If you are being charged by weight on your grey bin and the reasoning is to reduce consumption then it is unfair, as you really have no choice. I know you could say use non disposal one but the up front cost is huge and there isn’t a culture of using them. You could invest and realise their are a nightmare to use thus wasting money at a time you have less. Maybe look at changing that rather than complaining about contaminating green bins. Sometimes you have to ask why are so many people doing it.
@Melissa . Sometimes i have to ask why are so many people like you so idiotic with some of the stuff you come out with. There is no reason to be throwing used nappys into a recycling bin. People who do this are not doing it because they are unaware that it is not recyclable. They are just 100% ignorant.
And that would be a completely rhetorical question.
@Melissa O’Callaghan: I’m trying to figure out why your statement was so unpopular. I used to live in Galway city and I was charged for weight on the black bin only….and it was because of nappies and ashes from the fire that I had to pay more for my bins. I did the right thing but it cost me an extra 100 a year so I’m not surprised what others do.
Steady Paddy, I had three children in nappies and 2 at the same time and NEVER put nappies in the green bin but if I was strapped for cash then I could understand why people would, (empathy) as nappies fill your bin up in no time and weigh a ton. Families are being penalised. Maybe make environmental nappies cheaper.
So thats why panda didn’t pick the bin up. I didn’t wash the newspaper’s.
Anyone with babies, check out the Cloth Nappy Library. There are actually quite a few people using cloth and it isn’t like it used to be when yer ma was hand rinsing terries. The Cloth Nappy Library even have new born and long term loan pack available at a low cost so that you can try them out before you commit to buying. http://www.clothnappylibrary.ie/
I looked into it, 6 years ago. If they are viable why are the mid wives on the pre baby talks promoting environmental options. It’s just the same as breast feeding, it’s culturally declining (paddy, before you react I fed all my kids!) but people need help, reassuring that’s it’s not more work / difficult. Another example of cutbacks in one area having impacts elsewhere and only when you ask why is this behaviour happening that you can change the outcome and not just blame. One the subject of plastics and films. Why are the packagers allowed to use the unrecoverable plastic? Not why are people recycling badly.
You know, I was considering that babies grow out of nappies. But are there not adult ones for incontinence too? Maybe some older people get confused.
How is it that in this entire article, it wasn’t mentioned that almost all packaging that’s recyclable has an internationally recognisable recycling symbol on it? Stranger still, one of the main symbols is shown in an image on the article with no explanation of what it is.
The repak website has the examples on their “For Consumer” section.
Gráinne, the sentences leading up to the list imply that this is a list of things that should NOT go in the green bin. It’s obvious by the nature of the items themselves that they can but can you clarify it in the article please?
What about dirty books?
what about washing powder boxes ?? the symbol is there but someone said they should not be put into the green bin.
Any tips on how to get the bins washed?
have your say