[RavenAvi]

If you thought that flying DeLoreans, the flying car in the Harry Potter films and the Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs were confined to science-fiction/fantasy only, get ready to be pleasantly surprised for real.

A Netherlands-based company called PAL-V Europe NV has acquired a patent in India for the Personal Land and Air Vehicle (PAL-V) - a flying car that can also run on roads!

(Source)

Powered by a 200HP light-aircraft engine, this three-wheeled vehicle, a hybrid two-seater car and gyroplane combined, comes with foldable rotor blades which can be extended when it needs to fly. It can attain a maximum speed of 170 kmph on the roads, with an estimated fuel economy of 12 kms per liter and a road range of 1200 kms. When in the air, the maximum speed attainable is 180 kmph with an estimated fuel economy of 28 liters per hour, with a flight range of 350-400 kms. The take-off roll is pegged at 165 meters, with the landing roll set at 30 meters.

When airborne, it usually flies below 4,000 feet (1,200 m), the airspace available for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic and thus, there will be no interference from commercial air traffic. Furthermore, the PAL-V ONE is powered by a robust, flight certified aircraft engine, claims the company.

The company, in the patent specifications with the Indian Patent Office, explains that the vehicle has a rotor with foldable rotor blades and the rotor is mounted on a rotor support that is capable of displacement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In flying mode, the rotor blades are extended, and the centre of the rotor is located above the mass centre of the vehicle. In riding mode, the rotor blades are folded such that they extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, while the centre of the rotor is displaced towards the front end or rear end of the vehicle.

The Patent Office, Kolkata, after considering various claims and amendments following objections raised by the examiner, ordered that the amended claims are found as novel, non-obvious according to The Patents Act and the patent is granted.

While getting a patent does not mean that the vehicle could be launched in India in near future, it gives the company exclusivity in terms of the technology in the country.

Business Standard

Official Home Page

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

If you thought that flying DeLoreans, the flying car in the Harry Potter films and the Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs were confined to science-fiction/fantasy only, get ready to be pleasantly surprised for real.

A Netherlands-based company called PAL-V Europe NV has acquired a patent in India for the Personal Land and Air Vehicle (PAL-V) - a flying car that can also run on roads!

It looks neat.
But i was just wondering how the prop blades got folded into such a small space. Wont it cause issues to vehicles coming from behind?

[Latheesh]

Leaving practicality alone, this is what we need to survive in Bangalore. No wonder they patented it in India.

[echo77]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

But i was just wondering how the prop blades got folded into such a small space. Wont it cause issues to vehicles coming from behind?

The blades seem to auto-fold and it is all mechanized. Have a look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgHSaNtAMjs

[hybridpetrol]

Neat!
Here comes the next gen transport!
19th Century saw the invention of Petrol cars and subsequently entering mass production making the transport easier.
20th Century then saw the Wright brothers inventing the first aeroplane, and commercial use of the planes in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Now we are here in 21st century, and there has been a multiple fold increase in various vehicles to move people.

While this concept is entirely new, and our law makers may take forever to create rules & laws to make it eligible to be a safe mode of transport - this is still a very exciting thing to take notice and appreciate!

Imagine how convenient it would be able to run as well as fly on the same vehicle! The possibilities are endless for a petrol-head!

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Leaving practicality alone, this is what we need to survive in Bangalore. No wonder they patented it in India.

Funny! Flight mode for this vehicle requires 165 meters for take-off roll! Given this condition, can we even take-off in Bangalore, with signals every 100 meters! Wait until someone comes with a technology to start flying with zero take-off roll, to tackle Bangalore traffic - until then there is BMTC!

[Chetan_Rao]

Add a couple of axis-adjustable afterburners for standstill takeoff and this is perfect for Bangalore

P.S. I live next to NICE Road and office has plenty of runway space, so I can live without the mods too

[Dieseltuned]

Well if vehicular traffic on land was not enough, now i have to deal with vehicles right above my head as well. What happens if one crashes ? I think i must go out and buy a few helmets to protect my head .

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Well if vehicular traffic on land was not enough, now i have to deal with vehicles right above my head as well. What happens if one crashes ? I think i must go out and buy a few helmets to protect my head .

Don't worry. They won't be here till 2018-19, and it is being said that there are only 5 units allotted for India, each unit estimated to cost a cool 4 crore rupees! (link)

So, when they eventually land here, they will be very, very exclusive.

[RavenAvi]

The PAL-V Liberty, the world’s first commercial flying car, is now on sale.

Seeing an initial production run of only 90 units and with almost half of them earmarked for the European markets, the PAL-V Liberty is priced at a cool £425,000 (~Rs 4.18 crores).

The first customer deliveries are scheduled for the end of 2018.

The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition, which is priced from $599,000/Rs 3.78 crore on PAL-V's website, before taxes. This price includes some flight instruction sessions, power heating and personalisation options.
Only 90 will be sold, with around half of them headed to Europe, and after their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model. That model is priced from $399,000 (around Rs 2.52 crore) before taxes on the manufacturer’s website.
To convert the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes, according to PAL-V. The rotor mast unfolds automatically, but the driver must pull out the tail section, unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly.
You also need a license to fly, and you can’t just take off and land anywhere; PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around 90-200x200 metres without obstacles.
The drive mode engine has 99bhp and a top speed of 160kph, with 0-100kph sprint taking 9.0sec. Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg/10.97kpl with a range of 817 miles.
In the air, the Liberty can climb to a maximum altitude of 3500m, and its 197bhp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph/179kph. Its range is a claimed 310 miles/1,307 kilometres.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfMNtCPChxo

Autocar Professional

Official Booking/Reservation Page

[shankar.balan]

Thats all we need. Clogged Roads and horrid accidents and road rage are already the order of the day. Now clogged airspaces too, with the "sky falling on one's head" kind of accidents accompanied by "Airway Rage".

Jokes apart this is a fairy tale like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

This is an Utopian Solution - for example where will one find an open space on the road to take off or land this "flying car"!

[deetjohn]

Incredible! The numbers are amazing, both on and off the road.

On Road
FE: 31 mpg = 13.18 kmpl
Range: 817 m = 1315 km. So, that means a 100 L tank.

On Air
Altitude = 3500 m, Top Speed = 112 mph
Range: 310 m = 500 km
FE~ 5 KMPL

Here is one more video of the PAL-V.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_eAgJuEqfY

[rohiT Nonu]

But how does this get to manage with the Air Traffic Controller in India. And to say landing on Indian streets with household electricity wires all round will put up a heavy restrictions on its usage. But really a good innovation that is evolving our childhood stories to practicals.

This has seriously kept up good terms with the conventional "Kitna deti hain?" expression.

[r.K]

Mods, pls review this car! Would be awesome it see it get the typical t-bhp treatment

[Mad Max]

"Meanwhile in Bangalore, traffic police in Outer Ring Road had to help eight flying car motorists from tangled overhead cable tv wires running all over the place. The motorists were stranded between Bellandur and Mahadevpura and hung in mid-air for three hours due to the inability of a crane to get to them in peak hour traffic"

Cool concept. I wonder if we'll get a drone-war like sport using these soon.

[V.Narayan]

Laws on drones are being enacted - and strict ones at that. The U.S. passed laws on drones below 55 lbs in weight in August 2016 and another on drones below 550 lbs is on the anvil. Germany, UK & Japan are following suit very quickly. Looks like a non-starter from an air space point of view. An airplane requires a lot more skill, training and rule obedience than driving. And a helicopter cruising close to the ground requires even higher skill and alertness. And this looks like a cross between a helicopter & an auto-gyro. Best of luck to them.

We've had flying cars of our own for ages :-)