Monte Carlo, Monaco – AeroMobil, an advanced engineering company, has today unveiled the new model of the AeroMobil Flying Car at Top Marques Monaco, the world’s most exclusive supercar show. This launch fulfils the company’s commitment to deliver a commercially available flying car in 2017 and be ready to take pre-orders for the limited first edition. The unveiling of the ground breaking AeroMobil underlines its leadership in this innovative field and the company’s determination to transform travel by making the flying car a reality.
The AeroMobil Flying Car has been inspired by a desire to give customers true freedom of movement in a vehicle that is both extraordinary and exciting, while also being efficient. It is designed to offer customers the choice of all the functionality and flexibility a car and an aeroplane can provide. It is possible to travel in almost any weather conditions. Its dual mode means it can cut travel times compared to traditional short haul airline flights ranging up to 1,000km as its powerful engine enables greater range and offers more efficient use of energy.
“Today is a transformative day for the future of travel as the launch of the AeroMobil means and that everyday flying transportation will soon be a reality,” said Juraj Vaculik, co-founder and CEO of AeroMobil. “To get to this point has seen us bring together a strong team of the best minds and experts in cutting edge automotive, motorsport and aerospace to redefine the boundaries of what is possible in transportation. From today we are ready to take the first pre-orders and we are honoured His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco will unveil the AeroMobil today at the Top Marques Autoshow.”
The AeroMobil flying car has been designed with safety, quality, creativity and innovation at its heart. The exterior is highly aerodynamic utilising the latest carbon composite construction found in the most sophisticated sports cars and performance aircraft to make the flying car lighter and stronger. The wings are similarly constructed using advanced pre-preg composites to ensure confident handling and high manoeuvrability while the suspension geometry adapts to the varying conditions of road and air travel to allow for normal and extreme use.
Safety and control are of paramount importance both in the air and on the ground. When airborne the flying car is designed to demonstrate stability and predictability with a flight envelope comparable with existing small aircrafts in the field of general aviation. The vehicle’s cockpit is designed to surround the pilot and co-pilot in a high strength monocoque structure that is capable of absorbing and distributing crash and impact energy while maintaining interior integrity. It also incorporates the very latest in vehicle recovery ballistic parachute technology, designed to bring an airborne vehicle back to ground safely should the pilot choose to deploy it. While travelling on the road the occupant restraint system uses pyrotechnic seatbelt technology in conjunction with dual-stage airbags. These systems are equally capable of offering occupant protection should the vehicle get into difficulties while operating as a plane.
“This launch is a triumph of engineering and design, requiring all our creativity, imagination, passion and technical expertise to deliver an innovative product that is truly ground-breaking,” added Douglas MacAndrew, Chief Technology Officer, AeroMobil. “Everyone in this sector must overcome complex technical challenges in the process of developing a flying vehicle. We believe the vehicle presented today successfully resolves these challenges demonstrating a product that does not compromise either air or road function. The outcome is a flying car that combines innovative features with a recognisable, high quality experience that pilots and drivers have come to expect.”
The interior of the flying car combines safety and lightweight design with innovative features to ensure the control systems are recognisable and intuitive to use. The flight control systems transform seamlessly into automotive controls in seconds with absolute predictability and confidence. The AeroMobil has a custom 2.0 l turbo charged 4-cylinder boxer internal combustion engine with a FADEC (fully autonomous digital electronic control) digital control unit. On the road the AeroMobil is powered by a dedicated electric front wheel drive system incorporating electronic differential and an adaptive transmission delivering both road-going functionality and direct drive during flight. The engine has been adapted to achieve a significant reduction in weight over traditional aerospace engines while delivering durability and reliability. During flight mode operation, AeroMobil has an available power of 224 kW (~ 300 hp), delivered to the propeller through a bespoke transmission.
The AeroMobil Flying Car being shown at Top Marques is the commercially available model and the team will be taking pre-orders at the show. The vehicle is expected to go into full production in the upcoming years with the first deliveries being made to customers by 2020.
The production of AeroMobil’s first vehicle will be limited to a maximum of 500 units and is priced between 1,2m – 1,5m Euro depending on final customer specifications. The first 25 vehicles will be a Founders Edition and will contain series specific product content along with an expanded benefits package, details to be announced separately.
The newest AeroMobil is purposefully designed as a breath-taking, highly desirable, truly niche, high-technology luxury vehicle. It aims to demonstrate the team’s unique engineering capability and to position AeroMobil as the desirable brand at the forefront of a new, but rapidly evolving flying car industry. In the longer-term the strategy is to develop a series of models in different price categories to meet a variety of identified market opportunities, ranging from personal travel to the ultimate target of a mass market mobility-as-a-service offering.
“To significantly reduce the cost of flying cars in the long-term, we are bringing an automotive high-volume approach to a traditionally conservative low-volume aerospace industry, significantly cutting components costs via smart design, novel materials and production automation whilst fully conforming with civil aviation industry requirements” concludes Juraj Vaculik, CEO, AeroMobil. “This approach is being warmly received by investors and we are delighted to have recently received latest investment from Patrick Hessel, recognized expert in this field. In the coming months we will be looking for additional investors who can contribute to our disruptive approach and further strengthen our position ourselves at the forefront of the evolving flying car industry.”
Key Facts about the AeroMobil Flying Car
- Full transformation into flight mode in less than 3 minutes.
- Automotive Range -700km (estimated using NEDC cycle)
- Aerospace Max Cruise Range ~750 km @ 75 % (1 200 m, ISA)
- Fuel Capacity 90 ltr (95 RON Gasoline)
- Direct Drive variable pitch propeller (speed 2 400 rpm)
- Automotive – Top speed 160 kph
- Aerospace – Vs / Vc / VD – 112 / 259 / 360 km/h
- MTOW Take Off Distance ground roll / 50 ft – 397 / 595 m
- Max Take Off Weight – 960 kg (useable load 240 kg)
ABOUT AEROMOBIL
AeroMobil is an advanced engineering company that is commercializing a sophisticated flying car, combining a luxury sports car and a light aircraft in a single vehicle. AeroMobil aims to make personal transportation vastly more efficient and environmentally friendly by helping to overcome traffic jams in large areas and by allowing significantly faster door-to-door travel for medium distances or in areas with limited road infrastructure.
Source: AeroMobil