Slovakian Flying Car Makes Short Test Flight

A company called Aeromobil, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, released flight-test video of its flying car prototype, the Aeromobil 2.5. The vehicle, which seats two and can be driven like a car, has folding wings that deploy for flight. A !!-horsepower engine drives the wheels for gro"nd travel and spins a rearmo"nted propeller to p"sh it thro"gh the air. #t is designed to cr"ise at abo"t !! miles an ho"r. #f the Aeromobil$s characteristics so"nd familiar, it may be d"e to similarities between it and another flying car "nder development, the Terrafugia Transition. The Transition, b"ilt by the %ob"rn, &ass., company Terraf"gia #nc., is also more of an airplane than a car. B"t like the Aeromobil, it is designed to be driven to and from the airport and to complete longer trips when the weather isn$t safe for flying. The Slovakian vehicle appears to be a few years behind the Transition in development, b"t its presence s"ggests there is a market for s"ch hybrid road-air vehicles. 'lying-car designs have been coming and going almost as long as cars and airplanes have been aro"nd. Some, like the (5!s Aerocar, worked b"t never ca"ght on, possibly beca"se people considered them impractical or lacking ade)"ate performance on the road or in the air. Today the combination of lightweight materials, more efficient engines and more fle*ible r"les in civil aviation co"ld make flying cars feasible for a broader a"dience.