'AirCar' Prototype Completes Nitra-Bratislava Flight in 25 mins

Bratislava, June 28 (TASR) – The prototype of a Slovak-made flying car called the AirCar has completed its first successful flight from the airport in Nitra to the one in Bratislava, a distance of approximately 80 kilometres, car designer and project lead Stefan Klein reported on Monday.

“The machine ran absolutely great,” noted Klein, explaining that the flight took roughly 25 minutes at an average speed of 170 kilometres per hour, which is approximately one third of the time it takes an ordinary car to get from one city to the other by road.

The AirCar, however, isn’t primarily meant for use in Slovakia or the densely populated central Europe, where there is developed road infrastructure.

Klein was also involved in developing the first Slovak flying car – the Aeromobil. According to him, the two flying cars differ both in appearance and in the way in which they transform themselves from a flying vehicle to a car. The AirCar can complete this process in roughly two-and-a-half minutes.

It remains unclear when it will be possible to order AirCar models, as the first prototype must first complete the mandatory 50 hours of flight tests. Klein then intends to design a second prototype with an altered design and more powerful drive. The second prototype should be ready for certification by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).