Few flying vehicles make their maiden flight or even test their prototypes in public, but Klein Vision has successfully sent the AirCar on its first-ever inter-city trip. The AirCar has gotten closer to production after completing a major development milestone.
The inter-city flight took place on June 28, 2021, and was piloted by Professor Stefan Klein and co-founder Anton Zajac. The AirCar's 142nd successful landing is a 35-minute trip from international airports in Nitra to Bratislava, Slovakia.
The AirCar is a dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle that can switch from a car to an airplane in less than three minutes. Its wings and tail may be extended and retracted, converting the vehicle from an automobile to an aircraft.
The AirCar currently has two prototypes. The Prototype 1 is powered by a 160-horsepower BMW engine with a fixed-propeller and a ballistic parachute that runs on ordinary pump gasoline.
AirCar has flown over 40 hours of test flights, reaching altitudes of up to 2,500 meters and a maximum cruising speed of 190 kilometers per hour.
The Prototype 2 is the most powerful of the two prototypes. It has an EASA CS-23 aircraft certification and an M1 road permit, and it is powered by a 300-hp engine. It will feature a variable pitch propeller and a range of 1,000 km with a cruise speed of 300 km/h.
It is expected that we may see the final production version very soon.