First electric, zero emission air taxis moved a step closer as Lilium Aviation revealed it has successfully carried out flight tests on a new VTOL aircraft prototype over the skies of Germany. Watch the video.
Russian company Hoversurf has been riding ahead with plans for a flying motorbike since 2013. This hybrid machine capable of flying 30 feet (10 m) above the ground for half an hour is currently being tested in flight. So when will it be on the market? Later this year, if the manufacturer’s optimistic schedule is to be believed.
On 8 May, during a test flight in Slovakia, the Aeromobil 3.0 flying car became uncontrollable and the reserve parachute had to be deployed. The pilot escaped unhurt.
When we first talked about it in 2012, it was still a prototype. Today, the Transition, is on the market. To acquire this flying car, developed by the American company Terrafugia, it will cost you $280,000, after paying a $10,000 refundable deposit, for the pleasure of adding your name to the waiting list. It was certified by the American Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in July 2012.
Since our last report in 2011, Michel Aguilar’s project, Xplorair, the flying car of the future, has moved up a gear. A French industrial consortium has been created, with four patents, and the concept of the thermoreactor jet engine validated by the engine manufacturer Turbomeca and the Institute of Pprime research, having been established. Advances that allow the designer the possibility of foreseeing the maiden flight of a fullsize demonstrator in less than three years’ time.