The Dutch firm PAL-V has begun accepting orders for its aeromobile. For the first time in the world, a serial flying car PAL-V Liberty was created (video) - EcoTechnics

One of the first models of a flying car PAL-V

100 hp engine with. allows Liberty to accelerate to 160 km / h. At the same time, in order to gain 100 km / h, the car needs 9 seconds. Fuel consumption 7.6 liters. per 100 km allows a flying car to cover 1,315 km at one refueling.

The company says the Liberty is a car that flies and an airplane that flies.

If you need to climb into the sky, the rotor automatically extends from the body. Next, the pilot needs to unfasten the blades and tail, and secure them. This operation takes 5 to 10 minutes. Transformed into an aircraft, the Liberty can climb up to 3,500 meters. Air motor has a capacity of 200 liters. with. The maximum speed in the air is 180 km / h, the economical 160, and the cruising speed is 140 km / h. Moving at a speed of 160 km / h, the pilot will be able to save up to 10% of fuel. The maximum flight range is 500 km.

After landing, the blades and tail are dismantled, and the rotor is retracted into the body. In road configuration, the Liberty measures 4m long and 1.7m high. During flight, the dimensions increase to 6.1 and 3.2 m, respectively. The propeller diameter is 10.75 m.

Those wishing to order a three-wheeled hybrid of a car and a helicopter can choose between two modifications. Basic model called Sport and is offered at a price of 299,000 euros. Future owners of the premium Pioneer Edition (€ 499,000) will be able to order individual interior trim and body color. In addition, they will have the priority right to receive their purchase. The first customers are expected to be able to test their Liberty flying cars by the end of 2018.

Dutch company PAL-V International B.V. announced the start of taking orders for the Pal-V Liberty. As the developer describes, it is "the world's first certified commercial flying vehicle." In fact, the device had a dozen predecessors, including those models that received in different countries Required documents both for flights and road trips. They were even sold in piece quantities. But everyone stopped literally half a step before mass replication.

Taking off and landing from a path near the house is at the risk and responsibility of the owner, but from an ordinary airfield strip - easily (with the appropriate permission, of course).

Technically, we have a mixture of a tricycle and an autogyro. Moreover, the tricycle can bend in turns, and the autogyro has folding rotor blades (the transformation is partially manual). Than this vehicle differs from analogs? It has a drive on rear wheels and can legally drive on the roads (there are automotive lighting equipment and other necessary elements). In flight mode power power plant fed to the pushing propeller.

The concept of the application does not provide for taking off right in the middle of a traffic jam from the highway, it is unsafe. On the other hand, drivers with a pilot's license (and without it, they cannot become the owner) will be able to get to the airfield directly behind the wheel of a Liberty, take off, and in another city sit down again on the runway and reach their destination.

The apparatus is set in motion by a "double propulsion system". Its power is 100 hp. on the ground and 200 hp in the air. It feeds on motor gasoline (AI-95-98), a mixture of E10 (gasoline with 10% ethanol) or aviation gasoline. In road form, the car can accelerate to 160 km / h, gain the first hundred in less than 9 seconds, and go up to 1315 km at a gas station. Average consumption- 7.6 l / 100 km.

The vehicle's length in road mode is four meters, width - two meters, height - 1.7 m. In flight mode, dimensions: 6.1 m, 2 m and 3.2 m, respectively (the rotor diameter is 10.75 m).

In the sky, Liberty is able to overcome 400-500 km, depending on the load, while there will be a reserve in the tank for 30 minutes of flight, rise to an altitude of 3.5 km and develop 180 km / h. For takeoff, a distance of only 180 m is needed (330 taking into account the flight over an obstacle with a height of 15 m), and for landing - 30 m.The average fuel consumption is 26 l / h.

The empty Pal-V Liberty weighs 664 kg, it can hold two, plus 20 kg of luggage and 100 liters of fuel, and the maximum take-off weight is 910 kg.

The idea of ​​such a machine is more intended for the United States than for Europe. There is a very developed network of small airfields across the ocean, and there it is quite possible to use Liberty almost everywhere with a minimum mileage on the roads. But the device will be on sale both there and there. The first 90 examples will be assembled with the Liberty Pioneer Edition.

The cost of the road rotorcraft includes an introductory course and trainings with an instructor.

The top version includes a digital instrument cluster and a dual set of controls. The price of such a device in Europe will be 499,000 euros (excluding taxes), and in the USA - $ 599,000. Later, the manufacturer promises to add a simpler version - Liberty Sport (299,000 euros, $ 399,000). The Dutch promise to show pre-production samples this year, and deliveries to customers are scheduled for the end of 2018. In the meantime, deposits are accepted (10 and 25 thousand dollars, or euros, depending on the configuration and the region).

The American flying car Terrafugia Transition (the first flight took place in 2012, and its prototype flew at all in 2009) is one of the protracted projects. The launch date for this hybrid of a passenger car and an aircraft has been postponed to the market several times. However, the firm accepts a deposit of $ 10,000 for a $ 280,000 device.

Dreams Come True. The day has come when cars are ready to take off the ground and take to the sky. Dutch designers showed the first production model of a flying machine. What it is like and what opportunities it provides to drivers - in this review.

People have long dreamed of crossing a car and an airplane. The first attempts date back to 1917. It was then that the American designer Glenn Curtis tried to create an airplane that could not only fly, but also ride comfortably on the roads.

Have made similar attempts and engineers Soviet Union who wanted to make a flying tank. But all these attempts failed. Technology has made great strides in recent decades, and perhaps now is the time when cars can finally spread their wings.

An ambitious dream has come true in a new flying car called Liberty. It was developed by the well-known Dutch company PAL-V. Surely many have already heard about it, because it was the designers of this company who set out to create a flying machine several years ago.

After 10 years of work on achieving its goal, the PAL-V company shows a car, which, according to the developers, is not "another promising model" at all, but a real production model... The car from the first batch will cost 600 thousand dollars and another 25 for the right to receive it among the first.

Together with the car itself, the company promises 10 lessons on driving it, and anywhere in the world! Another option for getting a car is to pay only 10 thousand dollars, but wait for the second series. And yes, you will have to pay all the same 600 thousand for the car itself.

As for technical characteristics, then here the Liberty boasts a 100-horsepower engine that allows it to accelerate to 160 km / h on the ground. The car accelerates to 100 km / h in 9 seconds. Some experts are worried about the aerodynamics of the car, expressing the opinion that at speeds above a hundred, the car will start to shake. For flights, Liberty uses a different, 200-horsepower engine. The manufacturer claims that the car can fly 400-500 km.

However, don't expect the Liberty to take to the skies whenever the driver needs it. Mode change takes 5-10 minutes. Also, you can't take off anywhere. To do this, you need a solid strip with a length of at least 180 meters for only one lift from the ground.

It is also worth considering that most laws will require the Liberty to take off and land only in specially designated places. And of course, a flight license is required to fly such a hybrid.

And recently the Russian concern "Kalashnikov" declassified. It's worth seeing.

Guess who created the world's first publicly licensed flying car? Dutch dreamers, of course! The PAL-V company, together with the Spark Design design studio, thought about building an aircraft based on the Carver tricycle about ten years ago. And in 2012, test flights of the device, built according to the gyroplane scheme, took place - with a traction propeller and a free rotor that creates a lifting force. The rest of the time was spent on fine-tuning the design and certification of the machine. And now, finally, PAL-V is offered to everyone!

The company is taking orders for two versions. The first, Pioneer Edition, will be released in 90 copies at a price of 499 thousand euros. For this money, the buyer will receive a two-seater car with the maximum range of options and rich interior trim, as well as training courses for driving and training in any corner of the world. You can reserve the PAL-V Pioneer Edition now with a non-refundable deposit of 25 thousand euros. However, if you are not in a hurry, then you can get by with less money: the regular version of Sports costs 299 thousand euros, and the fee for it is 10 thousand. By the way, if the company has difficulties with the certification of a flying car in the buyer's country, it will still return the deposit.

For comparison: the simplest helicopter costs about the same, and the price of an ordinary gyroplane is an order of magnitude lower. But the PAL-V takes on versatility. On public roads, a 100-horsepower Rotax engine allows a four-meter machine with a net weight of 664 kg to accelerate to 160 km / h, and acceleration to “hundreds” is within 9 seconds. The transfer of the PAL-V to flight mode takes five to ten minutes, after which a car with a traction motor with a capacity of 200 hp. a maximum of 330 m of acceleration is required for take-off. The speed in the air (the same 160 km / h) is quite comparable to the speed of an inexpensive helicopter, and you can land a car, even with a failed traction motor, at a speed of 30 km / h on a section no longer than 30 m. True, the legislation requires takeoff only from dedicated lanes, but in some countries it is possible to use private road sections.

And the biggest advantage of the PAL-V over helicopters and conventional gyroplanes is the ability to reach the take-off site on its own. The only difficulty is that management requires not only driver's license but also a flight license. Although the constructive belonging of the machine to gyroplanes allows you to get it after 30-40 hours of training.

The PAL-V company promises to start serial production of flying cars by autumn, but their delivery to customers is scheduled only at the end of 2018. By the way, if the client has any doubts, it is possible to reserve a car for only 2500 euros - and on a refundable basis. But then you will have to wait the longest, and if you refuse to buy, your turn will not be able to resell to another person.

Let's say right away that PAL-V is not cheap pleasure: the basic Sport version of the Liberty aeromobile costs 299,000 euros, for the more advanced and richly equipped version of the Pioneer Edition you will have to pay 499,000 euros, but since there are no living cars yet, the manufacturer is ready to accept a modest deposit in the amount of 2500 euros. Serial production is planned to begin at the end of this year, the shipment of the first finished images to customers is scheduled for the end of 2018.

Technically, the PAL-V Liberty is a two-seat twin-engined gyroplane (aka a gyroplane, aka a gyrocopter), adapted for driving on roads... In the automotive incarnation, he is no larger compact crossover: length - 4 m, width - 2 m, height - 1.7 m maximum speed- 160 km / h. Too much for such a return? So the curb weight of the Liberty is only 664 kg, and the maximum take-off weight is 910 kg.

The second, more powerful 200-horsepower Rotax engine is responsible for the flight mode, the maximum speed in the air is the same as on the ground - 160 km / h, but the recommended cruising speed is 140 km / h. The flight range is 400-500 km. The maximum altitude is 3500 m. It takes 5-10 minutes to transfer the aircraft to airplane mode, for takeoff it needs a flat, interference-free area of ​​200 × 20 m. For landing, a distance of only 30 m is sufficient. The manufacturer emphasizes that the design of the gyroplane is such that even if the incredible happens and the engine breaks down in flight, the PAL-V Liberty will not crash to the ground, but will carefully plan - the main thing is to have somewhere to sit.

To operate an air car, you must have a flight license and driver's license.

• In January, the Russian Foundation for Advanced Study announced a competition for the creation - PAL-V Liberty does not fall under this definition.
• Airmobiles are also being developed by large and experienced corporations, for example,