A flying car, called the Terrafugia Transition, has been given clearance for use in the United States (Telegraph).
At the same time the EU is investing £4.2m in a craft known as ‘myCopter’, a Personal Aerial Vehicle capable of enabling commuters to fly over the traffic.
The Terrafugia works as a conventional car, with a fuel consumption of 35mpg and a top speed of 65mph. But once its wings are unfolded – with a span of 28 feet and six inches – it can fly at 115mph and consumes five gallons of fuel an hour.
According to Terrafugia, there is interest from British consumers at a price tag of around £150,000.
The two-seater Terrafugia Transition will, however, require approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency before it can be used in Britain. And anyone using it will need both a driving and pilot’s licence.
The ‘myCopter’ project, whose participants include Liverpool University, is somewhat further away, reports the Telegraph. It would entail flying at rather lower altitudes than the Terrafugia, working as what the project promoters describe as a Personal Air Transport System (PATS).
A CAA spokesman said: “Flying cars have been around since the 1930s. They may work in the United States, where every small provincial town has an airfield. But that is not the case here; in any case distances are much shorter in the UK.”
Click here to read the full Telegraph report.
That’s an awfull lot of energy use…. and waste of fuel AND its been sponsored by OUR monies through the EU. Beggers belief.
Bob Craven
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