Science

Sexy flying car jets us closer to the future (pictures)

The AeroMobil 3.0 is a sleek, streamlined car. Oh, and it can fly.

Michael Franco

Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.

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Michael Franco

Nov. 6, 2014 10:26 a.m. PT

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Mean, lean flying machine

The AeroMobil 3.0, the latest iteration of a flying car built by Slovakian company AeroMobil, is constructed with a steel frame covered in a carbon coating. It can take off at 90mph and travel 430 miles on a tank of regular gasoline. It also can turn heads faster than any other flying car we've ever seen.

"As a plane it can use any airport in the world, but can also take off and land using any grass strip or paved surface just a few hundred meters long," says the AeroMobil website. That's due, in part, to a very sturdy suspension system.

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Compact car?

When the AeroMobil's wings are retracted and it's in car mode, it measures about 20 feet long and 7 feet wide, comparable to a limousine. It can reach speeds in excess of 100mph and go about 540 miles on a tank of gas.

"It has low maintenance costs and can be parked in regular parking slots in cities," says a company press release.

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Winged wonder

When the driver of the car transforms it into a plane, the wings bring the vehicle's width to about 27 feet. AeroMobil is currently working out certification and licensing requirements for the car/plane.

"After the testing of the prototype of AeroMobil 3.0 that proved the ability to operate in road traffic and also in the air, we continue with development towards certification and homologation, which can take several years," company spokesman Stefan Vadocz told CNET. "Our team is very motivated and we work hard to fulfill the regulation requirements within EU and other markets."

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Baby's got back

When it's a car, the 3.0's front wheels are powered by a Rotax 912 engine: a four-cylinder, four-stoke liquid/air-cooled engine with opposed cylinders and two carburetors. According to the manufacturers, it offers "the best power-to-weight ratio in its class."

When the car turns into a plane, the Rotax engine powers a propeller at the back that provides the propulsion for flight.

"The change of traction from the front wheels to the propeller is operated by a central shift that redirects the torque from the wheels to the propeller," says Vadocz. "It's one of our proprietary solutions. Nor does this technical solution omit the safety factor; the process of transformation is secured after take-off -- it is impossible to activate the transformation accidentally during the flight."

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A car you'll flip over

The cockpit of the AeroMobil 3.0 is accessed when the top of the car lifts up and forward -- which only adds to its cool Batmobile-like awesomeness.

Although the 3.0 is still considered a prototype, Vadocz told CNET that the final model won't be very different. "The exterior design is very close to the final version," he said. "In this phase of the prototype development the necessary modifications will be implemented -- mainly the modifications of material used, not those of a conceptual nature. Subsequent works are planned for the next year."

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Fly the cushy skies

Not only is the AeroMobil a fully functional car and plane, it is also a beauty inside and out. So what will the final price be for all this luxury?

"It is too early to speak about market price at this stage," Vadocz told us. "The prototype is work in progress and only after completion of final configuration we will be able to set the price span. Expect the price combination of a sports car and a light sports aircraft -- several hundreds of thousands of Euro. The first AeroMobil should be a high-end product produced in a limited edition."

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It looks like a cockpit!

You've no doubt heard people talk about car dashboards that look akin to the cockpits inside planes. In the case of the AeroMobil 3.0 the dashboard, of course, actually IS the cockpit. The steering wheel tilts down when the vehicle is in plane mode to allow access to the flight-control column.

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From political revolution to technological revolution

Co-founder and CEO of AeroMobil, Juraj Vaculík (left) was an instrumental in figure in the student movement that led to Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution in 1989 which ended communist rule in the country. He originally attended Bratislava's performing arts school, VSMU, and worked as a theater director in the country before moving on to creating flying cars.

It was the other co-founder of AeroMobil, Štefan Klein (right), who had the dream of a flying a car since 1989. Klein graduated from the Slovak University of Technology in 1983. After serving as the Head of the Department for Transport and Design at Slovakia's Academy of Fine Arts and Design where he worked on cutting-edge research projects for clients including Audi, BMW and Volkswagen, he's now making his dream come true.