A flying car made by a Dutch company will drive on public roads for the first time in August as a first step towards making the car available to the public.
The so-called flying car, constructed by Dutch company PAL-V (Personal Air Land Vehicle), will undergo a final round of inspections by the National Road Traffic Service (RDW) in August. Once inspections are completed, the car will be taken onto public roads for the first time.
PAL-V had initially planned for the car to launch in 2019, but the launch has been delayed until 2021 due to the time required to get all the necessary certification and pass all required inspections. However, this next step means the launch is one step closer.
Chief commercial officer at PAL-V, Marco van den Bosch, told NU.nl: “We have slightly misjudged the number of agencies that you have to deal with, who also work independently of each other. There were no procedures for a vehicle like the PAL-V, in some cases, we had to write them ourselves."
A test version of the car was first flown way back in 2012, and PAL-V hopes to start commercial production by the middle of next year. According to the company, more than 100 vehicles have already been sold, 40 of which have been sold within the Netherlands.
The PAL-V Liberty Sport Edition costs 299.000 euros (minus VAT), and the Pioneer Edition costs 499.000. Thinking of buying one? I’m afraid your driving license won’t suffice, and you’ll have to obtain your pilot license before you can drive the vehicle.
The car requires 180 metres for a rolling start, and the total take-off distance is 330 metres. It has top speeds of 160 kilometres per hour on roads, and 180 kilometres per hour in the air. It can reach a maximum altitude of 3.500 metres.
Thumb: Pal-V