The AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil is a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

roadable aircraft A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes u ...

, designed by Štefan Klein and first flown in 2013. The aircraft will be produced by Slovak company AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil s.r.o. company co-founder and CEO

Juraj Vaculík Juraj Vaculík has over twenty years’ experience of working as a leader with broad experiences from political revolution to international media and advertising industry. In 2010, Juraj co-founded AeroMobil and manages the company as its CEO. He a ...

indicated in March 2015 that the vehicle is intended for "wealthy supercar buyers and flight enthusiasts". Aeromobil unveiled the production version of the vehicle in April 2017 and announced that it would be available for preorder before the end of 2017.

Design and development

The prototype was conceived as a vehicle that can be converted from an automobile to an aircraft. The ''version 2.5'' proof-of-concept took 20 years to develop, and first flew in 2013. The prototype was constructed by the AeroMobil Team based in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

and led by co-founders Štefan Klein and Juraj Vaculík, advised by inventor

Dean Kamen Dean Lawrence Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Kamen holds over 1, ...

. As of 2013, there have been four developmental versions of the Aeromobil, 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0, with earlier versions lacking folding wings, while later versions have folding wings and fins around the wheels. Version 2.5 was first exhibited in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

at the SAE AeroTech Congress and Exhibition. Version 3.0 was introduced at the Pioneers Festival 2014 in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and flew in October 2014. The designers intend to include a

ballistic parachute A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...

. In 2014 the company said there is no date for a finished product, but in 2015, after the crash of the prototype, they hoped for deliveries by 2018. On 6 April 2016, the company raised €3 million ($3.2 million US) to help fund the production and demonstration of a new vehicle. This round of funding comes from individual investor Patrick Hessel, a founder of c2i. The company, c2i, is a maker of aerospace and automotive parts constructed from composite material. On 20 April 2017, AeroMobil s.r.o. unveiled the production model of the vehicle at

Top Marques Monaco Top Marques Monaco is an event that takes place annually at the Grimaldi Forum in the principality of Monaco. It features exhibitions by numerous purveyors of luxury aircraft, automobile, boat, watches, jewellery etc. A quarter of the event's tick ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, and announced that it would begin to take preorders for a "limited first edition" of it before the end of 2017. The first edition was to consist of no more than 500 vehicles, and the first 25 ordered were planned as a "Founders Edition" with "series-specific product content along with an expanded benefits package" with "details to be announced separately."

Variants

AeroMobil-Pioneers-Festival-Vienna-2014-15480314278

;AeroMobil 1.0 (1990–94): Initial concept vehicle ;AeroMobil 2.0 (1995-2010):Concept development ;AeroMobil 2.5 (2010-2013): The pre-prototype of the Aeromobil concept ;AeroMobil 3.0 (2014-2017): Further development of the concept. First publicly shown in October 2014 and crashed on 8 May 2015. Powered by a

Rotax 912S The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

engine, it was constructed with a steel frame covered in

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

. ;Aeromobil 4.0 (2017-): Hybrid power based on a

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017. Subaru cars are ...

boxer engine A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, wh ...

. 300 hp gasoline or 110 hp electric.

Accidents

On 8 May 2015 the AeroMobil 3.0 prototype crashed at

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...

Airport near Janíkovce, during a test flight. It entered a

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

and the

was deployed. The aircraft crashed on descending and suffered major damage. The pilot, Stefan Klein, received only minor injuries and was able to walk away from the aircraft. In June, 2015, the company indicated that a new prototype was being developed.

Specifications (AeroMobil 3.0)

References

External links