The Liberty, as the flying car is called, looks more like a racing car than an aircraft, with a narrow body and two seats placed side by side, just as they would be in a sports car. When it’s on the ground, it actually uses a tricycle configuration, with one wheel at the front and two wheels at the back.
Flight is achieved by means of a foldable rotor that’s mounted at the top of the car. Power comes from a pair of Rotax aircraft engines, and the Liberty will be compliant with road and air regulations in both Europe and the US.
When the car is on the ground, the rotor blades fold down on either side of the cabin, and its undercarriage is also able to move up and down for added ground clearance when needed. The Liberty will also make light work of normal roads and can easily be parked in a regular garage thanks to its compact size.
The Liberty can take off with a maximum weight of 910 kg, inclusive of 20kg of luggage and 100 liters of fuel on board. When it’s on the road, it has 99 horsepower at its disposal, which can propel it to a top speed of 100 mph.
To get airborne, it needs about 1,100 feet of takeoff distance. Upon landing, it needs a landing roll distance of just 100 feet. It’s even faster in the air than it is on land, capable of reaching 112 mph. Furthermore, the Liberty can fly at a maximum altitude of 11,500 feet and has a range of 310 miles.
Although it has two aircraft engines, the Liberty actually uses one when it’s on the road, and the other when it’s in the air. The gyroplane design is a classic aviation design, and helps the Liberty to be switched over from drive mode to flight mode in just 10 minutes.
Taking off and landing will require a small airstrip, and you have to hold a pilot’s license before you fly off anywhere in it. The Liberty will cost $400,000 when it goes on sale, and customers have already started pre-ordering theirs.
Sport and Pioneer versions of the Liberty will be offered, and the first deliveries to customers will take place in 2019.
