PAL-V Is Now Selling the Flying Car of Your Dreams

by Tyler Wooley

Published: February 16th, 2017

pal v is now selling the flying car of your dreams

The world’s first commercial flying car is, tentatively, here.

Dutch company PAL-V is now taking pre-orders for its new airworthy car, the Liberty. It will be offered in two trim levels: the base Liberty Sport, and the Liberty Pioneer. Either will be enough for your dangerously sexy lifestyle.

Buyers of the 90 Liberty Pioneers will hand over a modest $600,000 before taxes or fees. But, with exclusive colors and a framed, gold-plated copy of your serial number tag, who can blame you?

For those of you who think the Pioneer is way too expensive, fear not. The Liberty Sport will be a bargain at only $400,000! You can also opt to pay a non-refundable deposit to reserve one – $10,000 for the Sport, $25,000 for the Pioneer – if you don’t want to pay the full price just yet.

The three-wheeled Liberty actually claims some decent numbers when in drive mode, however. According to PAL-V, its unspecified road engine produces 100 horsepower, averages 31 miles per gallon, and has a range of 817 miles. It will have a top speed of 100 miles per hour, and be able to reach 62 mph in less than nine seconds.

On days when you feel like James Bond, the vehicle’s flight mode will utilize a 200 horsepower engine to achieve speeds of up to 112 mph, propelled by a pusher prop in the rear of the vehicle. Maximum range, when flying at the suggested economical speed of 87 mph, is 310 miles. A takeoff roll of 590 feet means this gyrocopter — not helicopter — won’t take off from your property unless your backyard is both sprawling and manicured.

Both the Pioneer and Sport will come with a familiarization course and introductory lessons.

Even though the claim that the Liberty “blends perfectly into everyday road traffic” isn’t quite true, the two-seater will have a small profile. In drive mode, it should be able to fit into a regular sized parking spot with ease.

Changing between drive and flight mode will take three to five minutes, though a mandatory flight check before takeoff will add another 10-15 minutes to your adventure.

You will have to wait a while for your flying car, though. According to The Independent, deliveries won’t start until the end of 2018. PAL-V will start shipping the Sport models after all 90 Pioneers have been delivered.

[Images: PAL-V]

#FlyingCar #FlyingCars #Liberty #PAL-V #Pioneer #Sport

Tyler Wooley

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5 of 31 comments

Ronnie Schreiber on Feb 16, 2017

This strikes me as safer than the drone taxis they are proposing for Dubai.

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- Voyager on Feb 17, 2017
  
  Far safer! Since this is an autogyro. Lose power, and the rotor will spin you to safety in your descend to earth. If the Dubai contraption fails, you will drop to earth like a stone. I can imagine that all sorts of surveillance services would like to make use of the PAL-V. And there must be thousands of rich people out there who happen to have a pilot license and their own stretch of land for takeoff and landing.
  
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- Stuki on Feb 17, 2017
  
  @voyager I keep hearing this all the time. In the real world, how many accidents would realistically be cause by losing power at a decent altitude? Versus all the other manners in which trying to pretend ones car is a safe flying machine, could cause trouble? Back in the Solotrek days, guys actually serious about hovering around in built up areas in personal sized transporters, concluded fitting the props with shrouds of sufficient resilience and clearances to withstand the occasional bump, were much more realistically important than any possible autogyroing, to real world safety.
  
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Lorenzo on Feb 17, 2017

You're going to need two licenses, one to drive and one to fly. You're also going to need all kinds of extra aviation equipment in the cockpit, and gyro- or heli- the rotor blades are fairly delicate and will require extra inspections - and replacement is gonna cost way more than wiper blades! Run through all of the extra requirements and costs, and you'll understand why we never got flying cars - and won't get this one either.

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- EManual on Feb 18, 2017
  
  For small aircraft, there are two things that are useful in a good "roadable" aircraft: 1. Reducing the cost of hangers. Most hangers start at $100/month and can be over $500/month, so storage at home or other facilities could be be a significant savings. 2. When landing at a small airport with no rental cars (and many do not have aviation fuel or the pumps are locked), you can drive into town to fuel up and do your business there. To see many of the roadable aircraft developed before 2010, check out: http://www.roadabletimes.com/
  
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