For every commuter who has ever been stuck in traffic and dreamed of simply lifting off in their car and flying over the crowded street, this flying car, ahem, road-able aircraft is for you.
The autovolantor prototype was recently developed by Moller International whose rotary engine is designed specifically for compact, high power-to-weight applications. Interestingly, this particular prototype was developed at the behest of a wealthy foreign businessman who was unable to commute from the city to his country home due to the overcrowded streets of Moscow. Thus, Moller International created this two-passenger sports car with the capability of vertical lift off and a flight speed of 150 mph, which will likely get you to work on time.
The autovolantor cost $5 million dollars to develop. However, Moller International believes it could be sold for $250,000, raising many interesting questions about operator licensing, air space, and the overall politics of innovative technologies. Regardless of the questions, the autovolantor gives us the answer to commuter woes and at the very least, offers us something to dream about as we sit in traffic.
3 Comments
So Kate, do you just like future vehicles? At 15.3 mpg it doesn’t seem that green, a Cessna gets 20 mpg equivalent fuel usage during flight.
Lol! No, I’m not really considering this for my daily commute (my Prius works just fine and gets better mileage)! But I saw this and knew I *had* to share something this…incredible? ridiculous?…with the readers.
Warning: Moller has been flim-flamming people with his flying car for a decade. For as long as I can remember he has been on the verge of production. I remember a bunch of us sitting around a table doing the math on his claimed specs and that was ten years ago.