' Buckle up: ABQ firm hops aboard world's first commercial flying car'

General Discussion
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Can’t read article, pop-up prevents it.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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Subscription pop-up ruins it for me too.

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I also get the pop up.

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I read my own stuff, too. I’m really not looking for links to articles that may or may not be something I get anything from. Then when they are difficult to access, I’m out.

Since this is posted to General Discussion, I would like some more effort on the part of the posting person to give a synopsis of a story and ask questions or give an opinion, in order to make a discussion (That’s what I do when I read something I think would make for an interesting discussion), but hey, that’s just my humble opinion.

Perhaps if Car Talk Community had a category called “Bulletin Board” folks could dump, I mean post, some random articles there for all interested parties.

I just wasted more time on this. I’ll show myself out now, thanks.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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This link should work better, New Mexico company helps develop

Kevin Robinson-Avila, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Fri, April 9, 2021, 8:01 PM·2 min read

Apr. 9—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When the world’s first commercial flying car takes to the skies, some homegrown New Mexico gadgetry will help safely guide vehicle pilots from liftoff to landing.

Albuquerque-based Aspen Avionics announced in late March that Dutch company “Personal Air and Land Vehicle,” or PAL-V, has chosen Aspen’s Evolution Flight Display System as the digital cockpit of choice for PAL-V’s “Liberty” car and gyroplane.

PAL-V has been developing the Liberty for some 20 years. It’s a three-wheel car — already certified to ride on European roads — that converts to a gyroplane by folding out its rotors and propellers, which are attached to the roof and back of the car. The company has been flight testing the vehicle since 2012, and expects to achieve flight certification in the next year or two, possibly rolling out the first models for sale sometime in 2022.

Aspen Avionics, a homegrown company that launched in Albuquerque in 2004, builds digital avionics for small commercial and general aviation aircraft. It developed some of the industry’s first digital flight displays as drop-in replacements for aging mechanical gauges and controls. Its GPS-backed digital cockpits offer a full suite of real-time data on things like altitude, air speed and weather, plus navigational data to increase a pilot’s situational and terrain awareness with photo-quality moving maps and traffic displays.

“We designed the Evolution product display over 15 years ago,” said Aspen International Regional Sales Manager Cory Relling in a statement. “
 With over 20,000 displays installed worldwide, we never imagined that an Aspen primary flight display would be among those installations in the first commercial flying car.”

PAL-V now plans to include Aspen’s flight display as its digital cockpit standard for all their vehicles, said Aspen president and CEO John Uczekaj.

“We’re very excited and honored to be part of this historic progression in the aviation industry,” Uczekaj told the Journal. “It’s cool and exciting technology.”

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The Wikipedia entry says that the Sport (base) model sells for about €300,000 and the Pioneer model sells for around €500,000. Let me know when yours arrives.

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That is not really a flying car, it is an aircraft with folding wings you can drive home from the airport. It has all the expenses of an aircraft and necessary pilots training and licensing but costs mor and does not perform as well as comparable airplanes because of the compromises necessary to make it drive-able.

If I was an insurance company I would tell you to find insurance someplace else.

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I would think you would have to have two insurance policy’s one for the car part and one for the aircraft part.

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Hmmm
 don’t know why I don’t: I have no subscription. You can right-click on the link, save the article, read the local copy.

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An accident looking for a place to happen.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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3, another Life Insurance Policy, too.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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I, for one, am not going to click links to read articles that I possibly/probably won’t be interested in.

Sorry, but I feel a person starting a “Discussion” should read it, post a synopsis, and kick off the discussion with an opinion or point of view. Otherwise, it ain’t a discussion, just a link.

I could throw 20 links up there right now, but
 (please see text above). :smirk:
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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I’ll just comment on the headline: it’s not the ‘world’s first commercial flying car’ if it’s not in production. As far as I can tell, only one has been built.

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The performance specs are messed up. Max speed 100mph, which must be car-mode speed because airspeed hasn’t been expressed in mph in decades. But the fuel burn is listed as gallons/hour which would be a stupid way to measure it in car-mode.

Also regarding car-mode, my God the blind spots from the folded wings. I hope that thing has side-facing cameras.

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Another oddity - it’s a gyrocopter, the overhead blade isn’t powered, the rear facing prop pushes the vehicle, the airflow make the overhead blade supply lift. Gyrocopters were a ‘thing’ 50 years ago, don’t see them very often now.

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Gallons/HR is also the way it’s displayed on a boat. Probably don’t want to compute MPG even for our 225hp Honda.

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Ah, I mis-took the thumbnail photo for that Terrafugia thing. Disregard my comments about the mileage. :wink:

I’m definitely not sure I like the idea of a flying car/gyrocopter.