Selasa, 03 April 2012

PAL-V Flying Car Makes Successful First Test Flight

With the PAL-V flying car last appearing on our pages method back in 2004, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this can be just another flying car concept that never made it off the ground. However Dutch company PAL-V Europe NV has been busy within the past seven years having finalized the planning concept in 2008 and testing a driving prototype in 2009. Now the flying car-driving prototype has been put through its paces with video of the PAL-V’s recent successful maiden flight now released.

Although the finished vehicle appearance slightly different to the computer renderings available in 2004, the planning remains just about an equivalent. On the ground the two-seater PAL-V is an aerodynamic tilting three-wheeler that is designed to mix the handling of a motorcycle with a mechanical-hydraulic dynamic tilting mechanism automatically adjusting the lean angle of the vehicle while cornering.

It is powered by a one hundred sixty kW flight certified gasoline engine – though there will also be biodiesel and bio-ethanol versions - that can accelerate the vehicle from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in under eight seconds, on the thanks to a top speed of a hundred and eighty km/h (112 mph). In ground mode the vehicle boasts estimated fuel economy figures of twelve km/l (28 mpg US) and a spread of 1,200 km (750 miles).

To convert from flying car to airplane, the vehicle’s engine must be dropped at a stop – no Transformer-like transition on the go sadly. The tail is then extended and therefore the rotor unfolded in a very method that takes less than 10 minutes. Upon beginning the engine the foldable push propeller emerges from the rear of the cabin to supply the forward thrust. to travel from aircraft to car, the process is simply reversed.

The PAL-V needs a strip (either pavement or grass) of at least a hundred sixty five m (540 ft) to get airborne and just thirty m (100 ft) to land. Once within the air it can reach a most speed of 97 kts (180 km/h/112 mph), with a minimum speed of twenty seven kts (50 km/h/31 mph) needed for level flight. In flight mode it's an estimated fuel economy of 36 l/h (9.5 US gph) and a spread of 350-500 km (220-315 miles), reckoning on the model sort, payload and wind conditions.

Designed to generally operate below 1,200 m (4,000 ft), the PAL-V flies at intervals the airspace reserved for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic, which means it can begin in several countries while not filing a flight set up. The company points out that governments within the U.S. And Europe are examining the event of “digital freeways” that use GPS technology to supply a secure corridor for such vehicles.

Flying car like a commonplace gyrocopter, the PAL-V’s main rotor includes a slower rotation than a helicopter, creating it quieter and giving it the ability to take off and land at lower speeds. The company says it is also easier to manage and can't stall and, although the engine fails, it can be steered and landed safely because the rotor keeps auto rotating.

Measuring 4(L) x 1.6(W) x 1.6(H) m (13.1 x 5.2 x 5.2 ft), the PAL-V weighs 680 kg (1,499 lb) and might carry a most load of 230 kg (507 lb) for a most gross weight of 910 kg (2,006 lb). The company says the PAL-V complies with existing regulations in all major markets creating it legal for each road and air use. Obtaining a license needs only 20 to thirty hours of training.

Having conducted successful test flights, the PAL-V team will now specialize in the planning of the primary business model PAL-V, with 1st deliveries expected in 2014. PAL-V Europe says law enforcement agencies, the military, and flying car doctors have already expressed interest within the vehicle.

Source : www.gizmag.com

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