Aircraft

SoloTrek developers planning two seat electric hybrid Air Car

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The innovators behind the SoloTrek/Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle have announced plans to develop the world's first fuel-electric hybrid flying car
The innovators behind the SoloTrek/Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle have announced plans to develop the world's first fuel-electric hybrid flying car
The design team plan to combine recent technological advances in materials and electronics with similar duct-fan technology that was used in the now-retired Springtail single person VTOL vehicle

If you've ever watched your Parrot AR Drone power through the air and wondered what it would be like to be inside such a craft, the announcement of the Air Car project could be the answer you are looking for. The folks behind the development of the SoloTrek/Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle have revealed plans to create the world's first fuel-electric hybrid flying car.

Michael Moshier and Robert Bulaga of Trek Aerospace are forming a new company to develop the hybrid Air Car, which will combine recent technological advances in materials and electronics with the kind of duct-fan technology that was used in the now-retired Springtail single person vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL) vehicle.

Moshier and Bulaga are currently on the lookout for funding partners to help the multi-person transport project take off (sorry!) and a number of real world scenarios for its use have been suggested - from being useful for emergency services such as search and rescue, police patrol and medical support, to providing vital lifelines for those areas of the world where established transportation systems are lacking.

Given the probable cost of the first vehicles to roll off the production line, it's more likely that thrill-seekers with bottomless bank accounts will be amongst the very first to power up the four fans and take to the skies.

With the Australian Hoverbike heading for test flights in the next few months, the recently-announced EU myCopter project securing funding and Terrafugia aiming for 2012 delivery of its Transition flying car, those first Air Car flyers could well have quite a bit of company in the air immediately above and around us.

Source: Earth Techling

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27 comments
Slowburn
Granted it looks like it will get into smaller clearings but a conventional helicopter with its ability to auto-rotate (glide) to a zero velocity landing looks safer.
Alejandro Amaya
more Moller and Falx cousins, can´t they understand engines are not that powerful
VoiceofReason
You can plan to build this all you want. Not happening anytime soon. Moeller has been trying for 40 years.
I plan to build a starship. Has about the same chance of seeing success.
Alexander Cardosa
Yes because I feel so safe on regular road. Now I have to be careful with all the flying brainless people.
Slowburn
Alejandro Amaya - June 30, 2011 @ 06:15 pm PDT--- You can fit a 2000hp gas turbine in your lap. The 502ci V-8 ( 8.2 liter) engine in top fuel dragsters produce over 6000hp. Wankel rotary engines each rotor acts like three cylinders in a four stroke piston engine. energy density in the engine is not the problem.
Control, reliability, air traffic control/licensing, and failure mode landing are the problems.
While it might make a great anti-tank platform, we will not have \"Flying cars\" until they can have an fender-bender without raining debris on the unsuspecting people below.
gormanwvzb
I agree with Alexander, people can\'t handle safe vehicle operation in 2 dimensions, why allow them to operate in a 3rd!
Mel Zimmer
i want one...
stovlair
Slowburn - I agree Totally..... We are working on a hybrid gen-set system that\'s very compact and powerful (currently 50kw output and only 35kg all up weight).
Safety is key and the fewer moving parts (points of failure) the better...
If electric/hybrid aircraft are not viable, why are people like EADS, NASA, Airbus etc... working on them?
tsibia
Stov - Agreed, looks like fuelcells cld be the way ahead.
Anyhow, can you share with us any data on the hybrid gensets?
Would love to do a field trial asap, can even share r&d with you.
Currently spending a fortune on fuel.
John M
YEAH, we have heard it all before!!. What about the Moller Air-Car. We r still waiting.
I would like to c a COANDA EFFECT aircraft. This requires 1 motor & 1 fan unit.
The payload sits underneath at the Centre of gravity. It & all none wing aircraft need electronics to make them stable in flight.
How-ever I am building a model to c for myself.
Cheers all