Important Innovations

  AirCar, Liberty Sport & Switchblade                            Source: AirCar, Liberty Sport, Switchblade Flying & Driving Commuting Flying cars are a promised travel technology that innovators have been chasing for decades. Their time is about to come.  Three flying cars are now at the tipping point of going into production for sales in global markets.  The vehicles ready for takeoff, that are road legal with wings, include Slovakia-based Klein Vision's AirCar, Dutch company PAL-V International's Liberty Sport and Oregon-based Samson Sky's Switchblade.  They are heralding in a brand-new form of travel. Switchblade US-based Sampson Sky is promising deliveries of its 3-wheel flying car Switchblade in 2024. They already have 2100 orders for the vehicle from 53 nations.  Switchblade has been 14 years in development.  A gas engine powers one electric motor that drives the propeller and also powers one or two more motors that drive the wheels.  The vehicle will be sold

  Holland's PAL-V                                                        Source:  PAL-V Authorized on Roads in the Netherlands The world's first commercial flying car - the PAL-V Liberty made by Dutch company PAL-V - has been approved for use on roads in the Netherlands.  The Liberty is a gyrocopter.  Rotors on the top of the vehicle provide it lift to fly.  The rotors are powered by a separate propeller engine in the back of the vehicle.  Liberty can hover like a helicopter but it doesn't take-off and land vertically like a helicopter.  It needs a runway of at least 590 feet to gain speed for take-off and 100 feet of runway for landing. Drive & Fly Time The Liberty can drive up to 99 mph on the road and when flying has a maximum speed of 112 mph.  Switching from the driving to the flying mode takes a few minutes.  Clearance will be needed from regulators for flying the flying car.  PAL-V says they expect to get clearance from the European Aviation Safety Agency in 2022

PAL-V's Liberty is Ready In 1927, Henry Ford said:  "Mark my words.  A combination airplane and motor car is coming.  You may smile, but it will come."  Talk about a futurist!  He was right on, off  by about 90 years, but the time is now. The Liberty:  Ready for Production, Take-off and Driving This is a second hot prototype flying car we wanted to focus on.  It's the creation of the Netherlands based company PAL-V.  Called The Liberty, the developers claim it's production ready, making it a global first.  And they say it's "Licensed to Thrill". Distinctive Design As you can see in the artist's rendering, the Liberty has a design that's different from other flying car prototypes.  It looks like a helicopter.  And, in fact, there's a center mounted rotor blade on top.  The big deal is that it's production ready.  All it awaits is full certification, which it expects in 2019.  The company says it will start delivering