It seems that the dream to have personal air transportation for trips is close to reality. Anyway, a flying quad bike will become one of the expected premiers of the current motor show in Paris. Many people will surely want to have such a vehicle in their own garage.
At the upcoming Paris Airshow, the European Neva Aerospace Consortium will present a new concept of the personal VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. It is planned that this device, which has received the preliminary name AirQuadOne, will become a fully electric vehicle that can reach the maximum height of 3,000 feet (914 m) and will fly at the maximum speed of 80 km/h. One battery charge is enough for 20-30 minutes of flight.
The weight of the battery will be about 100 kg (with the total weight of the air vehicle reaching 500 kg). According to the developers, it will be possible to charge the battery at standard stations for recharging electric cars. Besides, the owner will be able to simply remove the used battery and replace it with a new, fully charged one.
It is planned to launch both manned and unmanned versions of AirQuadOne, each of which will be able to take almost 100 kg onboard. There may also be a half-electric hybrid model that will have a flight time of about one hour. All models will be equipped with a body made of recycled carbon fiber.
Neva Aerospace is currently developing rotary electric turbofans that will be used to create traction. The company believes that the flying quad will be classified as light aircraft in the US and the European Union. One of the key ideas of the concept will be that its pilot will have constant support for managing the movement during the flight, along with the connection to emergency satellite communications.
At present, there is no information about the date when the first functioning prototype will appear.
