Flying car comes to Aviodrome Aviation Museum

Visitors can see the world's first certified flying car, the PAL-V Liberty, at Aviodrome on Sunday, May 8. The PAL-V stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, and this name says exactly what it is: a car and airplane in one.

The vehicle is a combination of a three-wheeler and the Gyroplane. On the roof is a folding rotor system based on the principle of the gyroplane. Unlike a helicopter, only the tail rotor is powered by a motor. The main rotor rotates only by passing air, which thereby creates lifting power.

At the museum, the exhibition is divided into time zones. Nance van den Dungen, Project Coordinator of Exhibitions and Events, informs, "In the museum we focus not only on the past and the present, but also on the future. This flying car can therefore already be seen in the future section on a large image and with moving pictures. It is therefore extra special that the physical vehicle will be on display with us on Sunday."

Full vehicle
It is a full-fledged car with gears, throttle, brake and clutch and also has all the technologies needed to fly. It is light and compact and can quickly transform from a car to a gyroplane. The PAL-V runs on Euro-95 gasoline and on a full tank it can fly four hundred to five hundred kilometers. The developed navigation system helps the driver decide which part to spend on the road and which route to fly. As much as possible is aimed at the air, since that is the fastest way of locomotion.

There are already twenty-three takeoff and landing sites in the Netherlands where they will soon be able to take off and land, and in the rest of Europe there are even more than ten thousand landing options to choose from. More locations will be added in the future. Because the vehicle is a gyroopter in the air, it may use existing aviation laws. When crowded in the sky, the driver can use the Corridor in the Sky system, a kind of virtual highway in the sky. The vehicle does not interfere with commercial aviation as it flies about five hundred meters high.

Flight Training
Driving the vehicle requires both a driver's license and a pilot's license. Breda International Airport is the place where training is provided. Together with Breda Aviation, the airport has started a FlyDrive Academy. Here the first lessons are given to buyers so they can prepare for the arrival before the delivery of their PAL-V.

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