With urban air mobility currently flavour of the month, Dutch developer PAL-V hopes to capitalise on the trend by unveiling a limited edition of its Liberty flying car.
Revealed at the Geneva International Motor Show, the Liberty Pioneer features a striking orange-and-black livery and a stylish interior. It is also equipped with a dual-control cockpit, electronic flight instruments, and a "full" carbon package, PAL-V says. Production will be limited to 90 units.
Deliveries of the gyrocopter-based Liberty will begin in 2020, which, the company claims, will be the first production flying car.
The Rotax piston-engined, two-seater tricycle was unveiled at the 2018 Geneva motor show and was also displayed at last year's Farnborough air show.
PAL-V
A prototype has been conducint tests since 2012, with flight trials having taken place at Gilze-Rijen air base in the Netherlands.
PAL-V told FlightGlobal at Farnborough that flight tests of a production-conforming model were scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2019. Around 150h of trials will be required to gain European Aviation Safety Agency small rotorcraft certification.
PAL-V
Chief engineer Mike Stekelenburg says: "The gyroplane principle not only provides us with a safe and easy-to-operate flying car but it also enables us to make it compact and within existing regulations, which is the most important factor to build a useable flying car."
By mid-2018, the Raamsdonksveer-based company had received orders for around 50 units.
PAL-V
Source: FlightGlobal.com
