So many companies are participating in the race to make the world’s first commercially available flying car that it is hard to keep track of all of them. We see the competition heating up at all motor shows. However, the Geneva Motor Show saw the final production version of the PAL-V.
The PAL-V Liberty is claimed to be the world’s first production-ready flying car and the company says it is working on the final certification process for the tilting, two-seat, three-wheel gyrocopter to become legal for flight. The specs are all finalized and the limited edition PAL-V Pioneer costs a staggering $600,000. The subsequent Liberty Sports edition costs $400,000. Only 90 Pioneer editions will be made and non-refundable deposits of $25,000 are now being submitted to secure one. Similar $10,000 deposits are being submitted for the sports edition.
You can drive the PAL-V if you have a drivers licence. However, if you wish to fly the vehicle, then you need to have a full pilot’s licence and the cost of obtaining the license is included in the price tag. It is still not sure whether existing pilots will get a discount.
Once given the all-clear by pilots who understand the safety issues and the mechanics of the vehicle, the two-seat PAL-V Liberty will have a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 910 kg and a maximum fuel capacity of 100 litres. It can operate at a maximum altitude of 3,500 m and has a range of 500 km and a top speed of 180 km/h. The Liberty requires 330 meters to take off and 30 meters to land.
In the road mode, the PAL-V Liberty is a tilting three-wheeler and is a lot of fun. It has a 99 hp engine that can make it achieve the top speed of 160 km/h. From this, we can safely say that flying cars might no longer be a dream and we might soon be seeing them flying across the skies.
