Netherlands: After beginning flying and driving tests in 2012, Dutch firm Pal-V now says its "Liberty" flying car has been approved for use on roads in the European Union.
CEO and founder Robert Dingemanse says it has been a long, difficult journey to adapt the folded aircraft to pass all road admission requirements.
Certification included brake and emission tests to noise pollution testing.
"Roads and air regulations, they have never been built together to apply to one vehicle," he says.
"So, making this jigsaw puzzle where you can fit both regulations is a very, very big puzzle, which in the end ends up with about 5,000 requirements."
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As mobility firms including Uber experiment with airborne travel, Pal-V is taking a slightly more traditional approach.
Liberty claims to drive at up to 160 kilometres per-hour, fly up to 180 kilometres per hour and can fly about 500 kilometres (310 miles) on a single tank of fuel.
Land it, and the rotor and propeller fold away, the tail retracts, and it's ready to drive.
Switching from road to aircraft mode takes about ten minutes, including performing the necessary checks, the company says.
"The segment where you combine flying and driving is very important in these applications. We are the first in that and there is more to follow," says Dingemanse.
Of course, the vehicle won't be for everyone.
Dingemanse says the first 90 limited edition versions will be priced at around 500,000 euros when they begin shipping in 2022. After that, standard versions will start from about 400,000 euros.
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is one of the company's early customers.
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Dingemanse won't disclose how many orders they've received but says they have enough to keep their small factory in the Netherlands busy for about two-and-a-half years.
"To give you a feel, already in the Netherlands, which is a small country and we don't have a lot of airstrips. We have already a reservation book of over 30 pieces, which we had never expected," he says.
And Dingemanse says demand doesn't appear to have waned amid the coronavirus pandemic. Quite the opposite says the CEO.
"We see an increase in interest and demand due to COVID because, with a PAL-V, you can travel two of you being one party without any infection risk, which is very compelling to people at the moment," he says.
Analysts say it will take years for regulations to catch up with some aircraft makers' imaginations. But Pal-V is taking a "sensible, low-risk route".
"They're certainly pushing the boundaries, and they've taken what I regard as the sensible, low-risk route to getting a regulatory certification," says aviation safety researcher David Gleave.
"How the others are going to do it, well, that's going to be a fascinating story in itself.
"We've already seen lots of other companies rise and disappear as well in the sort of the drone game rather than this as a practical flying and driving vehicle."
Pal-V is now hoping to achieve aviation certification with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), a process started in 2015.
The firm hopes to obtain this in time to begin the first deliveries in 2022.
AP
