MOTORING NEWS - With another big hitter showing an interest in flying cars, serious developments in the sector could be on the way.
Early flying car projects consisted of sticking a pair of wings on a regular car, flooring the gas and hoping for the best, much like the earliest flight pioneers.
Now, startups, car makers, and aircraft manufacturers are pouring money into a multitude of ambitious projects aimed at creating a viable flying automobile that could one day transform the way we move across town.
Following in the footsteps of Uber and Airbus, as well as lesser known firms such as AeroMobil, Terrafugia, PAL-V and SkyRunner, automotive giant Toyota has recently demonstrated that it also fancies the idea of a car you can fly to the office.
The Japanese company has just provided funding of 40-million yen (about R4,9-million) to Cartivator, a local group of enthusiastic volunteers who have spent the last few years developing a flying vehicle.
"We'd already approached Toyota several times, so we were very happy that we finally made it," Cartivator's Ryutaro Mori told the science web site Digital Trends, adding that the car company's investment will mainly go toward the purchase of parts and components for their three-wheel flying vehicle, called Skydrive.
The final version is expected to measure about 2,9 by 1,3m and carry one passenger at a time. Mori describes it as "the world's smallest flying car that will help people take off and land anywhere". The 30-strong team plans to carry out the first manned test flight as early as next year.
The vertical take-off and landing vehicle uses drone technology to get off the ground. It has a projected flight-speed maximum of 100km and is likely to travel at about 10 meters above the action when flying. Otherwise it could be driven normally on terra firma.
Up to now, Cartivator has been relying on crowd funding efforts to drive its project. Toyota's interest represents a major boost for the team seeking to commercialise a flying car within three years. They hope to use it to light the Olympic flame at the opening of the Tokyo Games in 2020 - a feat worthy of a gold medal if they can pull it off.
Source: www.digitaltrends.com
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