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Roadblocks
in the Sky
Most industry insiders will tell you technology is the
smallest of the hurdles facing our flying-car future. After
all, roadable aircraft and even advanced eVTOL prototypes
are already testing in the air. But bringing that technology
to market as a viable transportation option—with reliable
hardware, infrastructure, rules, air-traffic management,
and safety standards in place? The barriers are daunting.
Then again, today’s commercial aviation system started
from zero just more than a century ago. There’s no reason
to believe an entirely new transportation mode couldn’t be
developed—at least given enough time and money. To name
just one company, Boeing will move into a new Aerospace
and Autonomy Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by
2020; the facility will be tasked with helping define the
next century of air mobility.for around 23 minutes. A two-passenger 216 model is also
under development.
Dutch maker PAL-V’s Liberty is closer to a roadable air-
craft than an eVTOL vehicle, but it takes a slightly different
form. The Liberty is a gyroplane. Like the Switchblade and
AeroMobil 4.0, it will require a pilot’s license to fly—but
it doesn’t have wings. For lift, the Liberty uses blades like
a helicopter, except the blades are powered only by wind.
The twin Rotax engines that propel the Liberty forward
via a rear propeller provide the airflow to keep the para-
chute-like overhead blades constantly spinning. If both
engines fail, the gyrocopter simply glides down for a short-
field landing. To switch to road mode, the blades and tail
section fold up against the bodywork in about 15 minutes.
PAL-V hopes to begin European deliveries in 2020.EASY GLIDER
Unlike EHang’s 184 (above),
the lifting rotors on PAL-V’s
Liberty gyrocopter (below)
are unpowered and simply
spin in the breeze.