The car/plane delayed

Posted at 11:09 AM on January 23, 2013 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Aviation

When last we touched on the airplane you can drive like a car -- or the car you can fly like an airplane -- it had undergone its initial flight testing and people were warming to the possibility that it would soon be on the market. That was last summer, two years after its prototype flew.

Now, AvWeb reports, its back to the drawing board, suggesting the company continues to find things it doesn't like about the concept. That's something considered normal in aviation but it's particularly sensitive with this type of concept. A car that flies (or an airplane that drives) is by definition a series of compromises between two vehicles. Tinkering with one characteristic introduces more compromises to the other. And the company has a challenge to do this without alienating the people who might buy it.

But the company continues to crank out interesting videos:

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Comments (3)

For the time being, do private plane owners ever take bikes along?

Posted by Jim Hartmann | January 23, 2013 2:00 PM

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Sure. Folding bikes. they're ridiculously expense. I've been looking for one that doesn't cost an arm and leg. But the ones I've seen are over $1,000 each.

Posted by Bob Collins | January 23, 2013 2:02 PM

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Here's another option - the seed of an idea anyway: Do it yourself gull wing doors.

Posted by Jim Hartmann | January 23, 2013 2:22 PM

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