After the show, the final certification process will be completed to make it legal.
It’s been a long process to create a flying car that is honest to goodness. The design is essentially an airplane with removable wings in almost all cases. However, Dutch manufacturer PalV has a different approach with their Liberty, which will officially debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
The Liberty is technically an autogyro. It uses unpowered helicopter wings to fly. A pusher prop propels the propeller forward, keeping airflow above the spinning rotor. The Liberty is brought to the ground by the three-wheeled undercarriage that retracts while the rotor blades fold back. The process takes between five to ten minutes and is not as easy as pressing a button. The Liberty can be converted to car mode and is small enough to fit on regular roads. It can also park in normal garages.
PalV claims that the Liberty can fly at speeds of 30 mph (50 km/h), or as fast as a speed of 112 mph (180-km/h). The Pal-V website describes the Liberty as a sports car. However, we think the three-wheeled design and skinny tires could make it a little less sporty. We don’t know the vehicle’s performance, and therefore we are not able to tell what its ground speed is.
However, we do know that the aircraft is designed to be used as both an airplane and car in the U.S.A. and Europe. To fly the Liberty, you will need a pilot’s licence and the necessary training. This is much more complicated than getting a driver’s license. It must pass all final certification requirements to be legal, even though it has been designed to meet these requirements. Pal-V says that this process will start after the Geneva show.
We are hoping that the Liberty is selected. Although it may not be the sci-fi flying vehicle of our dreams, the Liberty seems to be a worthy machine capable of fulfilling both of these functions quite well. It would also be embarrassing for the Liberty to be officially introduced as the first flying car production model and then not be certified. First deliveries will start next year if all goes according to plan. The starting price is $399,000.