Dutch flying car PAL-V Liberty to take high flight in Dubai

The Dutch ‘flying car’ will take a high flight in Dubai, where local business aviation company Aviterra has ordered a fleet of a hundred PAL-V Liberty aircraft. Loggia Investment, the investment arm of Aviterra, has made a strategic investment in PAL-V as one of the 220 contributors to the startup and established partnerships for the Middle East and Africa region.

According to Aviterra’s General Manager, Mouhanad Wadaa, PAL-V is the only player that combines flying and driving into one vehicle. “No other player in the market offers this combination and can realistically deliver the vehicles in the near future,” he adds.

Not allowed to fly yet

But although the PAL-V Liberty has been homologated to be driven as a car since 2021 by the Dutch traffic agency RDW, it still has to earn its ‘wings,’ the license from the  European Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, to be able to fly. Eventually, PAL-V aimed to get that license by 2021, but now, 2025 is the expected date.

PAL-V’s CEO and Founder, Robert Dingemanse, will not confirm this and will keep his cards close to his chest. “In the coming months, we have more updates on development and certification successes,” he says in the press release.

The Dubai business aviation company has not disclosed how much it is paying for the 100 PAL-V Liberties. But so far, the company has always said a low-spec Sports Edition will cost €299,000 ($323,000), and the standard vehicle with all options included, €420,000 ($553,400).

500 km flying range

The PAL-V Liberty can drive up to 160 km/h as a car or fly up to 500 km with a maximum speed of 180 km/h. It’s a ‘gyroplane’ for two people running on three wheels and has a folding rotor blade capable of flying up to 3,500 m altitude.

Contrary to a helicopter or a VTOL drone, it can not take off or land vertically but needs a short 180 m to 330 m ‘runway’ – tarmac or grass – to take off and 30 m of landing roll distance. But to fly, a driver’s license won’t be enough; you’ll need a pilot’s license too.

Not bigger than a compact car

The fly-drive vehicle weighs 664 kg and can accommodate two people and 20 kg of luggage. Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is 910 kg. It uses a 100 hp combustion engine for driving and a second 200 hp engine for flying on regular Euro 95 and Euro 98 gasoline with a 100 l fuel tank. It consumes 7.6 l/100 km on the ground and 26 liter/hour in the air.

As a car, it is not bigger than a small compact, with its 4 m length, 2 m width, and 1.7 m height. It is 6.1 m long, 2 m wide, and  3.2 m high in flying mode. The rotor has a diameter of 10.5 m. When the engine should fail, it functions like a giant parachute like for a helicopter, letting the plane hover to the ground safely.