The Dutch ‘flying car’ PAL-V Liberty, currently undergoing an extensive test program to prepare for serial production and homologation for Europe next year, has seduced Austrian aviation specialist Primus Aero to buy the first five of a whole fleet of them for its mobile service teams. At what price wasn’t unveiled.

The PAL-V Liberty can drive up to 160 km/h as a car or fly up to 400 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 to fly 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’ itself 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, 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. In flying mode is 6.1 m long, 2 m wide, and  3.2 m high. 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.

Toy for the rich?

With prices starting at 300 000 euros, it might look like a toy for the rich, but the company rather believes in professional applications that are estimated to become 60% of sales in the future. “We’ve had pre-orders on almost all countries, spread over 16 different countries. In the Netherlands alone, we already have 80 pre-orders,” says PAL-V Marketing Director Joris Wolters.

“Lately, we’ve seen an increase of professional companies putting in pre-orders. Combining being able to drive and fly with one vehicle offers unique values.” For Austrian Primus Aero, an independent provider of technical aircraft management services with a mobile team of engineers, among others, this flying car seems to be an ideal service vehicle.

Stephan Krainer, CEO and Founder, says he doesn’t want his (expensive) high-tech staff to lose time getting stuck in traffic jams or driving over winding Austrian mountain roads to an airport where a jet needs servicing.

Time-saving machine

“The PAL-V is a time-saving machine for us. Our staff consists of highly trained and qualified experts with decent incomes. Having them stuck in traffic jams is a very inefficient use of their time. By incorporating PAL-Vs into our operations, we will save time and money by reducing unproductive times,” Krainer says.

“By using the PAL-V to fly one of our maintenance personnel to the destination and giving them the flexibility to use the PAL-V as a service car when landed, we can greatly reduce the downtime of our client’s aircraft.”

European certification

But starting to fly won’t be any sooner than somewhere half of 2024 at best, as it takes more than 2 000 required tests to have the car certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for flying. That’s important as the EASA-type certificate is valid for Europe and accepted in 80% of the world market, including the US and China.

According to the founder and CEO of PAL-V in Raamdonksveer (Netherlands), Robert Dingemanse, that’s a tour de force for a small Dutch startup. Certifying a new plane costs Airbus easily ten years or more, he says.

“The sign-off of 1 500 requirements already in 2012, before starting manned test flights, was the beginning,” says Cees Borsboom, PAL-V Head of Airworthiness. “The development of the requirements started in 2009.”

“More than 10 years of analysis, test data, flight tests, and drive tests led to this important milestone. In parallel, we already started compliance demonstration to obtain the type certificate, which will be followed by delivery of vehicles to our customers.”