Cool Stuff

It doesn't transform into action toys, but the proposed SkyCruiser will transform from a car on the ground to a helicopter and a fixed wing airplane in mid-air.

Many flying car designs already in the marketplace mean you have to drive to the airport to take off. But due to SkyCruiser's vertical takeoff and landing capability, it will be able to take off from just about any reasonably open space.

Klossblade Aerospace Systems says its 5-seat electric hybrid aircraft includes four switchblade rotor arms with eight blades that fold out from the fuselage, allowing for vertical takeoffs and landings. Its electric motors deliver thrust, and once airborne, its switchblade rotors fold back into the vehicle's fuselage, so the vehicle again resembles and flies like a fixed wing airplane.

The switchblade rotor arrangement allows the SkyCruiser to hover and land in small areas while maintaining the aerodynamics of a conventional airplane, Gizmag reports. In addition, its electric motors – backed up by a 400 bhp internal combustion engine hooked to a 360 bhp generator feeding into 12 kW battery – provide for greater range and reliability. 

The company says its vehicle will enable travelers to travel directly from point A to point B, instead of going from point A to an airport in a car, and then from the landing airport to point B in a car. "Rather than spending three to four hours going from LA to San Francisco, for example, SkyCruiser takes you directly to your destination, point to point, in just a little over 1 hour." 

If Krossblade can bring it to market, SkyCruiser could be the flying car for people who don't have a pilot's license, Popular Mechanics reports, because of its autonomous technology. The company says it would have a cruising speed of 314 mph, a stall speed of 100 mph fixed-wing mode, and be able to carry 1,003 pounds of payload. 

SkyCruiser is expected to cost about $350,000 if it goes into mass production.

Though it is still very much in the concept phase, the company is already working on its smaller SkyProwler, a drone with the same VTOL capability. In March, the company raised more than $200,000 — more than twice the amount it hoped to raise — in a Kickstarter campaign to help fund development.

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Representatives of drone associations, research institutes, and universities; drone enthusiasts; and those curious about the growing drone industry gathered June 14 at the UAS Academy near Warrenton, Virginia, for RoboFest 2015.

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Source: Cool Stuff