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 (Spark Design Engineering) One proposed solution to the size problem is the motorcycle-like Personal Land and Air Vehicle, or PAL-V, shown here. The slim three-wheeler packs away a rotor and propeller until it is ready to fly
Motorcycle-Gyrocopter Hybrid Under Development
NOVEMBER 17, 2009John Roach, MSNBCSize is one of the primary obstacles to a successful flying car, noted Brown of RoadableTimes.com. Street-legal vehicles can be no wider than 8.5 feet. The problem is that "aerodynamics works in such a way that the wider the wings, the more efficient the wings."One proposed solution is the motorcycle-like Personal Land and Air Vehicle, or PAL-V, shown here. The slim three-wheeler packs away a rotor and propeller until it is ready to fly. The gyrocopter flight mechanism, which is similar to a helicopter, can take it up to 4,000 feet. It is being developed by Dutch entrepreneur John Bakker and Spark Design Engineering.
© 2009 msnbc.com
Reproduced with permission of MSNBC, from The reality of flying cars: These six designs might soon help you soar over traffic jams by John Roach, November 2009; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
You can read this story in its original location at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27424914/
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