MONACO (AP) – It may not be quite like the Jetsons, but for a few hundred thousand dollars you too can soon fly around in a car.
A Slovakian company called AeroMobil unveiled on Thursday its version of a flying car, a light frame plane whose wings can fold back, like an insect, and is boosted by a hybrid engine and rear propeller.
It will be available to preorder as soon as this year but is not for everyone: besides the big price tag, you’d need a pilot’s license to be able to use it in the air.
“I think it’s going to be a very niche product,” said Philip Mawby, professor of electronic engineering and head of research at the University of Warwick.
Several companies are working on flying cars, either like Aeromobil’s two-seater that needs a runway, or others that function more like helicopters, lifting off vertically. But not many companies are seriously looking at marketing these vehicles anytime soon, Mawby said.