May 8, 2012

PAL-V, Not Quite the Jetsons




The Pal-V, which stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, is actually more of a driving autogyro than a flying car, but it can drive like a car, and it can also fly.
An autogyro is an old idea--it uses an unpowered rotor on the top of the vehicle, but it's not like a helicopter, which generates lift by blasting air downwards with it. Instead, power is provided by a smaller propellor at the rear, and the top rotor is used for pitch and yaw, more like a glider. (That also means if your power goes out, you can glide slowly to the ground.) The Pal-V, a small, one-person autogyro that also drives sort of like a three-wheeled motorcycle, leaning into turns, just completed its first flight.

4 comments:

  1. I'll wait for the real flying car, and Rosie the robot.

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  2. Neat, but I don't need one!!!!

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  3. 2014 -- I'll still be here. I would so much love to have one of these. Ah well...

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  4. I want one. Very cool. I LOVED the JETSONS.

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