Road-Legal Car and Vehicles that Can Fly as Paragliders or Light-Sports Aircrafts

Small, maneuverable vehicles or compact cars that can take off from almost any paved surface, sand or glass strip, sounds like a futuristic dream of every city residents.

We are all tired from endless traffic jams and nowadays some enthusiasts are trying to turn such dream into a reality by making light-sports aircrafts that can be legally used on public roads.

SkyRunner

While some automotive and aviation engineers have given up on the idea of creating readable aircrafts, companies such as Skyrunner are trying to develop their elite powersport aircrafts, which look like the futuristic concepts of flying cars.

SkyRunner is a combination of a buggy and a paraglider, which can travel both on land and in the air.

While not many people are ready for the advent of flying vehicle industry, SkyRunner is expected to be used for extreme travel, various outdoor activities, off-road driving and tours from a bird's eye view.

The power that enables SkyRunner to overcome various obstacles on the road, as well as easily soar into the sky, is provided by a 115 hp Rotax 914 UL powerplant.

On the road, this powerplant produces enough power to push this 2-seater vehicle from 0 to 62 miles per hour in just 4.3 seconds and to the maximum speed of 70 miles per hour. But when in the paraglider mode, the top speed in limited to 40 miles per hour, at a regulated altitude of up to 10,000 feet.

SkyRunner uses one full 14.5 gallon fuel tank SkyRunner to cover up to 240 miles on the road or 120 nm in the air.

The transformation from a car into a flying aircraft of Skyrunner takes just three minutes. Moreover, this roadable vehicle doesn’t require an airport’s landing strip to take off, it can do so from a regular paved surface, a highway or a beach.

Terrafugia Transition

Thanks to the compact body that can seat two passengers comfortably, folding-wing technology and an engine that use premium unleaded automotive gasoline, Terrafugia Transition won’t be much different from any other cars on the road.

But unlike other vehicles out there, it can be transformed into a compact airplane in under a minute, has a professional avionics system, an airframe parachute, an optional autopilot and the capability of traveling for over 400 miles at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

But, when Transition is not flying in the sky, the driver can safely use it on the road at at highway speeds and rely on a full suite of automotive safety features, including airbags, pre-tensioning load-limiting seatbelts, safety cage, and more.

After the first prototype test in 2009, the Transition can be easily called Terrafugia’s first combined flying/driving vehicle.

Terrafugia has now released an even more ambitious model, which is called TF-X. You can read more about it here: www.presentingfacts.com/2016/09/10-best-compact-aircrafts.html.

Switchblade

Switchblade is a three-wheeled road-legal aircraft that may be used for travelling on the road and in the sky, at speeds up to 200 miles per hour and altitudes to 10,000 feet.

The developers left room for customization and improvements, depending on your needs and final flying destination: the list of winter options includes heated pitot tube, re-locatable ski racks, de-ice feature and heated seats.

But when the heat is your enemy, you can modify the Switchblade to have large-capacity radiators.

Maverick LSA

When stuck in a traffic jam a thought of having a personal means of air transport has crossed the main of many people. But, while many of us just forget about this idea, whenever the jam gets cleared up, there are enthusiasts, who decided to turn it into reality and make a vehicle, that would be both suitable for road and air travel.

In the United States a company called Maverick is ready to start selling a vehicle that can both drive on public roads, and soar into the sky. The prototype versions are ready and the creators have already got a green light from the US Federal Aviation Administration by obtaining a special certificate.

Equipped with a 190 horsepower, 2.5-liter engine, Maverick LSA is pretty quick for both a car and an airplane. On the road it can reach the speed of 62 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds and accelerate onwards to the top speed of 100 miles per hour.

In order to soar into the sky, this odd vehicle needs about 300 feet of free road space. Speaking of the air travel, the Maverick travels less vigorously, while doing a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour but, on the other hand, you can enjoy the views from up to 1000 feet.