Flying Car Takes Music Celeb for a Ride; First Passenger

The Klein Vision flying car took its first passenger for a ride.

French composer, performer and record producer Jean-Michel Jarre took to the skies in the AirCar by KleinVision.

The musician flew in two separate flights at Piestany International Airport, Slovakia, flying at 2,500 feet with Stefan Klein, chairman of Klein Vision.

"From dreams to reality, we have taken flight together with Jean-Michel, opening a new era of transportation with a touch of magic," said Klein.

The Slovak Transportation Authority had certified the AirCar for flight and the car-aircraft vehicle has demonstrated more than 500 takeoffs and landings, according to the company.

The flying car has retractable wings, folding tail surfaces and a parachute deployment system.

In car mode, the tail folds in, making the car smaller than the flying version.

"It is like being in a Jules Verne book, but for real,” said Jean-Michel Jarre. “One second you speak to the driver, and next, you are up there in the air, an amazing experience." 

The rights to produce the flying car in China were recently sold by KleinVison to Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology in China.

This licensing agreement gives the Chinese company exclusive rights to manufacture and

distribute the flying cars with KleinVision’s technology.

Related:Flying Sports Car Takes Test Flight; A $170,000 Vehicle

The first flight of a prototype of AirCar was conducted at Nitra Airport in 2019.

The AirCar prototype was introduced to the general public the following month in Shanghai, China.

The AirCar is not the only flying car under development.

Samson Sky, the maker of the high-performance Switchblade “flying sports car,” was granted a patent for its wing-swing design by the European Union, bringing the number of patents to six for the Oregon company.

To fly the switchblade, the wings swing out and the tail extends in fewer than three minutes for takeoff from a local airport, according to the company. It can travel at speeds up to 200 mph and up to 13,000 feet and requires a landing distance of 700 feet.

The prototype test vehicle has been flown at an altitude of 500 feet for nearly six minutes before landing.

And Alef Aeronautics has received several thousand pre-orders for its electric aerial vehicle (EAV) flying car.

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