Mankind's primordial dream of flight is taking off with a twist as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings.
Inspired by books about flying by French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein has been honing his flying machine since the early 1990s.
"I got the idea to start working on a vehicle of the future at university, but honestly, who hasn't dreamt of flying while being stuck in the traffic?" he said.
"Flying's in my blood - my grandfather and my father flew ultralight aircrafts and I got my pilot's licence before I was old enough to drive a car," said Klein, who has designed cars for BMW, Volkswagen and Audi and now teaches at the Bratislava-based Academy of Fine Arts and Design.
His six-metre vehicle for two fits neatly in a parking space or a garage. But once it reaches an airport it can unfold its wings within seconds.
"So far there have been about 20 attempts to manufacture a flying car around the globe," the president of the Slovak Ultra Light Aviation Federation, Milan Ciba, told AFP.
"Among them, Aeromobil appears very viable."
Other models include the US-based Terrafugia's "Transition" flying car expected to be launched within a year, while the helicopter-type Dutch PAL-V gyrocopter could go on sale this year.
Klein's dream took to the skies in September when he piloted the Aeromobil during its first wobbly test flight.
Once airborne, it can reach a top speed of 200km/h and travel as far as 700 kilometres, consuming 15 litres of petrol an hour.
Klein and his team are now working on the next generation of Aeromobil that will go into production in a few months and hopefully receive Slovak Ultra Light Aircraft Certification (SFUL).
"Pilot/drivers will need to have both a driver's and pilot's licence with at least 25 flying hours," Ciba said.
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