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submitted 8 months ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/europe@feddit.de

Powered by a BMW engine and normal fuel, the AirCar flew for 35 minutes between two Slovakian airports in 2021, using runways for take-off and landing.

It took just over two minutes to transform from a car into an aircraft.

Now vehicles made based on its design will be used within a "specific geographical region" of China.

Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology Company, headquartered in Cangzhou, has purchased exclusive rights to manufacture and use AirCar aircraft inside an undisclosed area.

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[-] EddoWagt@feddit.nl 8 points 8 months ago

Helicopters have been around for much longer than that, as early as 1906 apparently. The first mass produced helicopter was the Sikorsky R-4, introduced in 1943

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

Apparently the first passenger helicopter service was in 1950, so I was out by 20 years. It's a bit of a grey area when they switched from "weapon of war" to "flying taxi", but it would be somewhere around the 40s.

I still find it insane that the helicopter was invented only 20 years after the car.

[-] EddoWagt@feddit.nl 1 points 8 months ago

Well DaVinci already toyed with the idea (which didn't work obviously), so the idea is much older. It's still impressive indeed how soon we got working helicopters

this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2024
98 points (92.2% liked)

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