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Many motorists stuck in traffic jams might wish they were James Bond. The fictional secret agent hero would surely just pull a mini-helicopter out of his car trunk to beat the jam.
Mathias Klug, an aircraft instructor from a small town in western Germany, doesn't quite have Bond's resources, but he is a step nearer than most - he has developed the only vehicle in Europe to gain a road as well as an aircraft licence. 
In technical terms it's called a hybrid plane, but its inventor simply calls it his flying car. For the Skyline Event Ground Tracking System flies like a conventional ultra-light aircraft and drives almost like a normal car.
The machine was conceived mainly for ultra-light aircraft pilots in Germany who want to remain mobile even when they have reached their flight destination. With just a few adjustments, they can remove the light, 11.5 metre wings from the two-seater plane and start their reconnaissance trip by land. Later, they simply return to the airstrip, stick the wings back in their sockets and within a few minutes they are ready for take-off again. Klug and his mechanic Peter Weyer used an ultra-light plane powered by its weight as the technical basis for the Skyline Event. This aircraft already has the basic requirements for road use because an ultra-light can move from the aircraft hangar to the take-off strip under its own steam. But a great many changes had to be made before the flying machine could take to the open road. The plastic material body work was reshaped and widened, the controls were expanded and the undercarriage adjusted for the new tasks. The Germany road vehicle testing authority and the licensing authority also demanded front headlamps, indicators and rear lamps, as well as a stable framework and a stronger braking system. They were also unhappy about the large propeller on the tail. Klug therefore put a protective cover over the rotor blades and considered some alternatives. He chose a scooter engine with a back-wheel drive. It has only 8 HP, but is still big enough for the plane, which weighs less than 200 kilos. With this engine, the Skyline Event can reach a speed of 50 km per hour on the ground. If you turn the tail switch to the air traffic mode, the two-cylinder, two-stroke engine achieves 64 HP, making it possible to reach an air speed of 129 kmph. After the road vehicle testing authority and the German transport ministry had given the green light, the ultra-light also passed its individual inspection. In August this year, it finally received its official stamp from the licensing authority. All a driver needs to take it on the open road is an ordinary private car driving licence and a helmet, although no safety belt is necessary. To take it in the air, you need an ultra-light pilot's licence, which can be obtained after a six-month training period. Klug and the Skyline Event will only go into serial production if he receives at least 10 orders. It would cost around DM 90,000 (around $ 50,850), which is not a vast sum considering a normal ultra-light plane costs between DM 50,000 and 100,000 ($ 28,250 and $ 56,500). After all, it offers customers a car and a plane rolled into one. - Deutsche Presse-Agentur |
| OTHER ARTICLES OF ASI JULY'98 ISSUE | News In Brief | Letters To The Editor | World Records | | Surface To Air | | Flying For The Tasman Trophy | | Got A Little Arm Pain ? | | Champagne Soaring | | Otherton International |  More articles on Microlight
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