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Liberty PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle)

Could not any existing thread about this roadable gyroplane.

http://pal-v.com

It has achieved road certification. I remember Terrafugia saying it was harder to get their flying car / roadable plane certified for road than LSA ‘certified’

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/10/liberty-flying-car-cleared-for-road-use-talks-ongoing-for-aviation-permit/

At that price, I would take a six-seater plane for the entire family and still have money for lots of taxi trips to and from airports…

EHLE, Netherlands

Interesting - but:

- The driving videos are showing a quite different design than the flying videos. Do they really have a model that can actually drive and fly? Given the professional looks of their entire presentation, I can’t believe in a coincidence that their footage is actually showing to different designs…
- MTOW is 910kg according to website. Which class would this gyrocopter be certified in?
- Usefull load is only 246 kg. With 20kg of stuff and gear and another 50kg of fuel that is really a one seater.
- 140km/h economy cruise speed is not really fast – esp. given a 400km max range). There are not many missions, where taking the detour to the takeoff airport and from the landing airport to the actual destination will be compensated by taking the direct rout in air compared to just driving by car.

It’s a little bit like the Icon Floatplane: Looks great and has a clear “Want to have” factor – but the actual use case is very limited and given the price many potential customers will rather take a more rational choice …

Germany

Agree with Malibuflyer. It’s more of a gadget than a vehicle that has utility. Fun though!

I guess there is no way around the old observation that any flying car or roadable aircraft will just have too many compromises in its design, making it a bad/average aircraft and a bad/average car. I guess it’s a bit like crossing animal types. Biologically possible in some cases, but does it really bring some wonder animal?

Another thing which may be limiting the fun is the connection between air-side and the public road. Imagine the fields you go to. Easy?

Last Edited by aart at 30 Oct 15:48
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

Malibuflyer wrote:

The driving videos are showing a quite different design than the flying videos.

I thought so too. But this video actually shows the transformation.



So it probably is the one which is airworthy too. In any case, it’s not that different than the one seater flying prototype they had.

I have to admit it is cool. Yes. But.

It was developed on the wrong continent or at least, it will be massively hampered by regulation.

What is cool about this thing? It’s a car which can fly.

But can I start from my home garage, find the next suitable staight patch of road and go fly?

Not in most of Europe I know about you can’t. Not in Switzerland, certainly not in Germany where airplanes may only take off and land at airports.

That alone kills the whole concept for me.

If I have a car which can fly, I want to transition anywhere. Oh, there is a traffric jam? Lets pull over, extend the rotor and go? That is what the appeal of such a device is.

If I could do that, heck yea! come to think of it, what I’ve seen in Bulgaria, it might actually work there of sorts… lots of farm strips, lots of country roads where nobody cares what the heck you are up to and so on… Central Europe? I doubt it. Too many envy brigade neighbours who will take the pi$$ out of anything like this.

Last Edited by Mooney_Driver at 30 Oct 20:10
LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

I believe the UK also allows takeoff and landing anywhere with land user’s (owner or tenant, respectively) permission?

ELLX

Yes it does.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

Yes it does.

regularly or limited to a certain number?

So you could actually buy one of those and take off from a field near your house or from your own land if large enough every day without getting in trouble with planning boards or neighbours? If that is so, that would be great for more than one reason. But somehow I doubt it is like this. Otherwise the UK would be full of private helicopters I suppose.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Mooney_Driver wrote:

regularly or limited to a certain number?

So you could actually buy one of those and take off from a field near your house or from your own land if large enough every day without getting in trouble with planning boards or neighbours? If that is so, that would be great for more than one reason. But somehow I doubt it is like this. Otherwise the UK would be full of private helicopters I suppose.

I believe less than 28 days per year. If you need more, then it gets complicated.

EGTR

Yes. A search on the “28 day rule” – example – finds plenty of material. This means you can operate only every ~2 weeks, which is usually useless. You can exceed this, but then you lose legal protection if the neighbours/etc complain.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I’m always worried about the condition of my modest Cessna, when I leave it parked at an airport (though it’s only been hit three times in 30 years), I sure would be extremely nervous to take my eyes of a delicate and vulnerable flying car when I leave at the car park and go to buy groceries. The slightest ding, and at best, I can drive it to the aircraft mechanic to have it inspected and fixed. At worst I have to have it towed? And, while my flying car is being made airworthy again, waiting for expensive parts which are not in stock, I also don’t have a car!

Buy a decent car, and a decent airplane, which you park at the airport. It’ll cost you less, and you’ll worry a lot less!

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada
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