French musician becomes the first passenger in the world to travel in a flying car
The AirCar is able to transform from a sports car into a plane within minutes, and now it has recorded a world first by taking off into the sky with its first passenger on board. See the pictures
READING LEVEL: GREEN
A mind-blowing* flying car has rocketed into the history books after its world-first flight with a passenger.
Legendary French musician Jean-Michel Jarre, 75, took off in KleinVision’s half-plane hybrid*, known as the AirCar, in Slovakia last week to mark the company’s latest milestone*.
The French electronic artist*, who famously composed the music in the award-winning Australian movie Gallipoli, completed two flights in the futuristic vehicle at Piestany international airport in front of mesmerised* onlookers.
Made in Slovakia by Professor Stefan Klein and KleinVision’s co-founder Anton Zajac, the AirCar was approved for flight in 2022 following more than 200 successful takeoffs and landings.
The year before, the record-breaking vehicle had become the first flying car to complete an intercity* flight.
Now, the successful flight involving a passenger has been added to its growing list of achievements.
As a long-time supporter of future tech, Mr Jarre jumped at the chance to become part of history.
“One second you speak to the driver, and next, you are up there in the air. An amazing experience,” he said.
The AirCar is able to transform from a sports car into a plane within minutes.
The 1000kg two-seat dual-mode* prototype* has foldable wings and a propeller* on the back, and only needs 300m of runway to get off the ground and into the sky.
Video footage showed the vehicle flying at up to 193km at a height of more than 2400m.
The AirCar is powered by a regular car engine, although the plan is to move to electric power.
“As soon as the technology improves, we will simply run on batteries,” Mr Zajac told Sky News.
“We are bridging the gap between the road and the sky, giving cars the freedom they symbolised* 50 years ago.”
The Slovakian government announced plans for flying taxis to be a reality by 2030 in its Future of Flight action plan. But Mr Zajac has high hopes that the AirCar will hit the market in about a year.
To operate the vehicle, you’ll need to have both a driver’s licence and a pilot’s licence and complete a three-month flying course.
GLOSSARY
- mind-blowing: something that is hard to believe
- hybrid: the blending of two things
- milestone: a significant event
- electronic artist: a musician that makes music with electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, computers, or music technology
- mesmerised: captured the complete attention
- intercity: travelling between cities
- dual mode: can operate two ways
- prototype: an original model on which something is patterned or created
- symbolised: represented something
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QUICK QUIZ
1. Why is the AirCar called a hybrid vehicle?
2. How much does the AirCar weight and how does it fly?
3. What world-first did the AirCar achieve last year?
4. Why was French musician Jean-Michel Jarre chosen as the first passenger?
5. How much road does it need to become airborne?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Sky road rules
If this amazing new AirCar hits the market next year as the company hopes, the Australian Government needs to start working on road rules for the sky!
Write what you feel to be the top 10 rules for traffic in the sky to ensure safety for all users.
Sky road rules:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Technologies, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
If you were given a ride in this new AirCar, where would you ask to be taken?
How far is this place, and how long do you think it would take to get there in the air?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Mathematics, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
1. Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were inside the AirCar during the takeoff.
Create a conversation between Jean Michel-Jarre and the driver. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.
Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speech in the correct places.