The Chinese startup HT Aero presented the concept of an electric flying machine with two folding screws. As reported by New Atlas, he's going to start releasing them in 2024.
Today, flying cars are being developed by several companies from different countries. Among them, the most common design is an airplane type with a collapsible wing, like the Slovak AirCar project or the American Aerocar N101D . But there are others — for example, the Japanese SkyDrive device is made according to the quadrocopter scheme.
HT Aero (a subsidiary of XPeng, a Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles) this summer introduced the concept of the X2 flying car, a two-seat quadcopter capable of reaching speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour and flying for up to 35 minutes.
Image Source: HT Aero
Last week, HT Aero announced that it had raised more than half a billion dollars in investments, and also presented the concept of a new electric flying machine. Outwardly, it resembles Bugatti Chiron hypercars with two large folding screws for vertical takeoff and landing, like Osprey tiltrotor planes.
HT Aero does not disclose technical details about this project. Given that electric cars are generally heavier than conventional ones, it is unlikely that the new car will be able to fly over significant distances. In addition, its design assumes virtually no backup power. This can be a problem, especially at altitude, where it is still impossible to open the parachute.
Some flying machines, such as the SkyRunner, use a parachute not for safety, but for flying. Earlier we wrote that it was released for sale.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
