Late last year a startup from Slovakia called AeroMobil unveiled a flying car at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna. It wasn’t a concept, mockup or model. The car could actually fly and its abilities were demonstrated in front of everyone. AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik wants everybody to know that his startup didn’t just build a prototype and that it is actually working hard to launch the first model for “wealthy supercar buyers” by 2017. Vaculik was speaking today at SXSW.
These days it seems like all we hear about is how self-driving cars will revolutionize the way we commute daily in the near future. Vaculik isn’t sold on the idea. He believes that self-driving cars are actually just a “partial” solution.
Instead he believes that the real answer lies in flight. That flying cars will truly revolutionize daily commute but obviously this is easier said than done.
Self-driving cars will have to jump through a lot of legal and regulatory hurdles before they are allowed to roam freely on the streets. With drones coming under strict scrutiny as concerns about security and privacy rise, flying cars won’t be allowed to take off that easily.
Asked if one would require a pilot’s license to operate the vehicle, Vaculik said that since the car fits pre-existing categories for cars and planes, only a certified pilot can fly it.