The DeLorean DR-7 can park in a home garage
(Credit: DeLorean
Aerospace)
DeLorean is a name associated with a certain brushed stainless
steel supercar, but now it's being added to aircraft. DeLorean
Aerospace is developing a two-person VTOL aircraft called the DR-7
that combines rotating ducted lift/propulsion fans with an
autonomous flight control system, allowing it to be flown by a
minimally trained pilot.
DeLorean Aerospace was founded in 2012 by Paul DeLorean, the
nephew of John DeLorean, the automotive industry executive who
founded the DeLorean Motor Company whose only model was the now
famous DMC-12 piloted by Doc Brown in the Back to the Future
films. Although that car flew at the end of the first film in the
trilogy, the DR-7 is intended to make a flying DeLorean a reality.
With its short, foldable wings and canards, the DR-7 is
designed to be "compact, lightweight, and deceptively simple." It
measures 19.5 ft (6 m) long and has a wingspan of 18.5 ft (5.6 m),
but the wings fold to give the vehicle a width of 7.5 ft (2.3 m),
allowing it to fit in a home garage or parking space. It would boast
a composite monocoque fuselage with tandem seating and features a
stall-resistant canard wing.
What really sets the DR-7 apart from other flying car
designs are a pair of centerline, 360-degree thrust-vectoring
electric ducted-fan nacelles, which the company says are simpler and
cheaper compared to similar multi-engine designs, yet provide better
performance, reliability, and greater stability. In addition, the
autonomous flight system has a manual mode to suit the desires of
more experienced aviators.
The fans at the heart of the vehicle's centerline twin
vectoring propulsion system (CTV) are used for both propulsion and
control. In horizontal mode, they provide lift and hovering
capabilities, and allow the aircraft to operate from short air
strips. In vertical mode, they propel forward flight. And by tilting
the fans in coordination, they can also replace the conventional
ailerons and rudder to reduce drag.
DeLorean says that the rechargeable electric powertrain
would provide the DR-7 with a top speed of 240 mph (386 km/h) and
see it cruise at 150 mph (241 km/h) for a range of 120 mi (193 km).
A patent-pending failsafe system is designed to deal
with power emergencies in hover or forward flight, and the company
sees the DR-7 as suitable for private use or as urban air taxis. No
word yet on when it will fly or how much it will cost, but two scale
models have been constructed as a proof of concept and a full-size
piloted prototype is now in the works.
Source:
DeLorean Aerospace
http://newatlas.com/delorean-aerospace-vtol-flying-car-dr-7/50894