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Judi Lynn

(162,756 posts)
Thu Jan 9, 2025, 10:18 PM Jan 9

Cybertruck-looking 'mobile aircraft carrier' developed in China can hide away and launch a 2-person flying car

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published 5 hours ago

A large road-based land vehicle can launch a two-person eVTO flying car that is stored in its trunk.



An image of the car and the flying component
The eVTOL's transition from residing inside the car to being positioned outside relies on eight control modules and 14 actuators. (Image credit: Keumars Afifi-Sabet)


LAS VEGAS — Engineers in China have unveiled a unique kind of flying car that can be bundled into a land vehicle that looks like Tesla's controversial Cybertruck for transport — effectively turning it into a mobile aircraft carrier.

The flying component is an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, which means it relies on motors and propellers spread across the breadth of the airframe to fly, a system known as distributed electric propulsion.

These motors and propellers reside in the Cybertruck-looking "mothership" — which representatives from Xpeng Aeroht (the company that created this device) have described as the first vehicle of its kind, due to the 800V engine and in-built platform that can boost range to more than 620 miles (1,000 kilometers).

The eVTOL flying car itself has six rotors and is built from carbon fiber. It can fit two people in a single ride and has a 270-degree panoramic field of view for those inside. The machine was still in construction as recently as November 2024, but the company brought a fully finished prototype of the machine to Las Vegas for CES 2025.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/technology/electric-vehicles/cybertruck-looking-mobile-aircraft-carrier-developed-in-china-can-hide-away-and-launch-a-2-person-flying-car

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