The Parajet Skycar - Flying from London to Timbutu
We’ve been expecting flying cars to be the norm since the early 1920s sci-fi films that had everyone flying around the place in their very own sky buggy. But, despite countless efforts to make them a reality, they have never really happened.
But a London company, Parajet, has just announced the launch of an expedition to ‘Fly’ to Timbuktu from London in their ‘Flying Car’. Interesting.
To be fair, they’re not flying all the way – just the bits with no roads. The Skycar took off from London on Wednesday, and is flying and driving through France, Spain, Morocco, Sahara and Mali, reaching Timbuktu on 20th February. The Skycar will be using roads when available, but will be flying over the Straits of Gibraltar, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara.
The Skycar uses a Yamaha Bio-Fuel motorcycle engine to propel the wheels when it’s on the ground, or a big fan at the back when it’s in the air (a bit like the airboat cages at the back of the Everglades boats). Top speed on the ground is over 100mph, and around 70mph in the air. The fan powers the big ‘chute at the back, and the driver/pilot steers in the air with pulleys. In theory, if the motor fails, the Skycar should glide gently to the ground with the ‘chute. It needs only 200m of room to take-off, can reach an altitude of 15,000 feet and cruises at around 3,000 ft.
Mad as a hatter, this is a real ‘Boys-Own’ adventure. It sounds great fun. We wish them luck!
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