A number of "carplanes" have recently appeared on the market or will be appearing soon. The purpose of this site is to contrast and compare these vehicles and to provide the latest information on each. It is an unbiased site that is not funded by any of the manufacturers.
Edited by Jeffrey W. Buckholz, PhD, P.E., PTOE
$75,000 and available in kit form. A 1-seat motorcycle that flies as a gyro-copter. Quoted speeds of 55 mph on the ground and 70 mph in the air. Need a motorcycle endorsement to drive and a gyro-copter pilots license to fly, and you need to assemble it yourself, but its available. Located in Texas, USA
$96,000 and available. Its basically a 3 seat dune buggy that flies as a powered parachute. Approved by FAA and Florida DMV so you can order one now and they'll make one for you - although the waiting time they quoted me was "6 months to a year". Plenty fast on the ground (100 mph) but only 40 mph in the air. The people who make it are very friendly and helpful. Located in Florida, USA
$300,000 and should be available sometime in 2014. You take a 4 seat Glasair Sportsman airplane and modify it via a $60,000 kit that you purchase from them. Modifications include an 80 hp/2 cyclinder/4 stroke engine, an automatic transmission (with reverse), sliding landing gear, and folding wings. The result is a 2 seat vehicle that flies as a tailwheel airplane and drives as a 3-wheel motorcycle. Plenty fast in the air (140 mph) and reasonably fast on the ground as well (73 mph). They are working on bringing down the time it takes to convert between the air and road configuration (currently about 45 minutes for 2 people!) which suggests that this is not a quick and easy process. Located in Florida, USA
$119,000 and they are indicating that it will be available in 2014. It is a single seat dune buggy that flies as a powered parachute, with a quoted max ground speed of 115 mph and with a cruise airspeed of 35 mph. Located in England but with some American investors.
No price yet, but with estimated availability date sometime in 2014. Its a 2-seat car on the ground and an aiplane requiring a sports pilot license in the air. The wings swing in and out from behind the cabin in less than a minute. They appear to have a full-size flying prototype that has a maximum road speed of 100 mph and an air cruise speed of 108 mph. Located in Slovakia.
A $279,000 price with a 2016 estimated delivery date. More like a traditional car (even has airbags) and it flies like a small plane. Max quoted ground speed of 80 mph and a cruise air speed of 100 mph. Seats 2 people and you need a sports pilot license to fly it. Designed by ex-MIT engineers and located in Massachusetts.
2016 estimated delivery date with an estimated price of around $300,000. A 2-seat enclosed "tilting" motorcycle that flies as a gyro-copter. Quoted speeds of 112 mph on the ground and in the air. Need a motorcycle endorsement to drive and a gyro-copter pilots license to fly. Located in the Netherlands.
Around $100,000 in kit form with no stated delivery date. Its a 2-person enclosed, 3-wheel vehicle that requires a motorcycle endorsement to drive and a private pilot license to fly. They have yet to produce a full-size flying prototype. Anticipated max speed on the ground is 90 mph with an anticpated 150 mph cruise speed in the air. I used to have a good feeling about their potential but lately I'm starting to think that, like some of the "pipedream" carplane companies, they are more interested in obtaining funding than developing a vehicle. Located in California.
$300,000 estimated price and a delivery date of 2016 or later. This 2 person carplane looks a lot like the Bipod but with automatic wing deployment. The speeds aren't as impressive as the BiPod but the take-off and landing distances are even shorter. They just have a road vehicle right now, flight testing hasn't started yet. Located in Germany.
No price or delivery date. It is a 2 person enclosed cockpit vehicle with a hybrid electric-gasoline propulsion system that is expected to deliver an impressive maximum airspeed of 197 mph and surprisingly short take-off and landing distances of only 400 feet. The wings must be manually stowed and deployed. An actual vehicle exists and that vehicle has undergone some low level flight testing. However, there seems to have been no movement in the last few years so I have removed this vehicle from my list. Located in California.
No price or delivery date. This is an eight-rotor, 5 person enclosed helicopter that has 4 wheels for land operations. They have a full-size land vehicle that they have been testing with flight tests to begin sometime in 2014. They are also developing a six-rotor version called the "Panther" that will accommodate 2 individuals. Located in California.
On 2/27/13 their representative informed me that the chosen Lockheed Martin team is required to have a full scale prototype flying by the end of 2015. Located in the USA.
This section directs you to all of the "real" players in the current carplane market. I have only included vendors that have an actual vehicle under test and which seem to be making some progress in bringing a vehicle to market. Keep in mind that the vehicle currently being tested may only be the ground portion of the carplane, but at least something tangible is there. I have not included sites where the vehicle is purely conceptual in nature (see the LINKS section for some of those).
SPECIAL NOTE
The US Military is pursuing a CarPlane! In January of 2013 DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) selected the Lockheed Martin team to develop a carplane using ducted fan technology. The "Transformer" will be a weaponized flying armored vehicle capable of transporting 4 soldiers and their equipment (1000 pounds payload) up to 250 miles. The vehicle will be capable of all-terrain operation at 65 mph on the ground with a 150 mph maximum air speed and a 10,000 ceiling. VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) will be used to transition between air and ground operation. Semi-autonomous flight is a goal so that non-pilots will be able to fly the vehicle.
DARPA is hoping to have a vehicle by 2015 and is anticipating a final cost to construct of only $203,000 per unit (which seems a little hard to believe). The design team is composed of:
Lockheed Martin
Carneige Mellon University
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Aurora Flight Sciences
ThinGap
Metis Design
