Strange flying car design with a speed of 150 km/h

Austrian aviation company CycloTech shared that it is building a test version of a vertical take-off and landing vehicle to test the propulsion system for electric flight. The company hopes to complete the BlackBird flying car model by the end of this year and begin test flights in early 2025, according to New Atlas.

CycloTech has been developing a 360-degree vector thrust chamber called CycloRotor for the past few years. The company plans to test the 7th version of this propulsion system in beta. According to them, CycloRotor is especially suitable for flying vehicles because it is the only system that can control the thrust vector in terms of strength and direction along a 360-degree route.

BlackBird will be equipped with 6 CycloRotors allowing vertical take-off and landing, parallel parking, braking and mid-air deceleration. The vehicle’s design is similar to the CruiseUp model that the company shared in 2023, 4.9 m long, 2.3 m wide and 2 m high. With a maximum takeoff weight of 340 kg, BlackBird can reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

The 6 CycloRotor configuration includes 2 rotors along the length of the vehicle allowing precise horizontal and backward movement, as well as mid-air braking without tilting. That will give passengers a smooth journey regardless of air conditions. The 6-rotor configuration also helps the vehicle continue operating in case of engine failure.

CycloTech has conducted 800 test flights since 2021 with the first generation test version equipped with 4 CycloRotors and a smaller 83 kg fuselage. The company also successfully called for $21.8 million in investment capital in February to take BlackBird off the ground early next year.

CycloTech did not disclose how many people the BlackBird can hold or the range of its battery pack. If the vehicle has similar specifications to the CruiseUp version, it can carry two passengers with a relatively short range of 100 km. In that case, it would be closer to a personal vehicle than a flying taxi.