Rahul Somvanshi
A former US Navy pilot and commercial airline pilot, Greg Brown, has designed a flying car named the Fusion JC7 jet-engine concept car. The design has been in development for nearly 20 years and boasts hideaway wings that fold in when parked to reduce its length. The flying car is fully electric when on the ground, with twin Tesla motors and a range of 150 miles.
With its wings fully extended and functional, the car can produce 2,000 pounds of thrust and reach a cruise speed of 520 mph. The design is presently going through Computational Fluid Dynamics testing to find pitching moments and drag coefficient. Brown claims the prototype will cost about $20 million to develop, with the jetcar priced at about $2.5 million once it goes into production.
The car is intended to add improved efficiency to private flying, enabling owners to avoid traffic and time delays at airports. Its landing technology and suspension system make it viable at a range of airports, and the car can stop in just 2,500 feet. As per Brown, the Fusion JC7‘s automatic brakes and suspension system mean that “you don’t necessarily need to be a good pilot,”.
The car’s most significant purpose is to save time, enabling jet owners to drive to meetings in Manhattan after landing in Teterboro and later fly back home while avoiding the delays at airports.Brown has presented the project to Stanford PhDs at their aerospace program, and they reportedly liked it.Brown is confident about the design and believes it will work, but the challenge lies in maximizing performance and finding someone to develop it.
