This Porsche is a Test Mule For a Flying Car

[whatsinanameish]

Robert is slowly turning into an automotive Tom Scott. I approve. Keep those quirky cars coming.

[Dvproosdij]

As one of the people who worked on this project: we chose the 924 because it has its gearbox in the back, it meant we had a lot of space in the engine bay to add the beltdrive and other bits. It was also relatively cheap.

[polarlicht]

Doug DeMuro: I don't travel to Europe to review cars
Robert Dunn:

[Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

I would humbly submit that is not a _flying car, _ but rather a _roadable aircraft._

Great video, Robert...👍

[schnitzellife]

Ah yes, the attitude gauge, for when you need to tell how sassy the car is getting with you.

[hadinossanosam]

Another interesting note about the engine: despite being an aviation engine, where the default gasoline is 100LL low-lead (!) avgas (was already mentioned once in the Robinson R44 video), it is designed to run on automotive gasoline, making it even more appropriate for this application. It would be pretty inconvenient to drive to the airport every time you want to refuel! Also, using leaded fuel seems like an auto-fail on any automotive emissions test xD

[AdamBath]

That Porsche makes sense because the transmission is in the back, makes the reverse mounting of the engine work as well.

[berkkarsi]

I'm so glad Robert is starting to travel to Europe. There are so many hidden gems of weird, whacky, goofy cars out there.

[ThePodcastPodcastOfficianato]

"Let's do a rev match downshift in front of this huge line of traffic" One car passes. 😂

[clockworkdimetrodon]

Sir, whether you know it or not, you put out some of the most charming, entertaining, pleasing content on YouTube. Thank you very much for all you do.

[FearlessLeader]

Flying cars expressly work in those incredibly weird "airport towns" where the main road is a landing strip, and everyone's garage is a personal hangar.

[the_jcbone]

5:15 to quote Doc Brown: "The way I see it, if you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?"

[SteveRowe]

Neat. A quick google told me that non-car gyrocopters cost between $50k and $100k USD.

[deefdragon]

I'm almost dissapointed you didn't title this "I got to drive a prototype for a flying car!!!" (including the excessive exclamations)

[Vaionko]

My dad once almost bought a used Rotax aircraft engine to swap into our Trabant. That would've been fun I imagine

[zracer]

If there was ever a use for a CVT transmission, this is it.

[CBJamo]

Not that it matters, but that's not a compass, it's a horizontal situation indicator. The difference is that a compass is magnetic, while an HSI is driven by a gyro.

[big-man-c]

maturing is realising flying cars are incredibly dangerous and incredibly impractical. thank god im still so immature lets freaking goooo this looks so cool. the engineering behind it must truly have been a marvel

[GWinvader]

So glad to see a 924 on your channel. The whole entire reason I know you is because you used to have your moms old 944, and I used to see you post in the 944 Facebook forums all the time.
It’s amazing how far your channel has come.

[sam-rswg]

This is a dream car/plane for me. I love flying, and fly airliners for a living, and small aircraft for fun. The main downside of small aircraft is that, when you land at your destination, you still need a car. Some places you can get away with walking, but airports are usually a good bit away from where you actually want to go. Renting a car or using uber adds another expense on an already expensive hobby, and really adds a lot of associated "work".

Another advantage is the lack of hangar requirements. Hangars are hard to find, expensive, and often you can't rent one at the nearest airport to you. $600/month adds up quickly, and this plane could be parked in your garage. Over 10 years, that really could offset the cost between this and a traditional gyroplane.

So what's the use case? It's always a toy, but it's an exceptionally usable toy. An example is A 208 mile drive, 3.3 hours with some regular traffic can be cut down to a 130 nautical mile straight line distance at 85 knots (published cruise speed), completed in 1.5 hours. With only a short process to get the plane in the air from an airport, any drive longer than an hour can be shortened by this plane, while still having a car at your destination. I estimate about 10 minutes at the airport on either end of your flight for pre/post flight duties and inspections.

The benefits are huge when looking at coastal areas. Hopping islands in this would be an incredible experience, or flying somewhere where no good interstates exist, or over mountains. Going between places like CT/NJ is a hassle due to the city, but flying between the two cuts the travel time by 2/3rds (and no traffic).

I am obviously very fortunate to even consider something like this attainable, but as you said the aviation world defines expensive very differently. For a few thousand of us, this is a true dream