To a flurry of mainstream press interest and National TV coverage, Parajet’s Skycar, the world’s first bio-fuelled flying car, leaves London for its maiden flight across the Sahara to Timbuktu, Mali on Wednesday 14 January 2009.
Ex SAS officer Neil Laughton is the expedition leader, and Skycar inventor, Gilo Cardozo, the chief pilot.
The buggy is road-legal, but the Paramania-designed wing can be unfurled from the boot and the car can launch from a 200 m airstrip at 60 km/hr. The Skycar can fly at a top speed of 100 km/hr. Pedals inside the car control the glider’s “brake lines” and it carries a giant reserve that can bring all 480 kg (plus pilot & co-pilot’s weights) safely back to earth, should the worst happen.
A convoy of support vehicles will accompany the Skycar throughout its 6,400 km journey.
The expedition supports “Alive and Kicking”, a charity which makes leather footballs, volleyballs and netballs in disadvantaged areas of Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, providing employment for over 150 stitchers. The balls all carry an HIV/AIDS, malaria or TB message, and are accompanied by preventive health materials so that teachers and coaches can use sport to talk to young people about risks to their health. The leather balls are tough, affordable and repairable, and bring fun to countless children in the poorest communities across Africa. To donate to the charity, visit the expedition’s website:
http://www.skycarexpedition.com/about_skycar.php
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- Skycar “in action” above London
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- The expedition route
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- Next generation of the Skycar, planned for production in 2010
