PAL-V One flying car takes to the skies

Meet the PAL-V One – or Personal Air and Land Vehicle, as it sometimes likes to be called. It's a real flying car that has proven it actually works, having successfully conducted its first test flights. Despite looking more like a helicopter crossed with a BMW C1 scooter than a flying car, the PAL-V One can cruise along the roads as well as taking to the skies when traffic jams loom.

The Dutch prototype PAL-V One can manage a 750 mile range (at 28mpg) on land with a top speed of 112mph. It'll manage the same top speed in the air, with a range of between 220 to 315 miles in range (at 9.5mpg) depending on the model you have. And it’ll seat two – so you can show off your Jetsons lifestyle to your mate.

"But flying cars will fill the skies with lethal deathtraps," we hear you cry. Don't worry – the risks will be minimal, since the PAL-V One, as a gyroscopic vehicle, will fly at under 4,000ft. That means you'll be able to pilot it with all the other Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic. And the PAL-V One won't be cheap when it goes on sale in 2014, so you needn't worry about airborne road hogs clogging the skyways.

So all you need to do is start saving, qualify for your Recreational or Private Pilot License (which takes about 20 hours), and in two years' time, you could be commuting to the office through the sky, chuckling at the mugs stuck in traffic below. For now check out the video and dream.

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