Is this podracing? Not quite, but it is great. Race ready in 2021, the world’s first flying electronic racer has been unveiled – and it looks like a movie. The Airspeeder MK3 is a long-range aircraft that the manufacturer, Alauda, says will hit the racetrack in 2021 and pave the way for a fabricated model in 2022. The MK3 has achieved an impressive top speed of 120 kph (75 MPH) and claims to have the turning capability of ground-based performance vehicles.
“The race for the world’s first electric flying car will be the most exciting and progressive motorsport on the planet,” Matt Pearson, founder of Alauda Aeronautics, said in a statement.
Flying cars use eight separate spinning rotors to driven through the air, leaving two stacks in each corner of the “octocopter X formation”. Following previous iterations of the Airspeeder, the proof-of-concept of the MK2, the powertrain has significantly increased power by 95% in just 100kg (220.5 pounds) weight. Alauda claims that their advancement allows Airspeeder MK3 to take on a tougher angle that can handle F1 cars, all owned by Sky.
To keep vehicles in the right direction and to prevent crashes in the best possible way, a lot of technology has used on the vehicle to monitor the situation around it. The leader (a remote sensing technology that uses lasers to measure the distance between objects) and the radar used to create a “virtual forcefield” around the craft. It remains to see how effective these will be in protecting oncoming horse racing vehicles.
Production is underway for the entire grid of Airspeeder, which will soon make its debut in a remote-controlled race in Australia. If the race is a success and the vehicles are technically sound, the MK3s will feed on a powered humanitarian series of Flight Racers for their debut in 2022.
These may sound like some fun but the idea behind producing electronic flying racers based on reducing the impact of environmental motorsports. A racing event – especially many cars – produces many greenhouse gases that contribute to the ongoing climate change crisis. Many believe that electric vehicles are the future of eco-friendly transportation, although more needs to done before electric vehicle production can become sustainable. In the meantime, such innovations will have a huge impact on reducing global emissions.
“The unveiling of the world’s first full-fledged electric flying racing car is a landmark moment in the dawn of a new dynamic revolution. It’s a competition that advances and accelerates the advent of our racing series technology to improve clean-air passenger transport, delivery and medical applications.” Pearson continues.
