There are flying cars and Concorde’s would-be supersonic successor, a company offering to deliver cargo to the Moon — for a mere $1.2 million per kilogram — and the latest in funky futuristic aviation ideas, both big and small.
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No doubt about it: the Paris Air Show is an aerospace geek’s paradise.
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But with everything from the smallest drones to the largest passenger jets on display, it’s tough to sift through it all.
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So here’s a guide to some of the cool things that caught our eye this week.
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Flying Cars
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Of the various car-type flying machines in development, the two-seat Pegasus, [pictured above] from French firm Vaylon, can at least boast that it has actually flown.
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The carbon-fiber four-wheeler drove out of Paris and then crossed the English Channel between France and England last week, flying from Calais to Dover using the paragliding sail it carries in a niche on its back, and powered by the large fan glued to its rear.
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Vaylon’s president, Jerome Dauffy, said the car then drove the rest of the way to London’s Trafalgar Square.
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A Peugeot 400cc motorcycle engine drives the wheels. It and the fan for flying are both gasoline-powered.
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Dauffy aims to get the car-plane licensed both for roads and the air, so you can drive in town and be able to take off anywhere.
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The machine will sell for between 100,000 and 150,000 euros ($111,500 to $167,000), he said.
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As well as to private owners, he hopes to sell the Pegasus to first responders who could use it to fly over disaster-affected areas.
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Boom
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The name of the company developing a supersonic successor to Concorde is wonderfully apt. Boom Supersonic is aiming for an inaugural flight next year of a demonstration plane, the XB-1. Boom’s goal is for a supersonic airliner that would fly 2.6 times faster than other commercial aircraft and could…