PAL-V, founded in the Netherlands in 2001, was recently approved to operate Liberty "flying cars" on the streets of Europe. PAL-V is the acronym for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, and Liberty is a rotorcraft.
The PAL-V Liberty rotor blades are made of 190gsm TORAYCA®T700S/#2510 fabric and 150gsm TORAYCA®T700G/#2510 UD carbon fiber composite materials, provided by Toray composite materials America, Inc. (CMA). The body panels, doors and fuel tank use 200gsm TORAYCA®T300/ER450 fabric, 300gsm TORAYCA®T700/ER450 UD, and CK mixed carbon fiber and aramid fiber materials from Toray Composites (CIT) in Italy. Both CMA and CIT are subsidiaries of Toray Corporation.
TORAYCA®T700/#2510 meets the requirements of the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) database, which is recognized by FAA and EASA for aircraft structure certification. Industrially qualified materials reduce the time and cost of certifying aircraft structures. Supply chain manager Jeroen van de Braak said: “We chose Toray’s material because it complies with the PAL-V design concept and can use certified materials.” Industry-certified materials pass on certification cost savings to PAL-V, enabling Liberty's cost is competitive in the market.
PAL-V hopes to pass the easacs-27 certification in 2022 and will open customer flights soon. PAL-V works within the scope of CS-27, rather than trying to obtain an exemption, which usually takes longer to prove equivalent safety. Liberty has two versions, the entry model is Sport, priced at $399,000, and the upgraded model is Pioneer, priced at $600,000.
About PAL-V
PAL-V started flying its flying car test prototype in 2012. After testing, PAL-V designed the first commercial flying car Liberty. PAL-V's hybrid composite chassis is made of carbon fiber composite material and can work with air-hardened, heat-treated steel pipes.
Since February 2020, Liberty has recently passed the European road access test, which includes a rigorous and extensive driving test program on test tracks to verify the performance of high-speed oval, braking and emission tests, and noise pollution .
PAL-V Liberty is a two-seater aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 910 kg. On the ground, the maximum speed is 160 kilometers per hour and the engine power is 100 horsepower. In the air, PAL-V Liberty can reach a maximum speed of 180 km/h with an engine power of 200 hp and a maximum working altitude of 3500m.
About Toray Composites
Toray Composite Materials America (CMA) specializes in the production of carbon fiber and advanced thermosetting composite prepregs. These materials serve the high-volume commercial aerospace, general motors, high-end motor sports and urban air transportation markets. The material database can be used for specific products for aerospace applications.
About Composites (Italy)
Composite Materials (Italy) (CIT) produces carbon fiber braid, special fabric, multi-axis, prepreg and UD tape. It also formulates and applies its own resins, epoxy resins and phenolic aldehydes according to designated uses industrial, aerospace, automotive, sports and leisure, medical, construction and marine.