Bartini Flying Car

The Bartini Flying Car is a member of McFly.aero - a flying taxi incubator company - that plans to develop an eVTOL with four ducted fans that swivel to provide power for vertical takeoff and landing but transition to horizontal positioning for accelerated forward flight. Lift is provided in horizontal flight by the body of the aircraft, the fans themselves, and the struts connecting the fans to the body.

Aircraft Type: Winged VTOL

Powerplant: battery powered

Range: 150km (battery) /55okm (hydrogen)

Top Speed: 162 kts

Propeller Configuration: 8 propellers, mounted on 4 swiveling fan ducts, each outputting 40kW

Passenger/Payload Capacity: 4 passengers

Autonomy Level: semi-autonomous

Wingspan/Dimensions: 4.5m x 5.2m x 1.7m

Additional Information

Range, km: †150
Payload, kg: 400
Take off weight, kg: 1100
Lift-to-drag: 4-5
Disc loading, kg/m: 2146
Battery weight, kg: 320
Battery density, Wh/kg: 200 
Battery capacity, kWh: 64 
Power output, kW: 320

Altitude above ground, m: 1000
Cruising speed, km/h: 300
Energy used for flight, kWh: 51
— hover (1 min for VTOL): 5.3
— cruise (30 mins): 45.9
Reserve energy, kWh: 13
Energy per 1 km, kWh:0.34
— per 1 km cruise: 0.30
— per 1 min cruise: 1.5

The Bartini Flying Car is one of the more novel flying car designs incubated by McFly.aero - most notably the decision to use ducted fans combined with a semi-lifting body resulted in a unique configuration. Additionally, the current design has a lift to drag ratio of 4/5 - which is aerodynamically very undesirable (normally an aircraft is designed to have a greater amount of lift than drag). This is most likely due to the configuration of the aircraft, and the lack of either a lifting rotor or some lifting surface, like a wing. Nevertheless, the Bartini Flying Car seems to have support from the McFly incubator, which is an umbrella to more than 10 other flying car manufacturers that plan on creating a network of air taxi hubs that feature shopping malls and other destinations that allow for greater connectivity between densely-trafficked areas.