Flying car racing: the F1 of the future in the Australian desert
By Rocio Otoya
Adelaide, Australia, Jun 22 (EFE).- Using flying electric cars, the South Australian desert last week hosted the first tests towards the realization in 2022 of racing series akin to an aerial Formula 1.
Airspeeders, as these electric half-sportscars, half-helicopters made by Alauda Aeronautics are known, are capable of reaching over 120 kilometers per hour thanks to eight powerful propellers.
Matt Pearson, Alauda and Airspeeder founder, said during that press visit to a business innovation center in Adelaide that the team planned to organize races in the United States and Asia in the next 18 months.
The entrepreneur added that he wanted to eventually achieve his “dream” of racing in Monaco.
For this preliminary race, held at an undisclosed location in the state of South Australia, the Mk3 was used, a remotely operated unmanned machine weighing 100 kilograms and unveiled in February.
The promoters are planning a first series of races, called EXA, in which eight Airspeeders will participate, grouped into four teams and consisting of three events in places inaccessible for traditional motorsports.
From 2022, manned Mk4 models will be used for international flying races.
In this kind of aerial Formula 1, the Airspeeders, which have a vertical take-off and landing system and multiple radars and sensors to avoid accidents, travel through the circuit at between 10-30 meters off the ground.
Mechanics will be able to choose the batteries that best suit the needs of the race, between lighter ones, which allow greater speed, or more powerful, allowing longer duration, depending on the strategy.
According to the promoters of this futuristic competition, races will take place through sand dunes, frozen tundra and tropical coastal areas.
The organizers aim to leave the environment intact, with no construction of spectator stands since the event will be broadcast via the internet through cameras placed in the vehicle, on selected areas of the route and in the air.
In March, Airspeeder and Alauda joined the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action initiative to reaffirm their position in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions. EFE
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