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Progress Updates
 Tuesday 09 September 2008
Successful maiden flight for Parajet SkyCar
Parajet Automotive founder Gilo Cardozo today achieved the ultimate childhood dream by completing the successful maiden flight of the Parajet SkyCar. The flight represents another major milestone in Parajet Automotive’s quest to launch the world’s first road legal bio-fuelled flying car.
Just after 9.00am, SkyCar’s revolutionary, specially-design ‘parawing’ was unfurled and pre-flight checks carried out. With the 1000cc engine throttled up the rear-facing propellers thrust the SkyCar down the flat sands of undisclosed loaction to a takeoff speed of around 45mph, generating enough lift for the ‘parawing’ to launch the car gracefully into the air.
Once airborne, Gilo and fellow pilot Neil Laughton used the pedals located in the vehicle’s foot well to control the shape of the wing and provide steering. With a number of successful low passes completed, the two-man crew circled around and came in for a landing.
This was Gilo’s first impression as he got out of the car “Wow. This one serious machine. It’s like the ultimate kind of toy! One minute you are screaming along down the beach and next minute you are flying along in the same machine.”
The team will now prepare the SkyCar for its trip from London to Tombouctou; the 42-day expedition travelling through France, Spain and Morocco, and then across the Sahara by way of Mauritania and Mali, before returning home via Senegal - an intrepid maiden voyage of some 7000km.
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