Detroit Flying Cars WD-1 (concept design)

(Image credit: Detroit Flying Cars)

WD-1 (concept design)
Detroit Flying Cars
Dearborn, Michigan, USA 
www.detroitflyingcars.com

Detroit Flying Cars was founded by Sanjay Dhall in the USA. As CEO, he named his company after the legacy of Detroit making ground vehicles. Due to modern traffic congestion on the roads and at airports, he feels the time is right to make a car which can fly. 

WD-1 passenger hybrid-electric VTOL air and roadable (concept design)
The WD-1 is a passenger hybrid-electric VTOL concept design air and roadable. The model is named WD-1, which means Wild Dream. The air and roadable vehicle holds one pilot, one passenger and their luggage. 

It is hybrid-electric ground and air vehicle taking advantage of the reduced weight of having electric motors which do not require any transmission. The car can fly two passengers at 125 mph with a range of 400 miles due to its canard type wings. It also has the important safety feature of an aircraft parachute.

The experience Dhall wants the consumer to the best experience possible using the flying car by having the vehicle drive like a car when on the road and when flying. His goal is to make this versatile car easy to operate, to look like a car and have it fit inside a garage. It's wings are telescopic which allows the vehicle to fit inside a garage or parking space.

One of Dhall's challenges was how to design the telescoping wing. The wing would need to be about the same size as a Cessna 150 airplane, about six feet wide. However, he solved this problem through the rotation of the wings and fitting locking devices into the wings before takeoff.

It has a internal combustion engine with electric motors for turning the propellers for flying and electric motors to power the wheels for ground transportation. Dhall is very interested and open to having his aircraft be an all electric aircraft, once battery technology can power the vehicle equally as an internal combustion engine can power the vehicle right now.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger hybrid-electric VTOL air and road vehicle (concept design)
• Capacity: 2 passengers and their luggage
• Flying speed: 125 mph (201 km/h)
• Flying range: 400 miles (644 km)
• Ground range: 50 miles (80 km) on pure electric, 400 miles (644 km) with battery recharge by the engine
• Empty weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg)
• Maximum payload weight: 500 lb (226 kg)
• Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb (680 kg)
• Propellers: 4 tilt-propellers
• Electric motors: 4 electric motors for flight. For ground travel, possibly 2-4 electric motors.
• Power source: Hybrid-electric 100 hp internal combustion engine
• Ground power: 40 kW electric
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Large front and side windows for spectacular views
• Wings: Tandem wings
• Tail: Unsure as to type
• Flying wing span: 26 feet (7.9 meters)
• Flying length: 16 feet (4.9 meters)
• Flying spoiler height: 6 feet, 3 inches (1.9 meters)
• Wing loading: 12 lb / sq. ft. 
• Ground length: 16 feet (4.9 meters)
• Ground width: 6 feet (1.8 meters)
• Ground height: 6 feet, 3 inches (1.9 meters)
• Ground travel: 4 wheels
• Landing gear: 4 car wheels
• Safety features: Capable of landing like airplane, vehicle parachute and has distributed electric propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the  aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.

Resources:

• Detroit Flying Cars website
• Detroit Flying Cars Twitter
• Detroit Flying Cars LinkedIn
• Video: 3D view of entire car, Detroit Flying Cars, Detroit Flying Cars, July 2017
• Article: Flying Cars Coming, But There’s Work to Be Done, Wards Auto, Aug. 11, 2017
• Article: A Flying Car Is Taking off Near the Motor City, Robb Report, Sept. 18, 2017
• Article: Wings Over Detroit, Outlook Magazine, Nov. 10, 2017 
• Article: China deepens auto ties in Michigan, China Daily, Jan. 19-21, 2018
• Video: Local flying car founder wants to get back to work after crash, WXYZ-TV Detroit | Channel 7, Apr. 10, 2019