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Airspeeder – the first ever flying car racing competition
Written by Kfir Kedem – June 21, 2021
Reviewed by Asaf Kedem
Formula 1, Le Mans, and several other top-level motorsport competitions have led to intense bursts of automotive innovation. Be it active suspension in Formula 1 or fuel saving methods in endurance racing, these competitions provide a captivating testing ground of new technologies. Having said that, flying cars have also been promised to us for decades. Do you see where this is going?
Airspeeder is a new race series that is being launched this year. The series will feature electric flying cars that are to be manned by pilots. Similar to other race series, there will be pit stops for battery switches, which – with a 55 second pit time – should make the competition that much more intense. People from top race teams and aviation developers (Boeing, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault F1 McLaren, TWR, and Williams Racing) are aiding in the engineering.
With the exciting thrills of flying car motorsport, comes a great need for safety. It’s no secret that regular motorsport is extremely dangerous. Now, adding the element of vertical free fall is also added to the mix. By using collision-avoidance software and other autonomous safety features, Airspeeder hopes to keep the pilots safe.
As mentioned earlier, the race series will be starting this year. Three remotely piloted races are already scheduled for 2021.
Auto Trendy’s take:
Automotive innovation in racing series has unfortunately slowed down in recent years. Although for good reasons – safety standards due to the high risk factors – the excitement that goes into the technological marvels has just not been the same. Airspeeder is an entirely new series that has never been seen before. People may consider it to be incredibly dangerous, but they need to consider that the event organizers likely want to keep the pilots safe. Having such a series will only push the safety standards of flying cars higher and will allow us all to drive them sooner.
