PAL-V, the Netherlands-based developer of gyroplane/car hybrids, is opening a flying car school in Roosevelt, Utah, the company said Monday.
The location was chosen, PAL-V said in a statement, because of its geographical ease of access, its network of general aviation airports, and its mountainous terrain.
“We are very excited to make this announcement today and even more enthused that we are going to be working with gyroplane training guru Phil Harwood and the [International Association of Professional Gyroplane Training] to do whatever we can to help create standardized flight training programs around the world to ensure our clients are both safe and proficient at flying their PAL-V,” said Robert Dingemanse, PAL-V’s chief executive officer.
Clients training at the school will fly vehicles similar to PAL-V’s Liberty Flying Car.
The company expects pre-sales of its PAL-V Liberty in North America to be complete by the end of the year. Once this process wraps up, clients will need to start training.
The Utah facility, PAL-V said, is just the first in a network of regional training opportunities the company hopes to establish.
“The most important thing for PAL-V is to ensure the safety of its clients is at the forefront of every decision we make,” said Mark Jennings-Bates, PAL-V’s vice president of sales for North America.
“For that reason, we are in the process of selecting our home base for North American clients’ flight training requirements. We are currently in discussions with two first-class facilities to enable us to hone in on the best quality opportunity. The fact that clients get to learn to fly their flying care in a mountain setting is simply added value and will also serve to demonstrate how stable the PAL-V flying car platform is in mountain winds.”
Product Design and Development’s coverage of the PAL-V’s development is featured in our October print edition.
