{"id":3836,"date":"2011-07-23T08:29:49","date_gmt":"2011-07-23T15:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=3836"},"modified":"2014-02-12T15:02:44","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T22:02:44","slug":"carplane-german-for-bipod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/carplane-german-for-bipod\/","title":{"rendered":"Carplane \u2013 German for BiPod?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carplane<\/a> is an innovative enterprise in Braunschweig, Germany, intent on producing a hybrid vehicle that, while it resembles the Rutan Model 367 BiPod, differs in significant ways.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s \u201cpitch\u201d is similar to those from other roadable car developers since the Waterman Aerobile or Taylor AeroCar.\u00a0 \u201cImagine the daily commute without transfers, exits, congestion, or missed connections,\u201d the German Center for Research and Innovation envisions.\u00a0 \u201cAs an aircraft that can also drive on roads, the Carplane\u00ae will head for its destination in a beeline without detours or stop-and-go traffic. Located in Lower Saxony, Germany, and under the general management of Angela Fleck, herself a pilot, the Carplane GmbH is in the process of building such a dual-mode vehicle. Designed as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), requiring only 20 hours of instruction to fly, commercial applications will include recreation, business travel, and emergency service.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Waterman Aerobile (1935) on display in Udvar-Hazy Museum. Photo: Smithsonian Institution<\/p><\/div>\n

Like the BiPod, Carplane has a twin cockpit catamaran-like fuselage arrangement, a \u201chybrid\u201d power system, and the ability to be transformed from road to aerial mode.\u00a0 Like the BiPod, hard details as to construction or propulsion are spotty (although its appearance at AirVenture 2011 may add to BiPod\u2019s knowledge base).<\/p>\n