A car that flies like 007’s autogyro

UNUSUAL aircraft are a regular sight at the Farnborough air show, which opened in Britain this week. But the particular unusualness of the Liberty is not so much that it is a flying car, but that flies as an autogyro. Although the Liberty remained firmly on the ground during the show, it is described by its makers, PAL-V, a Dutch firm, as a “production model” that will be used to obtain the necessary approvals for use on the road and in the air, so that deliveries can begin in 2020.

Autogyros have been around since the early days of aviation. Amelia Earhart set an altitude record in one in 1931. Three years later, an autogyro carried a soon-to-be jilted groom to what he thought would be his wedding, in a film called “It Happened One Night”. Another film, “You Only Live Twice”, which was released in 1967, featured an autogyro called Little Nellie, piloted by James Bond.