Dual-mode vehicle that can transform from a car into a plane is certified to fly after passing tests in Slovakia

         
A flying car has been awarded an official certificate of airworthiness after completing 70 hours of rigorous flight testing, its developers have said.

The vehicle that can run on roads and fly in the skies - and which has completed more than 200 take-offs and landings - received the certificate from the Transport Authority of Slovakia, Klein Vision said in a statement.

It means the vehicle, which has a 1.6L BMW engine, has taken a step closer to getting mass produced, it added.

The "AirCar" made its maiden flight in 2020 and completed its first inter-city flight in June last year.

In testing, the aircraft turned into a car in under three minutes "at the click of a button", the company said.

The amount of flight testing is in line with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards.

Those tests included the full range of flight and performance manoeuvres and demonstrated "an astonishing static and dynamic stability in the aircraft mode", the firm said.