Maverick Flying Car Is Street-Legal, But Also Goes 'Off Road'

By Chris Batcheller

Steve Buer, Production Manager for the Maverick Flying Car was proud to show off the first and second and production models on display in the Maverick Flying Car Booth. Also on display was the production prototype. Steve said two more vehicles are in production back in Florida.

Steve Buer

The Maverick is the only flying car currently in production. The design grew form a need for transportation in rugged areas to perform missionary work. Steve Saint identified many of the primary requirements for a successful frontier vehicle: it must be rugged and easy to service in remote areas, use widely available automotive fuel, and be able to fly over terrain when the roads inevitably fail. The Maverick is designed to meet - and exceed - these requirements, and do so in an efficient and straightforward manner.

The Maverick has dual drive and holds 17 gallons of fuel. It is equipped with a 2.5L Subaru 190 hp engine that is fuel injected and water cooled. It has a welded steel tube frame for lightweight construction and long-throw ground suspension with high performance shocks.

In flight mode the top speed is around 40 mph and the climb rate is 900 fpm and a service ceiling of 10,000 feet. The takeoff and landing distance is around 300 feet. The useful load is up to 700 lbs. In the road configuration, the Maverick can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and gets approximately 25 mpg.

“It’s been a unique project,” says chief mechanic Steve Buer.  “The dynamic between creating a car that is durable yet light enough to fly has been the challenge; to make it strong enough to take the abuse on the road but light enough to get off the ground.“

“The heart of this vehicle is going to be humanitarian aid,” says Steve Saint, who founded Itec, Indigenous People’s Technology & Education Center and is the imagineer behind the Maverick.  “We developed a vehicle that an average person can use at the end of the road and beyond roads to change people’s lives.”

At EAA AirVenture, the keys to the first Maverick off the production line were presented to its new owners.  Ywam Medical Ships, a Christian organization, which meets medical needs in remote locations all over the world, plans to field test the Maverick to show how the unit can be used to meet humanitarian needs beyond roads.  The team of driver/pilots plan to cross the United States, head down thru Central America, and to Australia.

“We’re excited that the YWAM team will be taking the flying car on a road trip, and putting the Maverick to the test,” said Troy Townsend, primary test pilot for the Maverick.  “It’s unbelievable how ‘car-like’ it is in the air.  We continually want to improve the design so that it is useful to indigenous people throughout the world.  We feel this project has the possibility of changing lives for people who live in frontier areas.”  A team is documenting the adventure trip, which will be featured on Grassrootsnews.tv

The Maverick can be used in many situations that typically use a helicopter, which is costly to operate.  Itec envisions that the Maverick will be useful to ranchers, conservation departments checking wetlands, disaster relief, short-range transportation in flooded areas, to name a few possibilities. Maverick engineers are currently working on float adaptation that will allow the Maverick flying car to operate on water, snow and ice.

As of September 28, 2010, the Maverick is S-LSA Certified. The Special Light Sport Airworthiness Certificate was issued by the Orlando MIDO office of the FAA. In June 2011, the FAA granted a gross weight exemption to 1,430 lbs (S-LSA).

The Maverick is approved by the Florida DMV and licensed under kit-car regulations. It may be driven on any public road in the USA.

FMI: http://mavericklsa.com